Thursday, May 31, 2018

Release Blitz: Afternoon Delight by Piper Rayne

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Afternoon Delight, the next standalone in the romantic and hilarious Charity Case Series by Piper Rayne is LIVE!

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The perfect man for me is the one who broke my heart.
#thanksbutnothanks
Once bitten.
Twice shy.
Yeah, I wish.
I’m on a mission to find myself a nice, solid, respectable man. The only problem is nice, solid, and respectable comes in a meh package and is B-O-R-I-N-G as hell.
It’s been established. I have one type. Bad Boy. I tried the other flavors, I really did. But there’s nothing like the allure of a man who takes what he wants without apology.
As if my love life isn’t dramatic enough, Dean Bennett walks into my life again thinking he’s going to win me back with his charm and charisma. He might come in a different package, but under that expensive suit he’s still the same cocky, arrogant, pompous prick who only cares about numero uno.
I’m not that naïve young girl anymore so I have to ignore the fact that the way he looks at me practically sets my panties on fire.
Everyone deserves a second chance to right a wrong. The problem? He’s not just an ex-boyfriend…
He’s my ex-husband.
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Download your copy today!
Add to GoodReads: https://bit.ly/2FmMDCQ
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REVIEW

Afternoon Delight is book two in this series and it's a second chance romance story full of delightful banter, hilarious moments, and deep, true feelings.  The characters involved, Chelsea and Dean, had a whirlwind romance years ago that led to a rushed marriage, and then ended with divorce and a whole lot of hurt.  Despite the pain, neither of them has ever really moved on or forgotten their connection, the love has never died, even if they did try to bury it.

When Dean enters Chelsea's life again, and he's determined to win her back, to prove to her their time apart has changed him and he can be the man she deserves now.  Chelsea hasn't exactly been up front with Dean but I enjoyed watching as these two figured things out between them and let it all out. 

Afternoon Delight is a quick, enjoyable read and it will leave you antsy for the next book in the series.


Start the Series Today with Manic Monday!
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Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/ManicMonday
Add to GoodReads: https://bit.ly/2pbRAJq
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Grab the prequel, Clean Slate, FREE!
About Piper Rayne:
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). A little about us... We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too. PiperRayne.jpg
Connect with Piper Rayne:

Teaser: Cold Blooded by Toni Anderson

COLD BLOODED by Toni Anderson releases June 12th - we cannot wait! See a teaser and check out the awesome trailer below, then be sure to preorder your copy now.

Romantic suspense lovers - this is the series for you!

 

About COLD BLOODED

Available June 12th
Searching for the truth…
Disgraced investigative journalist Pip West is devastated when she discovers her best friend’s body face-down in a tranquil lake. When cops and federal agents determine that her friend overdosed then drowned, Pip knows they’re mistaken and intends to prove it.
Special Agent Hunt Kincaid doesn’t trust journalists and has no patience for Pip’s delusions, especially since her meddling could reveal why the FBI is interested in her friend’s last days. The dead scientist worked at the cutting edge of vaccine research and might have a connection to a new, weaponized, vaccine-resistant anthrax strain that just hit the black market.
…just turned deadly.
Pip is thrown off her game by grief and her unexpected attraction to the handsome federal agent. Hunt battles the same unwelcome pull, determined to resist the heat that threatens to consume them both. But the more Pip digs, the closer she gets to both the sexy FBI agent, and to a bioweapons terrorist who’s more than capable of cold-bloodedly sacrificing anyone who gets in his way.
Add COLD BLOODED to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2IIJoYs

COLD BLOODED releases June 12th - preorder your copy of COLD BLOODED now!

   

See the COLD BLOODED trailer now:

 
 

About Toni Anderson

New York Times and USA Today international bestselling author, Toni Anderson, writes dark, gritty Romantic Suspense novels that have hit #1 in Barnes & Noble's Nook store, the Top 10 in Amazon and Kobo stores, and the Top 50 in iBooks. Her novels have won many awards. A former Marine Biologist from Britain, she inexplicably ended up in the geographical center of North America, about as far from the ocean as it is possible to get. She now lives in the Canadian prairies with her Irish husband and two children and spends most of her time complaining about the weather. Toni has no explanation for her oft-times dark imagination, and only hopes the romance makes up for it. She's addicted to reading, dogs, tea, and chocolate. If you want to know when Toni's next book will be out, visit her website (http://www.toniandersonauthor.com) and sign up for her newsletter. If you want to read other fascinating stories about life in a city that, during winter, is sometimes colder than Mars, friend her on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/toniannanderson).

