I'm excited to share some fun things with you! Most excitingly, Howl is now available as an audio book on Audible.com! Our narrator, Meghan Kelly, did such an amazing job bringing our characters and the story to life. If you're new to Audible, you can also get the audio book free with a 2 month subscription, so that's pretty awesome. Secondly, Our Song, our NA contemporary romance, is now available on Amazon! We decided to make this one Amazon-exclusive for the time being, so it's only available for Kindle users as of right now and is also available to Kindle Unlimited users. In the near future, it will also be available in paperback form. Remember that even if you don't have a Kindle, you can always download the app for your computer, cell phone, or iPad. This book was a lot of fun to write, and we'd love to hear your thoughts! If you haven't already noticed, the Howl covers are in the process of being revamped. We just wanted a new look that we feel fits the series and Samara's appearance a lot better. Here are some of the new covers (we're still missing A Girl and Her Wolf and the Howl box set): Finally, we'd love to hear from you! What are you reading the most of lately? What would you love to see more of us from us in the future - NA contemporary romance or YA paranormal romance? Is there a certain paranormal being you've been wanting to read more of lately? If you missed our Facebook fan page post awhile back, we are in the process of writing a brand new werewolf series, which takes place in a world entirely separate from Howl. It's been a lot of fun to write so far! And of course we're still working on the series we currently have going.
Anyway, feel free to leave a comment below or send a message! :) We really do want to hear your thoughts.
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Our Song is going to be out at some point in the next two days. Here's the first chapter! :) Chapter 1 The sound of my cell phone vibrating startled me awake. I reached out for it, but it wasn’t there. I didn’t even feel my nightstand. What the hell. Had I been robbed? My eyes fluttered open and I took in my surroundings. My nightstand was missing. The plain white walls weren’t mine. And while I’d always been a pretty light sleeper, I was surprised I could even hear my cell phone vibrate over the rattling of the air conditioner. I was in a hotel bed, and one glance under the thin white sheet told me I was butt naked. My head was throbbing from a hangover. And best of all? I had no freaking clue how I’d ended up there. My mind immediately jumped to the worst conclusion: I’d been kidnapped. There was just no other explanation. I rolled onto my side. There was a guy next to me, snoring softly. His back was turned to me, his dark brown hair a ruffled mess. His upper back and shoulder blades were covered in tattoos, and just one look at his body told me he worked out. Curious to see if the rest of him was just as naked, I peeked under the sheets. Whoa. Who did that fine ass belong to? I thought back to the night before. I’d gone out with my friend, Olivia. We’d gone to this club and then… Then I’d ended up here, apparently, with this hot naked man, who I didn’t remember meeting. Sneaking out of bed, I tiptoed in the direction of the bathroom, hoping to steal a glance at his face on the way. I sucked in my breath, nervous he might wake up to find me staring at him. Yes, I may have been acting like a total creep, but I didn’t want him to know that. That was just stalker status 101. Standing at the foot of the bed, I peered down at him… and tried not to puke. Of all the people I could’ve spent the night with, why did it have to be Colton King? Don’t get me wrong. I could’ve done far worse in the looks department. Colton was… well, he was gorgeous. He had chiseled, masculine features, a body most girls would kill to see naked in real life and, when they were actually open, the most beautiful blue eyes I’d ever seen. But Colton King was the last person I would’ve ever wanted to have a one night stand with. He was one of the most famous pop singers in the industry. I didn’t know him personally (well, not before I’d gotten up close and personal with him last night, apparently), but I’d heard he was an arrogant douchebag. And not to mention, a total manwhore. The Paparazzi loved him even more than Justin Bieber, which meant they were probably waiting for us in the hotel parking lot. Shit, forget about the parking lot; with my luck, they were probably camped outside in the hallway, anxious to know who Colton had hooked up with this time. I didn’t want that sort of reputation for myself. I didn’t do this kind of thing. This was the first time I’d ever woken up with no memory of the night before. The last thing I needed was for my face to be plastered all over TMZ or Perez Hilton’s web site for this one, isolated incident. I didn’t want to be the one to suffer the consequences of the bad decisions my vajayjay apparently made while I was drunk. I could just imagine what the headlines would read now: Singing Sensation Viola Pierce Leaves Colton King’s Hotel room. How Long Have the Pop Stars Been Getting it on? Yeah, I wasn’t having that. I had to ditch Colton’s ass before he woke up. Maybe people wouldn’t put two and two together if we weren’t seen leaving the hotel together. I scanned the room for my clothes and spotted them lying in a heap right next to the door. Oh, god. Apparently I’d barely even gotten into the room last night before taking them off—though I had to give my drunken self a little credit; at least I’d taken my clothes off after we were inside and I wouldn’t have to worry about fishing them out of a hotel lobby water fountain or something. I slipped into my dirty clothes and pulled on the pair of white spiked heels that had been lying next to them. I was just about to hightail it out of the room, but then I figured I should probably at least see what kind of hot mess I looked like before I fed myself to the hungry piranhas—err, Paparazzi. The walk of shame is humiliating enough