Smokin' Hot—Hot and Swoon-Worthy: Boyfriend's Brother

Welcome to the Hot for Friday blog hop!

Readers: Enjoy posts from authors with fun weekly tasks or a cool question.

Authors: Get in on the fun and join here.

Whew! Considering it's the beginning of March in Ohio and we've got snow on the ground, hot and swoon-worthy reading is welcome indeed.

This week we're tasked with posting a piece of dialog where our hero gets to take center stage and deliver a swoon-worthy line to the heroine. I can't wait to read some smooth moves from our heroes.

For my feature, I'm posting one of my favorite bits from a current release, Boyfriend's Brother.

For a little background, here's the tagline:

Chloe mixes a potential marriage proposal, a close call, and her boyfriend's hot brother—a heady combination or dangerous concoction.

And the swoon-worthy dialog… (from Jason's point of view)

He nodded. "Believe me, Chloe, I pretty much hate myself, too. But here's the thing. I can't stop thinking about you. And yeah, I'm shit for a brother, but Marc is the one who sent me here. To make things right." He lifted a hand and placed it on the wall above her shoulder. "I can't do that if you refuse to listen or give me, no us, a chance." His other hand settled against the wall, bracketing her.

He paused and held her gaze, gauging her reaction. Her breathing went shallow, and her mouth opened, her tongue darting out to wet her bottom lip. She didn't move or try to duck away. If she had, he would've backed off.

Instead, he laid it out straight. "Here's exactly what I think is going to happen." He leaned in close, his mouth hovering over hers. "I'm gonna kiss you and see where that goes."

~*~

Needless to say, Chloe can't resist seeing where the kiss leads. J

Available on Amazon

~*~

Blurb: Chloe Timmons and Jason McIvey are each at a crossroads.

On what may be her last weekend as 'just a girlfriend', Chloe quells her restlessness by hitting the town and runs into her boyfriend's brother, Jason, a fellow pilot in the area for an air show. A barroom brawl brings them together.

Chloe thinks her boyfriend Marc may propose, and she's not sure she's ready for marriage. Jason McIvey has to decide if he's staying in the military or going civilian. When Chloe and Jason spend the night together, it doesn't make either decision easier.

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Thank you for stopping by.

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And don't forget to enjoy the other Hot for Friday posts!

Get Hooked: Reel in a Great Book—Bucking Convention #MFRWAuthors #MFRWHooks

Welcome to Book Hooks, the weekly smorgasbord sampler hosted by the MFRW Authors Blog.

Readers: get hooked and reel in some great books. Authors are sharing short excerpts from their work. Please enjoy and consider picking up the full book by clicking on the buy link.

I'm revisiting a current release, Bucking Convention, book two of the Top Dog Pilots series. Over the next few weeks, I'll post a few pivotal scenes between Max and Maggie.

This week, we meet Maggie who gets dropped into something of a mess.

Book Tagline: A tragic loss puts Cutter on the edge and it's up to Maggie to pull him back.

Series Tagline: Two top pilots, Max Cutter and Maggie Harper, like to mix a little personal with their professional life.

~*~

Captain Maggie Harper blew out a deep breath, flipping the folder in her lap closed. She didn't want to read any more details about the explosion that took the life of a fellow pilot. One she was en route to replace on the roster.

It sucked to step in when a comrade was lost. Worse, when you were personally involved in the fallout.

And it didn't get any more personal for her.

She happened to be replacing Max Cutter's wingman.

Max.

Her heart tripped a little. It could have been Max's ship. The prayer of thanks she sent out might be rude, but so be it. Maggie wouldn't apologize for being happy or relieved Cutter didn't die in a freak accident.

They had a good thing going and she wanted to keep it that way.

Six months and no signs of slowing down.

Maggie smiled. Their interesting Hell Week interlude proved to be just the thing they needed to get through that particular bit of the insanity. But they'd stumbled a little after they survived and danced around the idea of letting the sex remain a one-time thing.

Okay, she danced around it. The fear of losing Max as a friend almost won out, regardless of the really great sex.

Almost.

Available on Amazon

~*~

Series Blurb: Follow the adventures of Max 'Ripper' Cutter and Maggie 'Magpie' Harper, two ace pilots at the top of their game. Whether it's surviving Hell Week, exploring uncharted space, or dealing with a unique family situation, Cutter and Maggie rise to the challenge.

Book Blurb: Max and Maggie survive Hell Week and start a relationship that works. Tragedy strikes Cutter's wingman and when Maggie shows up as the replacement, she discovers a very different Max. Not a good thing when he lives to fly… and can't.

Maggie wants to support Max and help get him back on an even keel, but living and working with him tests her patience and mettle. It's so much easier to handle two tons of space craft than a surly man.

~*~

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Please stop by my website

Reel in more great books! Visit the other participating authors.

Get Hooked: Reel in a Great Book—Surviving the Trap (excerpt 2) #MFRWHook

Welcome to Book Hooks, the weekly smorgasbord sampler hosted by the MFRW Authors Blog.