Cover Reveal: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the TIme by Kylie Scott

We are thrilled to bring you the cover for the next standalone from New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Kylie Scott.

IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME will release on AUGUST 7th!

    

 

"Addictive like all Kylie Scott books, you'll swoon, laugh, ache, put your life on hold, and compulsively read until the wee hours of the night—only to reread the whole thing the next morning. Perfection!" - Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author Returning home for her father’s wedding was never going to be easy for Adele. If being sent away at eighteen hadn’t been bad enough, the mess she left behind when she made a pass at her dad’s business partner sure was. Fifteen years older than her, Pete had been her crush for as long as she could remember. But she’d misread the situation—confusing friendliness for undying love. Awkward. Add her father to the misunderstanding, and Pete was left with a broken nose and a business on the edge of ruin. The man had to be just as glad as everyone else when she left town. Seven years later, things are different. Adele is no longer a kid, but a fully grown adult more than capable of getting through the wedding and being polite. But all it takes is seeing him again to bring back those old feelings. Sometimes first loves are the truest.

       

PREORDER NOW

AMAZON | AMAZON UK | AMAZON AU | iBooks | B&N | KOBO

     


   kyliescottimageKylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/   FACEBOOK | TWITTER | FACEBOOK FAN GROUP | INSTAGRAM | GOODREADS          

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Release Blitz: Part-Time Husband by Noelle Adams




Title: Part-Time Husband
Series: Trophy Husbands #1
Author: Noelle Adams
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: May 29, 2018



Blurb

On a Wednesday afternoon, I ask Trevor Bentley to marry me. He might be the most arrogant, obnoxious man I know, but I need him to be my husband for a year.

There are reasons.

He's not going to be a real husband. Just part-time. Yes, I have to live with him. And, okay, I also have to share his bed. And, sure, he's the sexiest and most exciting thing to ever happen to my controlled, organized life.

But still... It's only a part-time marriage. I'm not going to give him my heart. I know what I'm doing, and I'm too smart to fall for my husband.

I hope.







Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU



Trailer




Excerpt

I’m feeling warm and relaxed when I finally get out of the bathtub. I usually don’t walk around the apartment unless I’m covered up, but since Trevor isn’t here I just wrap a towel around me. My hair is piled up messily on my head, and I’m carrying my bath salts and soap.
I open the bathroom door and nearly run smack into Trevor.
I give a little squeal and immediately look to make sure my towel is in place. “I didn’t know you were home.”
“I just got back.”
“I was in the bath.”
“I know that.” He’s looking very sexy in that end-of-the-day way he has. Five-o’clock shadow. Slightly loosened tie and collar. Half-lowered eyelids.
God, the man is hot.
“I could smell you as soon as I walked in the door,” he adds, the slightly rough words doing nothing for my flustered state of mind.
“You smelled me?” I’m thinking all kinds of things at the moment, and none of them are suitable to share with the man in front of me.
He reaches over, and I swallow over a quick intake of breath. I think he’s going to touch me. I want him to touch me.
He touches my bath salts instead. “This stuff you put in your bath. I smelled it as soon as I walked in, so I knew you were in the bath.”
“Oh.”
It’s perfectly logical. And kind of a disappointment.
His hand moves from the bath salts, and his fingertips slowly trail up my towel to the bare skin at my collarbone. It’s barely a touch, but it makes my skin flush and a pulsing begin between my legs.
“What did you think?” he asks, his voice a little thicker than normal.
“What did I think about what?” I have no idea what he’s talking about. My brain isn’t exactly functioning at the moment.
“What did you think I smelled?”
“I… I didn’t know.”
“I see.”
It feels like he sees.
It feels like he sees all of me.
I’m staring at his plum-colored tie because it’s safer than meeting his eyes right now. I don’t want him to know how I’m feeling, how his touch, his presence is affecting me.
“Melissa?”
“What?”
“Are you planning to move out of the doorway? I need to use the bathroom.”
And that’s like a load of bricks on my breathlessness. I’m able to meet his gaze now with a cool expression as I step out of the doorway.
I’m on my way out of the room when he says, “We can return to this particular conversation a little later in bed if you want.”
Damn it.
The asshole knows exactly what I was feeling just now.
Fortunately I’m not feeling it anymore.
“I don’t think so.”
“You sure?”
I turn my head and see him smirking at me, as if he thinks he’s already won.
He hasn’t won.
“Yes, I’m sure. The problem is that any kind of conversation with you involves your infuriating personality, and that just doesn’t work for me.”
“I think it does.”
“You think wrong. And I thought you had to go to the bathroom.”
“I do. We’ll resume this conversation at a later date.”