for anyone, but there’s so many extra things to consider when you’re a celebrity, like the fact that millions of people may actually get a glimpse of what your hair looks like the morning after you’ve all been sexed up while they’re standing in the magazine aisle at the grocery store with their grandma. Just as I was about to head for the bathroom, I heard a vibrating sound and I remembered the entire reason I’d woken up in the first place: someone was calling me. Following the noise, I spotted my cell phone laying on the floor, a few feet from where I’d been sleeping. Scooping it up, I made a mad dash for the bathroom and locked myself inside. I glanced down at the name on the caller ID. It was Mads—as in Madeline Agossi, my manager. I should’ve figured it was her. She was the only one who ever called me before noon. Everyone else in my life knew better than to wake a sleeping monster. I didn’t feel like dealing with her, so I hit the ‘Ignore’ button and glanced at myself in the mirror. Surprisingly, most of my makeup from the night before was still perfectly intact and my blonde hair wasn’t too messy. As I finger-combed it, my phone vibrated again. Ugh. Mads again. Of course. She was fucking relentless. Knowing she was only going to keep calling until I answered, I hit the ‘Talk’ button and pressed the phone to my ear. “What?” I hissed. “Viola, where are you? You’re late.” Mads’ voice was screechy against my ear. “Late for what?” I had no freaking clue what she was even talking about. As far as I was concerned, the only thing I was late for was a date with my own bed, a bottle of Advil, a tall cup of coffee, and a greasy bacon cheeseburger—the world’s best hangover cure ever. “The meeting.” She paused. “You did read the email I sent you about the meeting, didn’t you?” I thought back to the night before. I vaguely remembered seeing a message in my inbox from her, which I was ninety-nine percent sure I hadn’t even bothered to open before I’d gotten completely shit-faced. “It must have been sent to my junk folder,” I said innocently. “Of course it was,” she muttered. “Well, we have a meeting with people from the label at the Luxe Hotel. It was supposed to start ten minutes ago, but we can’t exactly start it without you.” “Sorry,” I mumbled, even though it wasn’t my fault. Considering I hadn’t responded to her email, she should’ve known to call me before now. What did she think I was—a mind-reader? I was just magically supposed to know I had a meeting? She must’ve sensed the lack of sincerity in my voice, because she completely ignored my apology. “Meet me in front of the hotel as soon as you can. I’ll be waiting for you.” Before I could ask any questions, she ended the call. I made a mental to-do list: 1). Escape from the room without waking Colton; 2). Dodge any Paparazzo that might’ve been waiting outside for me; and, most importantly, 3). Pull myself together enough to sit through a meeting without seeming like I was nursing a hang-over or letting it slip that I’d made one of the biggest drunken mistakes of my life. Yeah, this was going to be fucking awesome. Giving myself one final look in the mirror, I took a deep breath and flung the door open. As I stepped onto the crappy hotel carpet, my heel got stuck and I went crashing straight into Colton. Shit. He reached out for me. His strong arms encircled my waist as he balanced me, preventing me from falling on my face. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry,” I mumbled, pulling myself away from him and putting a few inches of space between us. Of all times for me to trip and fall, it just had to be straight into him. Fuck my life. “It’s okay.” My eyes ran down the length of his body as I took in his rock-hard chest and his muscular shoulders. I had seen him a few times from a distance at red carpet events, but never as close up as this. And holy hell was he hotter up close. As my eyes drifted up to his face, his light eyes locked on mine. My heart skipped lots of beats and I wondered if I was going into cardiac arrest or something. Being in his presence was probably a good reason to have a top-notch cardiologist on speed dial. After a long moment, his jawline hardened. I couldn’t seem to get a good read on what he was thinking. Had he enjoyed the night before? Did he think I was a good kisser? Had we even kissed or had we jumped straight to sex? Had I made him sign a non-disclosure agreement before dropping my panties? All of these things were so important, but I had no freaking clue what any of the answers were. Ugh. I had to get the hell out of there. Even if I didn’t have a meeting I was already late for, I couldn’t be in the same room as him. It was just too weird to stare him in the face without knowing what had gone on between the two of us. There was a chance I made a total drunken ass out of myself and I didn’t even remember it. “Excuse me.” I was pretty sure my tone came off as snappier than I’d intended for it to, but Colton didn’t say anything. He just took a step backward, allowing me enough room to brush past him. Once I reached the door, I fled from the room. Well, that was the most awkward post-sex confrontation ever. Burn (The Witches of Shadow Hill, #2) is now available for Kindle and Nook! I'm not even kidding when I tell you guys how much fun Jayme and I had writing this book. It was one of our favorites that we've written so far, so we hope you'll all enjoy it just as much as us. If you still haven't caught up on the first book in the series, Ignite, it's only 99 cents for Kindle, Nook, iTunes, and Kobo users. And don't let the name of the series full you -- it's not only about witches. There are vampires and werewolves in this series, too. So, we have some exciting news! The Summer Haven series is now available to Kindle Unlimited users. This means it's no longer available in ebook format on any of the other retailers' web sites, but you can purchase the paperbacks from Amazon, as well as Barnes & Noble (All I Want, Summer Haven #2 isn't there yet but will be in the very near future).