Readers: get hooked and reel in some great books. Authors are sharing short excerpts from their work. Please enjoy and consider picking up the full book by clicking on the buy link.

To celebrate my most recent release, Surviving the Trap, book one of the Top Dog Pilots series, I'll be posting a series of pivotal scenes over the next couple of weeks. Please enjoy!

Today's post features the introduction of my heroine, Maggie Harper.

Book Tagline: A week of hell pushes Maggie into risking her friendship with Max by sleeping with him.

Series Tagline: Two top pilots, Max Cutter and Maggie Harper, like to mix a little personal with their professional life.

~*~

Coming in off a hard landing that would cost her in both the ratings and standings, Maggie Harper charged through the corridors while she silently multi-tasked. She'd started a heated debate with her stomach. For some reason, it didn't want to believe her when she said it could survive two more days with the crappy rations it had been receiving for sustenance. Next, she promised her aching body a well-deserved massage at her earliest convenience if it would only hang in there for a few more days. She saved her overly tired brain for last, swearing she'd let it sleep for at least two straight days if it would cooperate just a little longer and please, for the love of the universe, not let her kill herself by doing something stupid.

She simultaneously cursed the utter stupidity of her superior officers and the military in general. Hell Week could only be the brainchild of some bigwig admiral. It had to be to have qualifications tied to it. Some pencil pusher who thought their wonderful theory on paper would translate beautifully to real life scenarios. Maggie snorted. Funny how it never seemed to work out that way.

The bigwig couldn't possibly have flight experience. If he did, he'd know how ridiculous his little exercise would turn out.

Available at Amazon

Other e-retailers coming soon!

~*~

Series Blurb: Two ace pilots at the top of their game, Max 'Ripper' Cutter and Maggie 'Magpie' Harper traverse space and navigate a relationship at the same time. Follow their adventures through Hell Week, an unexpected tragedy, and a nightmare dinner party with steamy results.

Book Blurb: One week of extreme training, two top guns, and a healthy dose of unresolved sexual tension equals two pilots pushed to their limits, looking for a way to get through the hellish experience and possibly into each other's arms.

~*~

~*~

Please stop by my website

Reel in more great books! Visit the other participating authors.

Romance on a Starry Night—The SFR Brigade Presents: Midsummer Blog Hop #sfrbp

Welcome to the Midsummer Blog Hop presented by the SFR Brigade.

Our theme this year is Starry Nights which brings to mind romance under—or out among—the stars. It might also include a love bigger than the cosmos.

Readers: Get ready for some wonderful excerpts from a spaceport's load of authors. We've also got prizes, enough to fill a space port.

Authors: Sprinkle some space dust on your best work and launch it into the galaxy.

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A Little about ML Skye

My fascination with science fiction and life among the stars started at an early age, watching reruns of Star Trek with my dad when he got home from work. The romance came later, thanks to my mom and her wild, wacky reading group. The gaggle of women kept me supplied with romances throughout junior high and high school and I'll be forever thankful to each and every one of those ladies.

When the writing bug bit down hard and wouldn't let go, I found a natural drift toward romance with science fiction elements. I enjoy reading about love under or out among the stars, why not write about it? After taking the plunge, I haven't looked back and I love to throw in some different themes, what life on a different planet or in the future might be like, or how humans formed a colony somewhere else, but still have many of the same traditions and responsibilities of their ancestors.

My current titles all have a tie-in with deep space, the home of millions of stars. Whether it's the last known station at the end of the universe, a first year celebration in a city on another planet, pilots flying together on a space cruiser, or a couple who are separated by an entire galaxy, those shining orbs play a role in the story.

For my most recent release, Surviving the Trap, book one of the Top Dog Pilots series, Max Cutter and Maggie Harper are put through a grueling week of hell and it leads the duo down a road neither thought they'd travel. Their journey ended up being loads of fun to write.

Here's an excerpt:

Groggily, Max glanced at the clock wondering why Maggie didn't just look for herself. "Twenty-two minutes." Yawning, he sat up, blinking and trying to focus. "Why?" Something seemed off with her, but he couldn't pin it down, so damned tired his brain rebelled against anything taxing.

Maggie grabbed his arm, tugging him out of his seat. "Come on." She led him out of the ready room, not giving him time to ask questions. Questions she wouldn't answer anyway if she didn't want to. "Come with me." Not letting go, she made her way down the corridor and across a passageway.

Max tried to play catch-up. By the second day of madness, he'd learned real, honest rest would not be an option and trained his body to go on half-alert when not in the cockpit, sort of like being on standby. He figured it the only way he could catch some sleep. Maggie had effectively interrupted his schedule of a catnap and bracing shower followed by hauling ass back to the hangar deck to run pre-flight checks. The routine played like a mantra in his head. Nap, shower, checks.

So, right. Running a little behind here. Max didn't know what Maggie wanted, but she seemed determined to drag him as far away from the ready room as possible. "Maggie, where are we going?" And how the hell did she even have the energy to walk right now. She almost crackled with vigor.