Review
Part-Time Husband is book one in Noelle's new Trophy Husbands series and what a great start it is. I look forward to the rest of the books if they are anything like this story.  

Trevor and Melissa aren't friends, they aren't even friendly and yet when Melissa needs a Husband - he's the first man she goes to - the only man she's willing to propose to.  Now granted, when she makes her proposal - she's doing it because she knows He's the perfect man for the job - not the job of spouse - but the job of irritating the man who's hand has forced her into marriage.  But Melissa never expected to see another side of  Trevor, she never anticipated her feelings changing over time or allowing herself to open up to him. 

Trevor couldn't believe his luck when Melissa proposed, not only did it bring him business opportunities, but also allowed him to act on his attraction, on his knowledge that there might be something between them.  Trevor knows he has to move slowly and carefully so as not to scare Melissa away, but he also knows it'll be worth it in the end if he can win her over and prove how right they fit. 

Part Time Husband was a twisty read, one where feelings formed over time, where a fake desire turned into something much more and when real feelings are involved, everything is on the line, can these two work through everything between them to find real love and a happily ever after?



Author Bio

Noelle handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.


Author Links

Blog Tour: Fighting for Everything by Laura Kaye

 

From New York Times bestselling author Laura Kaye, comes the first standalone title in her brand, new Warrior Fight Club series, FIGHTING FOR EVERYTHING. Join the Warrior Fight Club world today!

   

Loving her is the biggest fight of his life…

Home from the Marines, Noah Cortez has a secret he doesn’t want his oldest friend, Kristina Moore, to know. It kills him to push her away, especially when he’s noticing just how sexy and confident she’s become in his absence. But, angry and full of fight, he’s not the same man anymore either. Which is why Warrior Fight Club sounds so good.

Kristina loves teaching, but she wants more out of life. She wants Noah—the boy she’s crushed on and waited for. Except Noah is all man now—in ways both oh so good and troubling, too. Still, she wants who he’s become—every war-hardened inch. And when they finally stop fighting their attraction, it’s everything Kristina never dared hope for.

But Noah is secretly spiraling, and when he lashes out, it threatens what he and Kristina have found. The brotherhood of the fight club helps him confront his demons, but only Noah can convince the woman he loves that he’s finally ready to fight for everything.

ORDER on Amazon | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Add to your Goodreads


Excerpt

Standing there in the arms of her best friend, Kristina knew she had to stop this...whatever this was.

Tilting her head back, the words were on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes locked with Noah’s, and even in the dimness she could see that they were blazing hot and almost predatory in their directness. It stole her capacity to speak, because she was unequivocally sure he'd never looked at her like that. Need roared off of him and through her, spiking her arousal so hard and fast that she became wet between her legs.

From just a look.

Heart pounding like a bass drum, Kristina swallowed hard. What would she do if he kissed her? One kissing experiment aside, she'd never had to ask that in regard to him. Another question followed close behind: what would she do if he didn't?

He didn't give her the space to debate. His hand fisted in the back of her hair. The roughness licked flames through her and sent her heart into a sprint. And then he was guiding her head, bringing them together, bringing his face closer and closer to hers. His gaze dropped to her lips, and a shaky breath caressed her skin.

Noah kissed her.

The first press of his lips against hers was soft and sweet, and she thought she might shatter from the shock of sensation just that light touch delivered. The one that made her want to forget who he was and what he was to her and climb him like a tree.

This is Noah. This is Noah. This is Noah.

Kristina had never wanted anything like this with him. Never before. But now that she'd had a taste, it was like she'd never eaten a meal in her life. His lips skated over hers, and she moaned at the unexpected goodness of it.

And it was like the sound burst some dam inside him. On an answering groan, he planted both hands in her hair and kissed her harder than she'd ever been kissed in her life. His mouth claimed, his tongue penetrated, his body grinded against hers. He pushed her against the opposite side of the door frame, pinning her there with all his muscled strength.