The Deadly Lullaby series is also now a part of Kindle Unlimited! :)
A few of you have been asking about our upcoming releases. The next scheduled release is Midnight Kiss (The Koto Chronicles #3). The book will be available before the end of the month. We are also expecting to have Burn (The Witches of Shadow Hill #2) out this month as well. Then, in March, we'll be releasing All I Need (Summer Haven #3), which will give you more insight to Teagan and Weston's story. Chapter 1
“Forty-nine bottles of beer on the wall, forty-nine bottles of beer...” “Ugh,” I groaned as I leaned against the seat. My head was beginning to ache. There weren’t enough ear plugs to drown out the sound. “You seem a little cranky.” Vinny Votelli glanced over at me with a curious look in his eyes. I was sure they’d been a chocolate brown when he was a human, but now that he was a ghost, they were the color of a light ale. “Cranky is one way to put it,” I muttered under my breath. Seriously, to say that I was cranky would have been putting it mildly. It didn’t even begin to describe the emotions I was feeling. Irritated beyond belief was much more like it. “We’ll be there soon,” he tried to reassure me, patting my shoulder, even though all I could feel was a cool breeze sweep against my skin at his transparent, ghostly touch. “Then you can take a nap. Which I think would be a really good idea. You really seem to need one.” I rolled my eyes at him, even though he wasn’t wrong. I was exhausted. None of us had slept since we’d left New Jersey for North Dakota twenty-three hours ago, and although werewolves technically didn’t need to sleep unless we got into a fight or did something that drained of us of our energy, I’d been struggling to keep my eyes open all evening. I’d been drinking coffee like it was going out of style, but it was barely helping at this point. My eyelids felt like heavy weights that I couldn’t seem to keep open. Not that I would have actually been able to fall asleep and stay asleep even if I wanted to. Colby Jackson was on my last nerve. I wasn’t sure how his mate, Emma Taylor, was able to put up with him all day. I would go insane. Now, don’t get me wrong. Colby was incredibly nice. There was no doubt in my mind that he was a good guy, and he really seemed to love both Emma and the rest of the Tala pack tremendously. But for the entire car ride, he had been the bane of my existence. As if spending all this time together in the RV we’d rented for the trip wasn’t bad enough, Colby Jack’s influence had led Declan, Oliver, and Thane to sing annoying songs for the past five consecutive hours (which had, quite possibly, been the longest hours of my life). He’d somehow even managed to get typically boring, no-fun-to-be-around, stick-up-his-butt Akar to sing. But instead of recognizing the miracle in that, the only thing I could seem to think about was the fact I’d been listening to the guys sing “The Song That Never Ends,” “There’s a Hole in My Bucket,” and other songs I’d been trying my hardest not to pay attention to. They’d been singing, “99 Bottles of Beer” for about the seventh time. They’d only reached 45 bottles of beer on the wall, and I was already contemplating tossing Colby—and anyone else who didn’t stop singing—out of the RV. “Okay, Colbs, you’re going to pull off at this next exit. The motel should be right here on the left,” Samara said, raising her voice over everyone’s singing. “Will do,” Colby mumbled before resuming the song as he turned off onto the exit. Samara glanced over her shoulder at me, darting her golden brown eyes over in my direction and shooting me a small, apologetic smile. I was pretty sure that, like me, their singing was driving her nuts, too. It also seemed like she somehow felt responsible for it, probably because her pack member was the one who had gotten the ball rolling. When Colby pulled the car into the parking lot, everyone finally shut up. I breathed a deep sigh of relief. As I unsnapped my seatbelt, Emma tossed her long, straight blonde hair over one shoulder and wrinkled her nose as she stared out the window. “Okay, this is so not the place we made reservations for online.” “It looks the same to me,” Akar replied with a shrug. “No. No, it doesn’t,” she replied firmly. “It looks shady—like the type of place you’d probably find bedbugs at.” “It does,” Colby agreed. “Or fleas. And the last thing we need is another flea infestation.” “You’re right about that,” Samara agreed. “I’m not in the mood to comb fleas off of you guys again.” “I don’t think I even want to know.” I shuddered. I’d never heard of any wolves getting a flea infestation, but just the thought of those creepy little buggers crawling around on my skin and biting at it gave me the heebie jeebies. “Trust me, you don’t.” Samara laughed. “Well, unfortunately, this was the only place with vacancy,” Declan said as he rose to his feet to climb out of the RV. “So I guess that means we’re stuck here.” “Hopefully we get those twins back soon so we won’t have to stay here for long,” Emma muttered as we all piled out onto the parking lot. As I stretched my legs, relieved to finally stand up, I silently hoped we would get the twins back soon, too. But for me, it had nothing to do with the motel. I didn’t care where we stayed. I’d literally lived in a cave for almost my entire life, so it didn’t matter to me where we slept. I was just worried about Chance and Hunter. I’d grown up with them, so of course all I could do was wonder if they were okay. I was worried they were scared or that the pack they were being forced to stay with wasn’t