Giveaway! Exposed to You by Beth Kery

**Please note: the giveaway is closed. Winner will be announced shortly.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a big fan of Beth Kery’s writing–emotional, angst-y, scorching-hot contemporary romances with very sexy alpha male heroes. So I’m thrilled to share an excerpt from Beth’s upcoming release, Exposed to You, which will be available on November 6th. I have to say–I’ve been excited to read this book for ages. The hero, Everett, has a small part in another of Beth’s books, Addicted to You, and let’s just say… he intrigued me. Very much so. (Ahem–that’s code for pestering Beth repeatedly with, “When is Everett going to get his own book???”)

In addition to giving us this sneak-preview of her upcoming release, Beth is giving away a copy of the book to one lucky winner who leaves a comment below. (Note: an international winner will receive a print copy of the book; U.S. winner can chose either print OR any gift-able ebook, i.e. Kindle, Nook, iTunes or Kobo.) Giveaway will remain open until 9pm CST tomorrow, October 31.

Find out more about Beth’s books at her website.

Losing control is just the beginning…

What would you do if the sexiest man in the world was bent on bringing you unbearable pleasure again and again?  Joy Hightower wasn’t sure she could survive the experience…or live without it.

It’s not often you’re hired to paint a body tattoo—and what a body—on a total stranger at a Hollywood film set. A reserved and careful art teacher, Joy would never forget it. In a rare fit of raw desire she gave herself completely, knowing she’d never see him again, or ever repeat such a shameless, naked impulse.

 Little did she know, the man with whom she shared that lightning bolt of lust was star Everett Hughes. For Everett, women and sex came as easily as fame. But how could he hope to convince the guarded Joy that beneath the hard body and sexy façade of celebrity was a real man who wanted only one, real woman?

In the heat of an intoxicating affair, Everett endeavors to break down her barriers, gain her trust, and expose himself as the real deal. But can Joy do the same, and reveal to him the vulnerable woman who longs to be loved, wanted, and desired forever?

Excerpt from Exposed to You

She lifted the brush to his skin and began to paint. It was a little like working while a ravenous lion raced toward you in the periphery of your vision. She was acutely aware of the power in him, the incipient energy, like a giant spring that was being held down tight with effort. She worked steadily for the next half hour or so in the area of lower abdomen, creating the impossible–a flare of fire in water.

The realization hit her as she moved to the lower left quadrant of her design that she should have told him he could release the garment until she began to work in that area again. He’d kept his hands on the sides of the brief the whole time, however, exposing that strip of sensitive skin. Something about his pose excited her for some reason. It was as if he was frozen in the moment of offering himself to her…

…giving her a taste.

Her cheeks burned at the uncontrollable thought. She leaned away from him, feeling the loss of his subtle, radiant body heat on her cheeks and lips. She exchanged her paints and went back to work.

What was wrong with her? She’d never had this reaction before while she’d been working. Her skin felt flushed and prickly with awareness. There seemed to be some strange, inexplicable connection between where her paintbrush stroked his taut skin and her clit.

Why did she want to hold onto that brilliant flare of lust that the stranger’s fierce eyes and hard cock promised? Maybe because you were told today that life and a future aren’t a certainty, that both of those things were as ephemeral, as difficult to hold onto as an unexpected lightning strike of desire?

Joy didn’t want to let go. She wanted…no, she needed to hang on.

The air around them seemed to have taken on a weight. She forced her lungs to move as she exchanged brushes and reached for a paint she’d deposited at the far end of the table. When she touched him with the wet tip just below his hipbone, his taut abdomen muscle twitched. She glanced up and saw a small smile on his mouth.

“It’s colder than the other ones,” he said.

“I’m sorry. The paint was sitting right in front of the air conditioner.”

“It’s okay.”

His mouth moved, but no sound came from his throat. Some instinct inside her told her this man didn’t typically become speechless.

She felt a surge of liquid heat at her sex.