It was stunning. It was glorious. It was so wrong.

This is Noah. This is--

So freaking good.

The kiss felt like he was feasting on her, like he'd been starving for her and finally let himself have a taste. His desire was thrilling. His rough intensity was breath-stealing. His need fueled hers. Against his chest, her nipples ached to be tugged and sucked. She clenched her thighs together, dying for relief from the inferno he'd ignited inside her. She sucked hard on his tongue and ran her hands up the corded muscles of his biceps to grasp his thick shoulders, trying to anchor herself against the storm his desire had unleashed in both of them.

Her brain tried to remind her why she'd come down here, that she'd wanted to confront Noah-her best friend, Noah, but then his hands skimmed down her body-over her breasts, her belly, to her hips-and his clutching, urgent touch chased the thoughts away.

Later. There'd be time for talk, for thought, for consequences...later.

 


REVIEW

Fighting for Everything kicks off Laura Kaye's newest series, Warrior Fight Club, and what a fabulous start it was.  Noah and Kristina's story was everything I could have wanted from a friends to lovers tale and so much more.  

Noah is lost, trying to find his way in his new normal after a release from the military where he was injured. His family and friends are all trying to help him, but Noah doesn't want them to know just how deeply he's affected, just how different he is to the man they knew before.  He's hiding parts of himself - but while most don't see through his act, his closest friend, Kristina does, and she's seeing a lot more lately too. 

Kristina wants nothing more than to help Noah find his new normal, find his place in the world now that his world has changed.  He's her best friend, but she's been seeing more for a while and as they get closer, those feelings, that chemistry and attraction spring to the forefront, but can these two admit their feelings and find something together? 

I'm so excited to read more from this series in the future, Laura Kaye has once again created a fabulous world that sucked me in and held me captive. I was hooked on the blooming romance between Noah and Kristina, but also stuck on the other aspects of the characters, Noah and his struggles.  This story was very real, very steeped in emotion, and I connected to the characters and their tale on a deep level which only made me want to read faster.  





 

And don’t miss the second standalone romance in the Warrior Fight Club series coming August 7, 2018, FIGHTING FOR WHAT’S HIS

PRE-ORDER on Amazon | Amazon Paperback | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

Add to your Goodreads

 
 

Laura Kaye’s FIGHTING FOR EVERYTHING – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:

May 21st
Angie and Jessica's Dreamy Reads – Review & Excerpt
Books and Bubble bath – Review & Excerpt
Catty Jane Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt
Coffee Books Life – Review & Excerpt
I Love HEA Romance Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Knotty Girl Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Obsessed by books – Review & Excerpt
Read more sleep less – Review & Excerpt
Romance as a first language – Review & Excerpt
The Reading Cafe – Review & Excerpt
May 22nd
RELEASE DAY!!
May 23rd
2 Amys Love Reading – Review & Excerpt
Blogging by Liza – Review & Excerpt
Elenasbookblog – Review & Excerpt
Feeling Fictional – Review & Excerpt
Hot Kindle Reads – Review
Les Chroniques Aléatoires – Review & Excerpt
Melena's Reviews – Review & Excerpt
The Book Disciple – Review & Excerpt
May 24th
Books of My Heart – Review & Excerpt
Cara's Book Boudoir – Review & Excerpt
I Love Romance – Review & Excerpt
Nice Ladies, Naughty Books – Review & Excerpt
Obsessive Reading Disorder – Review & Excerpt
Reads All the Books – Review & Excerpt
Sofia Loves Books – Review
Wickedcoolflight – Review & Excerpt
May 25th
Angel Reads – Review
Bobo's Book Bank – Review & Excerpt
My Favorite Things – Review & Excerpt
NallaReads – Review & Excerpt
Novel Addiction – Review
Relentless Romance – Review & Excerpt
Romancing the Readers – Review & Excerpt
May 26th
AC Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Fern's Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
KDRBCK – Review & Excerpt
The Staircase Reader – Review & Excerpt
The Book Boyfriend Addict – Review & Excerpt
May 27th
Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt
Bookishly Yours – Review & Excerpt
Kari Gillespie – Review
Lynn's Romance Enthusiasm – Review & Excerpt
Total Book Addicts – Review & Excerpt
May 28th
Booknerd1107 – Review & Excerpt
Deluged with Books Cafe – Review & Excerpt
JordansBookReviews – Excerpt
Rad Babes Read – Review & Excerpt
Ripe For Reader – Review & Excerpt
Romance Reviews and More – Review & Excerpt
Thoughts of a Blonde – Review & Excerpt
May 29th
Book Freak – Review & Excerpt
My Book Snack – Review & Excerpt
Sip Read Love – Review
The Book Hammock – Review & Excerpt
May 30th
Bookgasms Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Books 2 Blog – Review & Excerpt
I'm A Sweet And Sassy Book Whore – Review & Excerpt
Jax's Book Magic – Review & Excerpt
Literary Misfit – Review & Excerpt
Somewhere Lost in Books – Review & Excerpt
May 31st
Blissfully Bookish Besties – Review & Excerpt
Book Bitches Blog – Review & Excerpt
Love Notes Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Spoons, Hooks, and Books – Review & Excerpt
The Book Reading Gals – Review & Excerpt
June 1st
Book Nook Nuts – Excerpt
Books A-Brewin' – Review & Excerpt
Only One More Page – Review & Excerpt
Red Hot + Blue Reads – Review & Excerpt
Renee Entress's Blog – Review & Excerpt
She Hearts Books – Review & Excerpt
Wicked Babes Blog Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty books in contemporary and erotic romance and romantic suspense, including the Blasphemy, Hard Ink, and Raven Riders series. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. Laura also writes historical fiction as the NYT bestselling author, Laura Kamoie. She lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.      
 