treating them well. “I’m going to go check in,” Declan said as he turned for the motel. Samara fell into place alongside him. “I’ll go with you.” I watched as the two of them headed into the main lobby to check in, unable to ignore the twinge of jealousy. She wasn’t much older than me, and yet, somehow, she’d found her mate already... and he wasn’t even the first one. She’d also been mated to Luke Davenport before he’d been killed. Akar glanced over at me with a knowing look in his eyes. He must have been listening in on my thoughts, as usual. He thought I was too young to worry about finding my mate—that I had my whole life to meet him. And even though I knew he was right, it didn’t make me want to find my mate any less. I’d been trying to fight against the feelings, especially since I knew my primary focus should have been on finding Chance and Hunter ASAP. But being around Samara and Declan, who seemed to have the most perfect relationship, and even Colby and Emma, who just seemed to fit together like two pieces of a very oddly-shaped puzzle, made me realize how much I hated being alone. I wanted someone whose thoughts I could hear, someone who I could be connected to. Of course, I knew that I probably should have been content with my love life at the moment. Just two nights ago, I’d kissed Milo, the guy who I’d been crushing on. And it had felt so right. The only problem? Although he had werewolf genes, Milo was a human, which made things...well, slightly complicated, to say the least. While relationships with humans technically weren’t forbidden in the werewolf world, Johnny V., the former Alpha of the Koto pack, had forbidden anyone in our pack from being in one. What was more complicated was that Johnny had been murdered two days earlier, and, as far as I knew, fate hadn’t chosen anyone to replace him yet. I wasn’t sure how that would affect anyone in the Koto pack if we wanted to date anyone who wasn’t a werewolf in the future, but for now, one thing was for sure: I was going to make sure that Milo stayed far away from us. As it was, I’d already allowed him to get far closer than he ever should have gotten. I’d put his life at risk by making him a part of mine, all because I had feelings for him. It was the most selfish thing I ever could have done. And if it wasn’t bad enough that I’d put him at risk, his sister, Kristina, who also happened to be one of my best friends, had been hospitalized due to me. Whoever had killed Amanda had pushed her off a balcony in an attempt to kill her and most likely frame me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she never would have gotten caught up in this whole mess if it weren’t for me and my pack moving to Rosa. My cell phone beeped from inside of my pocket. Pulling it out, I glanced down at the new message that filled the screen. Speak of the devil. It was Milo. I ignored his text message and shoved the cell phone back inside my pocket. I needed to be firm on this. I couldn’t give into him, no matter how badly I may have wanted to. He’d actually offered to come to North Dakota with me, to help us get Chance and Hunter back, but I wouldn’t let him. I couldn’t let him. Humans needed to stay out of werewolf affairs, so unless I decided to bite him and make him a wolf, too, that meant I needed to keep Milo as far away from us as possible. It was just safer for him that way. “Okay, so we got the keys,” Samara’s said, her voice cutting through my thoughts. “We have three rooms—two rooms for the boys and one for the girls.” She glanced at the numbers on the doors of the motel rooms and said, “We’re right here, actually. Rooms twelve, thirteen, and fourteen.” “You mean... I have to sleep in a different room from Colby?” Emma’s grew wide with horror. I tried to stifle a giggle at how adorable it was, even if it did sort of border on pathetic. And then the realization that her reaction was exactly the way I wanted to react to not being able to spend the night in the same room as someone hit me. “We’re only going to have to do this for a few nights,” Samara said. Then quietly, she added, “I hope.” Even though she didn’t say it, it was obvious from the tone of her voice that she wasn’t happy about spending the night away from Declan, either. As both sets of mates said their goodnights, Thane turned to me. “Goodnight, Skye.” “Goodnight.” I shifted in my shoes awkwardly. I wasn’t sure how to react to him. Even though he and I hadn’t gotten along for the past week or so, I’d ended up waking him up and, ultimately, saving his life after he’d almost been killed by a silver bullet two days earlier. The old myth said that the love of a werewolf’s life could wake them up, but, according to Colby, it usually only applied to mates. Though I wasn’t actually sure if I was Thane’s mate or not, it did help him to recover. I was grateful that he’d survived. The idea that he could have died had absolutely killed me, especially because I felt somewhat responsible for the gun wound. If Thane hadn’t followed me from Alaska to live in New Jersey, he never would have gotten himself caught up in this whole mess. But he had and he’d done it for me, which was why I felt like it was my fault. There was a part of me that felt like I should hug him, because I was relieved he’d lived, but there was a bigger part of me that didn’t want to send him the wrong message, either. I didn’t want him to think that I was in love with him the way he was with me, or that I wanted us to be mates. Even though I did love Thane, I wasn’t sure what it meant exactly. Hugging him would only blur the lines and complicate