She swallowed with difficulty and resumed painting, the feeling of moving in a dream only amplifying. How long would this surreal sensation last? When would the reality of her diagnosis of cancer really set in? Her grim future seemed impossible to grasp as she sat there, flushed with arousal, painting a brilliant tattoo on a beautiful, virile male she’d never seen before that moment, and would probably never see again.

“It’s finished,” she murmured minutes later, as she placed the solvent that set the paint on the table. From the corner of her vision, she saw that he didn’t move his hands, keeping his briefs lowered. The fullness behind the seaweed design hadn’t dissipated during the past forty-five minutes.

“Joy.”

She glanced up slowly, both hesitant and anticipatory at once at the sound of his hoarse voice.

“I hope you don’t think I’m a complete jackass for saying this, but that had to be the most erotic thing I’ve experienced since Peggy Barton let me touch her breasts when I was fourteen years old.”

She just stared at him in amazement for a second before she laughed. The strangling sexual tension fractured slightly, letting her breathe. He smiled, full-out and brilliant.

Her laughter ceased.

Oh my God, she thought, stunned. Her sunburst tattoo would be considered dim next to that smile.

*****

RT Book Reviews Top Pick: “With the wealth of erotic stories popping up everywhere, Kery dethrones them all with her latest — a real eye-opener. This well-written story is original, refreshing and hot enough to generate third-degree burns.”

Order for Release November 6, 2012

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Winners– LOVE IRRESISTIBLY cover & giveaway

Thanks to everyone who dropped by this week–I’m glad to hear you guys like the Love Irresistibly cover!

As always for my giveaways, I’ve included in the drawing everyone who posted both here and at my Goodreads blog, and selected the winners via my handy-dandy random number generator. So without further ado, the winners of the five copies of About That Night are…

Carol (Comment #157)

Cat (Comment #153)

Rachel (Comment #88)

Clare Lune (Comment #51)

Taiyesha Baker (Comment #61)

Congratulations! Winners, please email me at info@juliejamesbooks.com and let me know whether you would prefer a signed paperback of About That Night or a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo ebook. If choosing a signed paperback, please include your snail-mail address.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

LOVE IRRESISTIBLY cover (and a giveaway!)

Please note: the giveaway is now closed. Winners will be announced shortly.

Yep, it’s here.

This has been a big week for me–not only did I turn in Love Irresistibly to my editor (whoo-hoo!), but Berkley finalized the cover.  Want to see?

I think the art department did another great job with this one– I love that red dress! (You may even see that in the book…)

Here’s more info about Love Irresistibly:

HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…

A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.

AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.

A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love . . .

Want to know more? How about a wholly, completely unedited excerpt:

“Do you have some sort of court order to do this?” Brooke asked Cade.

“No.”  Seated across the desk from her, flanked by the two FBI agents, he appeared unconcerned with such pesky details.  “But I can get one, if necessary.”

From his self-assured tone, Brooke had a feeling that Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan was a man who was used to getting his way.  He certainly looked the part, with his tall, athletic build, angular jaw, dark brown hair, and cobalt blue eyes. He was remarkably good-looking—she would have to be a fool not to notice that—and she had no doubt that this played very well for him both inside and outside the courtroom.

“You probably could get an emergency judge to grant you an order allowing you plant a few bugs in the restaurant,” she conceded.  “But you would still need someone on the inside to make sure your target sits at the right table.”

“It would be very difficult for us to pull this off without your help.”

At least he could acknowledge that much.  “Before I’d even consider agreeing to this, I need to know who the target is and what that person or persons is being investigated for.”

Cade shook his head. “I’m afraid the nature of the investigation is confidential.  As for the identity of the target, after we have your agreement to cooperate, we’ll provide you with that information at the appropriate time so that you know who to seat at the bugged table.”

For Brooke, however, this point was not up for debate.  “I have a responsibility to protect Sterling’s interests, Mr. Morgan, and that includes the safety of its employees and customers.  For all I know, your target is an organized crime boss, a drug kingpin, or some other sort of dangerous criminal.  What if these two men discover that the table is bugged?  What if they identify Agent Huxley and his fake date as undercover agents and pull out guns and start shooting people?  Can you imagine the liability I’d be exposing the company to if someone got hurt and I’d had advance notice that there was a potentially dangerous sting operation going down in one of our restaurants?”