Chapter Reveal: Wish for Us by Tillie Cole



























































From the author who brought you A Thousand Boy Kisses comes the new emotional novel, A Wish For Us.
A story of music. A story of healing. A story of love conquering all.



Nineteen-year-old Cromwell Dean is the rising star of electronic dance music. Thousands of people adore him. But no one knows him. No one sees the color of his heart.

Until the girl in the purple dress. She sees through the walls he has built to the empty darkness within.

When Cromwell leaves behind the gray skies of England to study music in the South Carolina heat, the last thing he expects is to see her again. And he certainly doesn’t expect that she’ll stay in his head like a song on repeat.

Bonnie Farraday lives for music. She lets every note into her heart, and she doesn’t understand how someone as talented as Cromwell can avoid doing the same. He’s hiding from his past, and she knows it. She tries to stay away from him, but something keeps calling her back.

Bonnie is the burst of color in Cromwell’s darkness. He’s the beat that makes her heart skip.

But when a shadow falls over Bonnie, it’s up to Cromwell to be her light, in the only way he knows how. He must help her find the lost song in her fragile heart. He must keep her strong with a symphony only he can compose.

A symphony of hope.
A symphony of love.
A symphony of them.
























Cromwell
Brighton, England
The club pulsed as the beat I was pouring into the crowd took over their bodies. Arms in the air, hips swaying, eyes wide and glazed as my music slammed into their ears, the rhythmic beats controlling their every move. The air was thick and sticky, clothes slick to people’s skins as they crammed into the full club to hear me.
I watched them light up with color. Watched them get lost to the sound. Watched them shed whoever they’d been that day—an office worker, a student, a copper, a call-center worker—what the hell ever. Right now, in this club, most probably high off their faces, they were slaves to my tunes. Right here, in this moment, my music was their life. It was all that mattered as their heads flew back and they chased the high, the near nirvana I gave them from my place on the podium.
I, however, felt nothing. Nothing but the numbness the booze beside me was gifting me.
Two arms slipped around my waist. Hot breath blew past my ear as full lips kissed my neck. Spinning my final beat, I grabbed the Jack Daniels beside me and took a shot straight from the bottle. I slammed the bottle down and moved back to my laptop to mix in the next tune. Hands with sharp fingernails ran through my hair, pulling on the black strands. I tapped on the keys, bringing the music down low, slowing the beat.
My breaths lengthened as the crowd waited, lungs frozen as I brought them to a slow sway, readying for the crescendo. The epic surge of beats and drums, the insanity of the mix that I would deliver. I looked up from my laptop and scanned the crowd, smirking at seeing them on the precipice, waiting . . . waiting . . . just waiting . . .
Now.
I slammed my hand down, holding my headphones to my left ear. A surge, a thundercloud of electronic dance music plowed into the crowd. Bursts of neon colors filled the air. Greens and blues and reds filled my eyes as they clung to each person like neon shields.
The hands around my waist tightened, but I ignored them, instead listening to the bottle of Jack as it called my name. I took another shot, my muscles starting to loosen. My hands danced over the laptop’s keys, over my mix boards.
I looked up, the crowd still in the palm of my hand.
They always were.
A girl in the center of the club drew my attention. Long brown hair pulled back off her face. Purple dress, high necked—she was dressed nothing like everyone else. The color surrounding her was different to the other clubbers—pale pink and lavender. Calmer. More serene. My eyebrows pulled down as I watched her. Her eyes were closed, but she wasn’t moving. She was still, and she looked to be completely alone as people crashed and pushed around her. Her head was tipped up, a look of concentration on her face.
I built up the pace, pushing the rhythm and the crowd as far as they could go. But the girl didn’t move. That wasn’t normal for me. I always had these clubbers wrapped around my finger. I controlled them, in every place I spun. In this arena, I was the puppet master. They were the dolls.