Maggie slowed down, but didn't let go of his arm. "Cutter, just shut up and come with me." Without another word, she rounded the next corner to duck through an open hatch, quickly pulling Max in behind her.

He stumbled a bit, barely clearing the raised threshold before she dogged the hatch. They were in an empty causeway. One used if a fire broke out on the ship. It was supposed to remain empty unless the fire signal had been activated. Clearly, the lack of sleep had Maggie unhinged.

Reaching to undo the hatch, he muttered. "You know we can't be here, Mags." Next thing he knew, Maggie had him backed up against the bulkhead, her lips sucking on his neck sending him into a state of shocked arousal. "What the hell?" He shook his head, wondering if he'd maybe fallen asleep somewhere back on the flight deck. "Mags?"

Available on Amazon
(Other e-retailers coming soon)

~*~

Tagline: A week of hell pushes Maggie into risking her friendship with Max by sleeping with him.

Blurb: One week of extreme training, two top guns, and a healthy dose of unresolved sexual tension equals two pilots pushed to their limits, looking for a way to get through the hellish experience and possibly into each other's arms.

~*~

Contest Giveaway!

Now for the really fun part of the blog hop—lots of prizes! The SFR Brigade is offering a galactic giveaway.

Details below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

1st

$100 Amazon or B&N gift card plus 41 ebooks - Tales from the SFR Brigade, Heart of Stone, Her Cyborg Awakes, Anja's Star, Silver Strife, Corwint Series 4 Book Gift Pack, Earth's Requiem, Alien Blood, Starwoman's Sanctuary, one book from Jessica E Subject's SFR backlist (ONE ebook title out of the following: Alien Adoration, Alien Admirer, Alien Lover, An Unexpected Return, Another Night Another Planet, Celestial Seduction, Crash Landing, Hey Santa, His Alien Virgin, Made For Her, Never Gonna Let You Go, Never Gonna Desert You, Never Gonna Say Goodbye, Satin Sheets in Space, Sudden Breakaway, or Unknown Futures), LodeStar Series Books 1-3 (Stark Pleasure, Creed of Pleasure and Captive of Pleasure), Reunion trilogy, Terms & Conditions Apply, Wreck of the Nebula Dream, Starheart, Kuralon Rescue, A Matter of Trust, Earth's Blood, Roman's Gold, Wolf Born, The Marann, Nightfall, Unrequited, Butterman Time Travel Inc., Legend Beyond the Stars, Hathor's Legacy: Outcast, Removed, Midwinter Crisis, Shlyer: Finding Home, Boyfriend's Brother, Surviving the Trap, Captive, Tower in the Woods, Catching Red. (41 books)

2nd

$50 Amazon or B&N gift card plus 28 ebooks - Tales from the SFR Brigade, Heart of Stone, Her Cyborg Awakes, Anja's Star, Silver Strife, Corwint Series 4 Book Gift Pack, Earth's Requiem, Alien Blood, Starwoman's Sanctuary, Tangled In Time, Terms & Conditions Apply, Escape from Zulaire, Lana's Comet, Heart's Bounty, Glad Hands, Nikolai, The Trial of Tompa Lee, The Tribulations of Tompa Lee, The Midas Rush, Prime Obsession, Daughters of Suralia, Morning Star, Hey Santa, Tower in the Woods, Catching Red. (28 books)

3rd

3 separate winners each receive $25 Amazon or B&N gift card plus 11 ebooks - Tales from the SFR Brigade, Heart of Stone, Her Cyborg Awakes, Anja's Star, Corwint Series 4 Book Gift Pack, Hey Santa, Tower in the Woods, Catching Red. (11 books each)

If the winner cannot accept gift cards or the digital files, another winner will be chosen. Thank you for understanding!

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I'll be offering four lucky commenters their choice of my current titles.

When a madman wants to blow up the city during the Midwinter holiday, it's just another day on the job for Ben and Jess.

Available on Amazon

Inspector Shyler Lumen always gets her man—even if she has to go through Marshton Grey to do it.

Available on Amazon

Chloe Timmons mixes a potential marriage proposal, a close call, and her boyfriend's hot brother. She can walk away… but she may lose everything.

Available on Amazon

Or…

Surviving the Trap

Just leave a comment with your favorite starry night scenario to be entered.

~*~

Please take a look at the other awesome entries on the blog tour and spread a little stardust and love.

Thank you for reading!

Please visit my website for more information.

Banner Thursday—Starry Sky Press

Today, I'm featuring the logo for my self-publishing venture, Starry Sky Press, across each of my author blogs.

Tagline: Out of the world romance.

Mission Statement: To explore extraordinary emotions between characters.

Books coming soon

Busted in Bubbles (May 2014)

Surviving the Trap (June 2014)

Bucking Convention (July 2014)

Dress for Dinner (August/September 2014)

Creative Ink (June 2014)

Boyfriend's Brother (May 2014)

A Magical Affair (May 2014)

Thanks for reading!

Please visit my website