things. I didn’t want either of us to get our hopes up in case we didn’t turn out to be each other’s mate. So, instead, I took a step back as I waited for Samara and Emma to detach themselves from their mates. “Skye?” I heard someone call my name. I glanced over my shoulder to find Akar staring back at me. “Goodnight,” he said when my eyes locked on his. My lips curved into a small smile. “Goodnight.” Samara peeled herself from Declan’s embrace and said, “We’ll take Room Thirteen. You guys can have the other two keys.” She handed them over to him and then stepped onto the sidewalk alongside me. She unlocked the door, revealing the musty scent of the room, and flicked on the lamp. “Ugh, I reiterate: this is so not the place we booked online,” Emma complained as she entered the room. She sighed as she shut and locked the door behind her and set her bags down on the floor. “It’s just going to have to do for a night or two, Em.” “I guess. But I refuse to sleep on the actual mattress. I’ll cover it with my own blankets, thank you very much,” she said as she began to spread a red blanket out on the comforter. “Okay.” Samara glanced over at me. “Skye, you can take that bed and I’ll share with Emma.” “Okay.” Emma glanced over at Samara with curious eyes. “How are you feeling, by the way? The car ride wasn’t too much for you... was it?” “I’m...okay.” Samara’s face seemed to drain of all color, and her body seemed to stiffen with uneasiness. “Doesn’t this feel like old times? Having a girl’s night?” she asked in what I could have sworn was her best effort to change the subject. It seemed like she wanted to avoid talking about whatever was going on in front of me. And even though part of me felt slightly left out, it wasn’t like I knew either of them that well. We’d only met for the first time two days earlier. “Yeah, except I don’t remember ever having a girl’s night in a shady place like this.” Emma shrugged and then yawned. “And I used to be able to stay up all hours of the night, but I’m exhausted. Seriously, if I have to hear about another beer on the wall, I think I might throw a bottle at someone’s head.” I laughed. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who found that annoying.” “Oh, trust me. You don’t know the half of it. You should listen in on my mate’s thoughts for, like, an hour. Colby can be really funny and sweet sometimes, but then there are other times when I wish he would just take a nap so I don’t have to listen to him.” “But you still love him?” I asked with raised brows. She nodded. “That’s the thing, Skye. It’s what sets your mate apart from everyone else you’ve ever known. There are going to be moments when you can’t stand him, when you completely loathe him... but you still love him anyway. You’d rather die than not love him. Your souls will be forever intertwined, whether you want them to be or not, so you get used to it. You overlook every single one of his annoying habits and all of his flaws, and you do it out of love.” As Emma climbed onto the bed and flicked the lamp off, I allowed her words to sink in. The way I felt about Thane was exactly the way Emma was describing Colby. Even though he had so many habits and quirks about him that drove me nuts, there was a part of me that overlooked them. I overlooked them because I cared about him; I couldn’t deny that. No matter what happened, I was positive that I would always care about Thane. Did that mean he really was my mate? I'm so excited to announce that All I Want (Summer Haven #2) is finally available for Kindle and Nook! This whole series is entirely different from anything we ever did before, and this book is quite different from the first book in the series, so we're both very anxious (and nervous) to hear all of your thoughts! :) We always like to post the first chapter, so you can preview the book before buying. So, here you go!: Chapter 1 Teagan “He looks just like Channing Tatum,” Matt whispered to me as he pointed his chin across the bar. I followed his gaze to a guy who stood about six foot tall with short brown hair and a toothpick-thin body that was far from Magic Mike-worthy. “I don’t see any resemblance.” I was pretty sure the guy in question must have thought he looked like Channing Tatum or some other A-list celebrity. An unattractive amount of confidence just seemed to permeate the air around him. Matt glanced over at me with wide eyes. “Are you serious? The two of them could almost pass for identical twins.” “I think you need glasses. The only thing they have in common is that they’re both brunettes.” “I wish Hannah was here with us right now. She would agree with me.” “And then I would say you both need to see an eye doctor,” I said with a laugh as I took a sip of my drink and then wrinkled my nose. I’d never been the type to drink fruity shit, but I’d gotten the bright idea to order a Sex on the Beach since we were drinking at a beachside bar. The only reason I was actually forcing myself to drink it was because it had cost me eight freaking bucks. “I think our vision’s fine, thank you very much.” Matt shot me a sly grin, and then his expression transformed into a serious one. “You know, it’s sort of strange. You used to think every guy who walked into a bar was cute.” “Not every guy. I do have standards.” “But I think your standards might make you end up with only a feline companion someday. You’ve gotten to be so picky lately.” “I guess my tastes have changed.” I shrugged. Adding a playful glare, I said, “But that doesn’t mean I’ll become an old cat lady.” He smiled sheepishly. “Anyway, what do you think about