Another shot of Jack burned down my throat. And through another five songs, she stayed there, on the spot, just drinking in the beats like water. But her face never changed. No smile. No euphoric high. Just . . . eyes closed, that damn pinched look on her face.
And that pink and lavender still surrounding her like a shield.
“Cromwell,” the blonde who was all over me like a rash said into my ear. Her fingers lifted up my shirt and tucked into the waistband of my jeans. Her long nails dipped low. But I refused to tear my eyes away from the girl in the purple dress.
Her brown hair was starting to curl, sweat from being sandwiched by clubbers taking its effect. The blonde who was one step from wanking me off in full view of the club snapped my fly. I keyed in my next mix, then grabbed her hand and threw it away from me, snapping my fly closed. I groaned when her hands slid back into my hair. I looked at my mate who had spun before me. “Nick!” I pointed to my decks. “Watch this. And don’t mess it up.”
Nick frowned in confusion, then saw the girl behind me and smiled. He took my headphones from me and moved to make sure the playlist I’d set up played on cue. Steve, the club’s owner, always let a few girls backstage. I never asked for it, but I never turned them down either. Why would I refuse a hot bird who was up for anything?
I swiped my Jack off my podium as the blonde smashed her lips to mine, pulling me back by my sleeveless Creamfields shirt. I wrenched my mouth from hers, replacing it with the Jack bottle. The blonde dragged me into a dark spot backstage. She dropped to her knees and started again on my fly. I closed my eyes as she went to work.
I sucked on the Jack as my head hit the wall behind me. I forced myself to feel something. I glanced down, watching blond hair bounce below me. But the numbness I lived with every damn day made me feel virtually nothing inside. Pressure built at the base of my spine. My thighs tightened, and then it was over.
The blonde got up. I could see the stars in her eyes as she looked at me. “Your eyes.” She reached out a finger to trace around my eye. “The strangest color. Such dark blue.”
They were. Coupled with my black hair, they always drew attention. That and the fact that I was one of the hottest new DJs in Europe, of course. Okay, maybe it was less to do with my eyes and more to do with my name, Cromwell Dean, gracing the headline spot on most of the biggest music festivals and clubs this summer.
I zipped up my fly and turned to see Nick spinning my next mix. I cringed when he failed to transition the beats like I would have. Navy blue was the backdrop to the smoke on the dancefloor.
I never hit navy blue.
I brushed past the girl with a “Thanks, love,” ignoring her hiss of “Prick” in response. I took my headphones off Nick’s head and put them on my own. A few taps of the keyboard later, the crowd was back in the palm of my hand.
Without conscious thought, my eyes found their way to the spot where the girl in the purple dress had stood.
But she’d gone. So had the pale pink and lavender.
I threw back another shot of Jack. Mixed another tune. Then zoned the fuck out.
*****
The sand was cold under my feet. It may well have been the start of summer here in the UK, but that didn’t mean the night wind didn’t freeze your balls off the minute you stepped outside. Clutching my bottle of booze and my cigarettes, I dropped down to the sand. I lit up and stared at the dark sky. My phone buzzed in my pocket . . . again. It’d been going off all night.
Pissed off that I actually had to move my arm, I pulled out my mobile. I had three missed calls from Professor Lewis. Two from my mum, and finally, a couple of texts.
Mum: Professor Lewis has been trying to get hold of you again. What are you going to do? Please just call me. I know you’re upset, but this is your future. You have a gift, son. Maybe it’s time for a fresh start this year. Don’t waste it because you’re angry at me.
Red-hot fury shot through me. I wanted to throw my phone in the damn sea and watch it sink to the bottom along with all this messed-up shit in my head, but I saw Professor Lewis had texted too.
Lewis: The offer still stands but I need an answer by next week. I have all I need for the transfer except your answer. You have an exceptional talent, Cromwell. Don’t waste it. I can help.
This time I did drop my phone beside me and sank back into the sand. I let the rush of nicotine fill my lungs and closed my eyes. As my eyelids shut, I heard quiet music playing somewhere nearby. Classical. Mozart.
My drunken mind immediately drifted off to when I was a little kid . . .
“What do you hear, Cromwell?” my father asked.
I closed my eyes and listened to the piece of music. Colors danced before my eyes. “Piano. Violins. Cellos . . .” I took a deep breath. “I can hear reds and greens and pinks.”
I opened my eyes and looked up at my father as he sat on my bed. He was staring down at me. There was a funny expression on his face. “You hear colors?” he said. But he didn’t sound surprised. My face set on fire. I ducked my head under my duvet. My father pulled it down from my eyes. He stroked my hair. “That’s good,” he said, his voice kind of deep. “That’s very good . . .”
My eyes snapped open. My hand started to ache. I looked at the bottle in my hand; my fingers were white as they gripped the neck. I sat up, my head spinning from the mass of whiskey in my body. My temples throbbed. I realized it wasn’t from the Jack, but from the music coming from further down the beach. I pushed my hair back from my face then looked to my right.
Someone was only a few feet away. I squinted into the lightening night, summer’s early rising sun making it possible to make out the features of whoever the hell it was. It was a girl. A girl wrapped in a blanket. Her phone sat beside her, a Mozart piano concerto drifting quietly from the speaker.
She must have felt me looking at her, because she turned her head. I frowned, wondering why I knew her face, but then—
“You’re the DJ,” she said.
Recognition dawned. It was the girl in the purple dress.
She clutched her blanket closer around her as I replayed her accent in my head. American. Bible Belt was my guess, by her thick twang.
She sounded like my mum.
A smile tugged at her lips as I stayed mute. I wasn’t much of a talker. Especially when my gut was full of Jack and I had zero interest in making small talk with some girl I didn’t know at four in the morning on a cold beach in Brighton.
“I’d heard of you,” she said. I stared back out over the sea. Ships sailed in the distance, their lights like tiny fireflies, bobbing up and down. I huffed a humorless laugh. Great. Another girl who wanted to screw the DJ.
“Good for you,” I muttered and took a drink of my Jack, feeling the addictive burn slide down my throat. I hoped she’d piss off, or at least stop trying to talk to me. My head couldn’t take any more noise.
“Not really,” she shot back. I looked over at her, eyebrows pulled down in confusion. She was looking out over the sea, her chin resting on her folded arms that lay over her bent knees. The blanket had fallen off her shoulders, revealing the purple dress I’d noticed from the podium. She turned to face me, cheek now on her arms. Heat zipped through me. She was pretty. “I’ve heard of you, Cromwell Dean.” She shrugged. “Decided to get a ticket to see you before I left for home tomorrow.”
I lit up another cigarette. Her nose wrinkled. She clearly didn’t like the smell.
Tough luck. She could move. Last time I checked, England was a free country. She went quiet.
I caught her looking at me. Her brown eyes were narrowed, like she was scrutinizing me. Reading something in me that I didn’t want anyone to see.
No one ever looked at me closely. I never gave them the chance. I thrived on the podium at clubs because it kept everyone far away, down on the dancefloor where no one ever saw the real me. The way she was looking at me now made nervous shivers break out over my skin.
I didn’t need this kind of crap.
“Already had my dick sucked tonight, love. Not looking for a second round.”
She blinked, and even in the rising sun, I could see her cheeks redden.
“Your music has no soul,” she blurted. My cigarette paused halfway to my mouth. Something managed to stab through my stomach at her words. I shoved it back down until I felt my usual sensation of numbness.
I sucked on my cigarette. “Yeah? Well, them’s the breaks.”
“I’d heard you were some messiah or something on that podium. But all your music comprised was synthetic beats and forced repetitive bursts of unoriginal tempo.”
I laughed and shook my head. The girl met my eyes head-on. “It’s called electronic dance music. Not a fifty-piece orchestra.” I held out my arms. “You’ve heard of me. Said so yourself. You know what tunes I spin. What were you expecting? Mozart?” I glared at her phone, which was still playing that damn concerto.
I sat back, surprised at myself. I hadn’t talked that much to anyone in . . . I didn’t know how long. I took in a drag, breathing out the smoke that was trapped in my chest. “And turn that thing off, will you? Who the hell goes to hear a dance DJ spin, then comes to a beach to listen to classical music?”