going to Club 47 while we’re here this week?” “I don’t know...,” I replied hesitantly. “Why not? It would be so much fun.” “I’m just not sure if I’m really in the clubbing mood.” Or in the mood to do anything that would involve being in the same room with a bunch of single, horny guys, for that matter. “When aren’t you in the mood to get dolled up and go dancing?” He reached over and pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. I batted his arm away. “I’m not physically sick. I’m just sick of the club scene.” I expected him to tease me about it more (because when doesn’t he?), but he didn’t. Instead, he flicked his eyes around the room, searching for the guy he’d had his eyes on. He let out a heavy sigh as the Channing Tatum Lookalike made his way over to a blonde girl, who he wrapped his arm around. “And another one bites the dust.” “Don’t worry. There are plenty of other fish in the sea,” I assured him. “Maybe, but not many who you could recreate a Step Up scene with,” he replied sadly. Then a moment later, he perked up. “Move over Channing Tatum Lookalike. Do you see that guy who just walked into the bar? He’s a dead ringer for Orlando Bloom!” “Okay, I do sort of see it this time,” I admitted, studying the guy’s brown locks. “I think you compare guys to celebrities way too much. And it’s really not a good thing to do. You know why?” “No.” He shook his head and glanced over at me. “Why?” “Okay, so let’s just pretend you were to go out with a guy who looked just like Adam Levine, for example. And then that guy turns out to be the biggest douchebag you’ve ever met. You guys end whatever it was you had going on between the two of you, and you end up with a broken heart...” I paused, swallowing hard and gazing off into the distance. “You’d never be able to watch The Voice again or listen to ‘One More Night’ without thinking of said asshole ex-boyfriend.” “That would be sad,” Matt agreed. “Tragic, really. I love Adam Levine.” “Then you definitely don’t want to get involved with a guy who looks like him. Trust me.” He eyed me curiously. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked self-consciously. “You sound like you’re speaking from personal experience, Teag. Since when were you ever with an Adam Levine lookalike?” “I wasn’t,” I replied, probably a little too quickly. And technically it was the truth, because the guy I had been with didn’t look like Adam Levine; he looked like an older version of Liam Hemsworth. I can’t even tell you how hard it is to actually focus on watching The Hunger Games when all you can do is think about the fact that you’ve had your heart broken by a guy who looks just like Gale. And that wasn’t the only thing the two of them had in common, either; my Liam Hemsworth Lookalike might as well have just hunted me down and shot an arrow straight through my heart, considering that was the way it felt sometimes, anyway. “Hmm,” Matt murmured. “Okay, Teag. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for your ex guy friend that doesn’t look anything like Adam Levine.” His eyes glittered with amusement. “The good news for me is that, while I do think he’s one of the most beautiful people in Hollywood, Orlando Bloom has never been one of my favorite actors. I don’t think I could sit through another one of those God awful Pirates of the Caribbean movies again if I tried.” “Hey, I like those.” “And you say my taste is bad.” He smirked, motioning to the guy by the bar. “So I have nothing to lose by talking to that guy.” “Go for it. YOLO.” He wrinkled his nose. “You know how much I hate that saying, Teag. We all know you only live once.” “Sorry. I just felt the need to remind you again.” I shrugged. “Lame saying or not, it’s a true statement.” Even though I knew how much he hated it, I couldn’t seem to refrain from using it. It had become my motto lately, ever since the fire that had nearly taken Hannah and her boyfriend Logan’s lives the summer before. “Yeah, yeah.” Matt glanced around the bar. “Are there any guys here who you might want to talk to? I just feel bad about leaving you here all by yourself.” “It’s okay. I’m fine here by myself.” I actually preferred it that way. He didn’t know it, but hooking up wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of things to do for our vacation in Summer Haven. I’d made a new rule for myself: no casual hookups with strangers. Don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t that casual hookups weren’t fun, because trust me... I knew firsthand just how fun they could be. It was just that they weren’t for me. Not anymore. “Are you sure? I feel like such a bad friend.” “You couldn’t be a bad friend if you tried. Don’t worry about me.” I paused and then added, “Good luck—not that you need it.” “Pfft. Who are you trying to kid? I need all the luck I can get.” He took a big, nervous gulp of his Cosmo in one last attempt to gain some liquid courage. Then he ran a hand over his sandy blonde hair, which was spiked up with gel in the front, before sauntering off in the direction of the Orlando Bloom lookalike. My eyes had already moved past him and to the door, though...and when I saw who had just stepped into the bar, Matt and the guy who he’d gone to talk to became the very least of my worries. My stomach dropped in the same way it would have if I’d just fallen down the world’s tallest roller coaster. I felt a rush of adrenaline, a giddy, school girl-like excitement, and then a wave of nausea as I realized that Weston Daniels was standing across the room from me. Holy freaking shit. Wes was not only Logan’s older and much hotter