The girl frowned but turned off the music. I lay back on the cold sand, closing my eyes. I heard the soft waves lapping the shore. My head filled with pale green. I heard the girl moving. I prayed she was leaving. But I felt her drop beside me. My world darkened as the whiskey and the usual lack of sleep started to pull me under.
“What do you feel when you mix your music?” she asked. How the hell she thought her little interview was a good idea right now was beyond me.
Yet, surprisingly, I found myself answering her question. “I don’t feel.” I cracked one eye open when she didn’t say anything. She was looking down at me. She had the biggest brown eyes I’d ever seen. Dark hair pulled off her face in a ponytail. Full lips and smooth skin.
“Then that’s the problem.” She smiled, but the smile looked nothing but sad. Pitying. “The best music must be felt. By the creator. By the listener. Every part of it from creation to ear must be wrapped in nothing but feelings.” Some weird expression crossed over her face, but hell if I knew what it meant.
Her words were a blade to my chest. I hadn’t expected her harsh comment. And I hadn’t expected the blunt trauma that she seemed to deliver right to my heart. Like she’d taken a butcher’s knife and sliced her way through my soul.
My body itched to get up and run. To pluck out her assessment of my music from my memory. But instead I forced a laugh, and spat, “Go back home, little Dorothy. Back to where music means something. Where it’s felt.”
“Dorothy was from Kansas.” She glanced away. “I’m not.”
“Then go back to wherever the hell you’re from,” I snapped. Crossing my arms over my chest, I hunkered down into the sand and shut my eyes, trying to block out the cold wind that was picking up and slapping my skin, and her words that were still stabbing at my heart.
I never let anything get to me like this. Not anymore. I just needed some sleep. I didn’t want to go back to my mum’s house here in Brighton, and my flat in London was too far away. So hopefully the cops wouldn’t find me here and kick me off the beach.
With my eyes closed, I said, “Thanks for the midnight critique, but as the fastest-rising DJ in Europe, with the best clubs in the world begging for me to spin at their decks—all at nineteen—I think I’ll ignore your extensive notes and just keep on living my sweet as fuck life.”
The girl sighed, but she didn’t say anything else.
The next thing I knew, the sun was burning its light into my eyes. I flinched when I opened them. The screech of swarming seagulls slammed into my head. I sat up, seeing an empty beach and the sun high in the sky. I ran my hands down my face and groaned at the hangover that was kicking in. My stomach growled, desperate for a full English breakfast with copious cups of black tea.
As I stood, something fell from my lap. A blanket lay on the sand at my feet. The blanket I’d seen beside the American girl in the purple dress.
The one she’d been wrapped in last night.
I picked it up, a light fragrance drifted into my nose. Sweet. Addictive. I glanced around me. The girl was gone.
She’d left her blanket. No. She’d covered me with it. “Your music has no soul.” A hard clenching feeling pulled in my stomach at the memory of her words. So I chased it away like I did anything that made me feel. Caging it deep inside.
Then I took my arse home.

















Tillie Cole hails from a small town in the North-East of England. She grew up on a farm with her English mother, Scottish father and older sister and a multitude of rescue animals. As soon as she could, Tillie left her rural roots for the bright lights of the big city.

After graduating from Newcastle University with a BA Hons in Religious Studies, Tillie followed her Professional Rugby player husband around the world for a decade, becoming a teacher in between and thoroughly enjoyed teaching High School students Social Studies before putting pen to paper, and finishing her first novel.

Tillie has now settled in Austin, Texas, where she is finally able to sit down and write, throwing herself into fantasy worlds and the fabulous minds of her characters.

Tillie is both an independent and traditionally published author, and writes many genres including: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Young Adult and New Adult novels.

When she is not writing, Tillie enjoys nothing more than curling up on her couch watching movies, drinking far too much coffee, while convincing herself that she really doesn’t need that extra square of chocolate.


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