brother, but he was also the Liam Hemsworth Lookalike. Even more importantly, he was the very last person I wanted to see. He wasn’t supposed to be here. The reason I knew that was because I’d made a point of asking Logan not just once but several times if his brother was going to be in Summer Haven while we were staying at their family’s beach house for the next week, and he’d told me no every time. But he was here. There was no mistaking that mess of brown hair, those beautiful sideburns, or that perfect, muscular body of his. Damnit. If I had known he was planning to make an appearance, I would have just stayed at home. When his gaze shifted in my direction, I inhaled sharply and quickly glanced away from him, hoping he hadn’t noticed me staring at him. I was pretty sure it was too late, though. From out of the corner of my eye, I could see that he’d already started in my direction. Shit, shit, shit... Pushing a strand of hair behind my ear and smoothing out my shirt, I silently began to panic. If I’d known the two of us would come face to face again, I would have chosen a better outfit—something that dipped low enough to reveal more cleavage and high enough to show off more leg, probably. But instead, I’d worn a pair of jeans and a baggy white t-shirt that made me look like a total frump. Sexy, Teag...sexy. “Hey, you,” I heard his familiar, silky voice say. God damn. Even his voice was sexy. Every muscle in my body tensed. It wasn’t too late to avoid him, was it? I couldn’t face him; hell, I didn’t even think I could handle looking at him, because I knew that once I did, there would be no going back. As hard as I tried to fight it, though, I couldn’t help it. I glanced up at him and instantly felt the butterflies swarm around in my stomach when his eyes fell on mine. I’d forgotten just how blue his eyes were; they were a shade that resembled the clearest of blue crystals—a shade that was so light it was almost startling. They were one of the first physical traits that had attracted me to him, along with that fine ass of his. As much as I hated to admit it, I’d always been a sucker for a nice ass. “H-hey,” I stammered, making an effort to avoid his gaze. If I looked into those eyes again, I knew that I might fall under his spell—assuming that I’d fallen out of it in the first place. “I didn’t know you were going to be in Summer Haven.” “Likewise.” I realized how bitchy I must have sounded, but I couldn’t help it. Wes apparently had a way of bringing out that side of me now. But what did he expect? “How long are you going to be staying in town?” He leaned against the table I was sitting at. His familiar cologne drifted in through my nostrils, forcing me to realize just how close the two of us were. The funny thing was that being close to him again was what I had wanted for such a long time. Now that he was standing across from me, I wasn’t sure what to say or do. I could barely even collect my own thoughts. All I really wanted was to get away from him. “I’ll be here for a week. I’m planning to leave on Sunday.” I nervously swirled my straw around the chunks of ice in my drink, watching them spin. I was probably failing miserably at pretending my drink was more interesting than him, but I knew that the less eye contact I made with him, the more likely I would be to form coherent sentences. “How about you?” “I’ll be leaving on Sunday, too.” Wes motioned to my glass, which was nearly empty. “It looks like you’re going to need a refill soon. Why don’t you let me buy you one?” Okay, I may have been planning to have one or two more drinks to make up for the grossness of the Sex on the Beach, but...scratch that idea. There was no way in hell I was going to let him buy me a drink. Did he really think I was foolish enough to make the same mistake twice? “That’s okay. I’m good.” My voice was filled with even more bitterness than I’d intended—so much that it sounded shockingly harsh, even to me. “Teag...,” he said hesitantly. “I think we should talk.” What did he want to talk about? The fact that we’d had sex—or did he only consider it fucking?—and he’d completely disappeared from Summer Haven the morning after without so much as even saying goodbye? Of course, I knew I couldn’t say any of that aloud, even though I wanted to. “There’s nothing for us to talk about.” Wes’s face fell a little. Before he had a chance to respond, Matt was standing at my side. “Wes! You’re the last person I was expecting to run into tonight! What are you doing here?” Ugh. Could he have sounded any happier to see the asshole? Then again, at least one of us was genuinely enthusiastic about seeing him, I supposed, considering I sure wasn’t. And it wasn’t like I could really blame Matt. He had no idea what a douchebag Wes was. “Well, I wasn’t going to come down, but then I figured why the hell should I let you guys have all the fun without me?” Wes laughed. “I have two weeks to kill before I start my new job at the law firm, anyway, so I figured I might as well spend some time down here.” Oh, that was right. Somehow, it had managed to slip my mind that, beneath his jackass exterior, Wes was actually a smart guy. He’d decided to follow in his father’s footsteps by beginning his career in law before later breaking into politics. I’d always been a firm believer that all politicians were lying sleazebags, so maybe it was a fitting career choice for him. “Sweet. What type of attorney are you again?” Matt questioned. “Criminal defense.” “Overachiever,” I muttered under my breath, sparking sideway glances from both of them. Judging from their blank stares, though, I was pretty sure that neither of them had actually heard what I’d said. When I didn’t repeat myself, Matt said, “Wow, that sounds...intense. I always thought it would be cool to be an environmental lawyer who advocates for animal rights. Sort of like Reese Witherspoon when she played Elle Woods in that second Legally Blonde movie. Do you know which one I mean? It’s the one where all of the Chihuahuas are being tested on.” “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen that one.” Wes’s eyes darted over in my direction. “I bet you have, haven’t you, Teagan?” “Actually, I haven’t.” Of course I’d seen the movie, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. It felt like he was implying that I was the type of girl who spent her time watching every mindless chick flick she could get her hands on. And even though that was sort of the truth, I didn’t want him to know that. “Hmm. You’re quite the mystery, aren’t you?” Wes murmured, staring straight at me. I shifted in my seat, feeling my cheeks flush under his gaze. “Not really.” “Make a believer out of me. Let me buy you a drink.” Call me crazy, but I could have sworn there was a hopeful look behind his eyes. Not that it was enough to convince me. “That’s okay. I think we’re actually going to head back to the house. It’s getting really late.” I glanced over at Matt pointedly. Even though I knew he had no freaking clue why I wanted to leave the bar so abruptly, he didn’t fight me on it. “Yeah, I’m sort of getting tired and, unfortunately, the Orlando Bloom lookalike was really boring. He talked to me for five whole minutes about computers. Don’t get me wrong. I like technology as much as the next guy, because hello...Facebook is probably my favorite pastime. But as much as I need to get laid, I’d rather not try to make that happen with someone who puts me to sleep.” I forced a laugh, but I knew it came out sounding more like a nervous squeak. Something about talking about getting laid while we were in front of Wes made me feel like I was on a Tilt-A-Whirl: dizzy, nauseous, and like I wanted nothing more than to get off of the ride ASAP. It only solidified the fact that I needed to get out of that bar before I ended up doing something really embarrassing, like puking my Sex on the Beach all over his shoes. “I guess we’ll see you back at the house, then.” I met Wes’s eyes...and I instantly regretted it. I’d never considered myself to be a weak person by any means, but when he stared at me with those blue eyes of his, I felt weaker than I’d ever felt before. Just knowing that someone could have that sort of effect on me annoyed the hell out of me. “Yeah, I’ll see you.” A look that I recognized flickered through his eyes. It wasn’t defeat; it was determination. Even though I hadn’t agreed to let him buy me a drink tonight, he was going to keep pushing for more opportunities to talk to me. Well, I wasn’t about to cave. I was going to stay firm on this. Somehow, while the two of us were staying under the same roof in Summer Haven, I was going to forget the type of hold he had on me and force myself to avoid him like the plague. A voice in the back of my head reminded me that, sometimes, things are much easier said than done. I know a lot of you are a little confused, because we originally said we planned to have All I Want (Summer Haven #2) out by the end of summer. And that, obviously, didn't happen. We changed it to fall, and now that fall is already upon us, you're probably looking for it and wondering where it is.
We're hoping to have the book out before the end of November. There were a few issues that needed to be resolved, a few chapters that needed to be reworked. It's hard to explain, but some of the plot just didn't "feel right" if that makes any sense. So, rather than publish a crappy book, we're going to take a little more time than we expected with it. But we're really close to being done, and it will be out before the end of fall. ***NewAdult Contemporary Romance*** From the moment she laid eyes on Weston Daniels, Teagan Adams felt an instant connection with him. She fell harder for him than she expected to the night they spent together at the Daniels’ family beach house last winter. But when Wes left Summer Haven the morning after without even saying goodbye, she realized that it was nothing more than just another one night stand for him. When Teagan slipped out of his bed, Wes took it as a sign that she was trying to slip out of his life, too. Still, he never gave up on the idea that there could be something between the two of them. The following summer, Wes decides that he’s going to find a way to prove to Teagan just how much she means to him. Unfortunately, his plans come to a screeching halt when he receives an anonymous text message from a stalker who threatens to reveal his secret—a secret that will not only destroy his father’s political campaign, but even worse, will endanger the lives of everyone he cares about. Wes’s secret is so dangerous that he knows he can’t let Teagan get caught in the cross-fire, but will he be able to stay away? Or will he give into the temptation? Disclaimer: This New Adult novel is best-suited for readers ages 18+ due to strong language, sexual situations, and other mature topics. We’re putting the finishing touches on the first book in a new YA paranormal romance series. While we do still have quite a few New Adult projects planned for the upcoming future, we’ve really enjoyed writing young adult paranormal again lately. We need your opinion, though!
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