Cade considered this point.  “I can’t reveal the nature of our investigation,” he said finally.  “But I can assure you that neither of the two men who will be at Sogna on Sunday night are considered dangerous.  Nobody’s pulling out guns and starting a shoot-out in the middle of your restaurant.  This isn’t the O.K. Corral.”

“I’d still like the names.”

His blue eyes held hers boldly. “You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Parker.”

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t.”

“Hmm.”  He stretched out in the chair, looking effortlessly handsome and every bit the successful trial lawyer in his tailored gray pinstripe suit.  “Now, normally, this would be the point when I’d have to give you the tough-guy speech about how, if you were to reveal to anyone the confidential nature of the information I’m about to give you, you could be charged with obstruction of justice and face a possible felony conviction and imprisonment.” He flashed her a dashing grin. “Luckily, though, since you’re a lawyer and obviously know that already, we can skip over the tough-guy stuff.  Which is nice, because that part of the conversation can get really awkward.”

Maybe it was the fact that Brooke, admittedly, was having a bad day.  She’d been dumped by the Hot OB, had just spent three hours on the phone haggling with the Staples Center lawyers over every tiny, miniscule part of their hospitality deal, and had done it all on two measly bites of a chicken taco and a melted strawberry-mango smoothie.  She was tired, hungry, and had, up until ten minutes ago, been looking forward to the first weekend in a long time where she did not have to work.  So, yes—she was, perhaps, feeling extra-cranky because of circumstances that had nothing to do with anyone sitting in that office right then.

But Cade Morgan was seriously beginning to piss her off.

He’d come to her office, seemingly to ask for her help.  Now he was threatening her with obstruction of justice charges—and most annoyingly, he was doing it with a smile.

So she returned the favor.  “That is nice, Mr. Morgan.  Because in response to your tough-guy speech, I, in turn, would’ve had to give you my tough-girl speech, about where, exactly, federal prosecutors who come to my office looking for assistance can stick their obstruction of justice threats.”  She smiled ever-so-charmingly. “So I’m glad we were able to sidestep that whole ugly business. Whew.

Although her attention was focused on Cade, out of the corner of her eye, Brooke could see Agents Huxley and Roberts looking at the wall and ceiling, seemingly trying to hide their smiles.

Cade looked momentarily caught off guard, the first time since he’d waltzed into her office, then his eyes flashed with something else entirely.  Amusement, perhaps.

That annoyed her even more.

 ***

Here’s the giveaway part: To celebrate having turned in the book, (yep, still whoo-hoo!), I’m giving away five copies of About That Night, the book in which Cade first appeared on the Chicago FBI/US Attorney scene. Winners can choose either a signed paperback or a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo ebook. The giveaway is open internationally, and will remain open until 9pm CST on Thursday, September 20th. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment below.

Love Irresistibly can be pre-ordered at: Amazon (paperback or Kindle), Barnes & Noble, BAM or Powell’s. (More pre-order links, including one for Nook, to come as they become available.)

And don’t miss two more great giveaways!

Through Thursday, drop by Speaking of Audiobooks at the All About Romance blog, where one winner will win all three FBI/US Attorney series audiobooks. (Something About You, A Lot Like Love, About That Night.) There’s also an interview with myself and Karen White, the narrator, who shares some great behind-the-scenes thoughts on how she did the voices for the heroines of the books (and Jack). All you have to do to enter there is leave a comment.

Second, Karen is giving away copies of the A Lot Like Love and About That Night audiobooks over at her blog. (And if you’ve never listened to an audiobook before, both these giveaways are great chances to try some out for free!)

Good luck everyone!

Winners–Four Men and a Romance Novel

Looks like the Four Men and a Romance Novel discussion was a big hit!  I might have to bring those guys back some day . . .

Without further ado, the giveaway winners are:

Leanna H (comment #51)

Connie (comment #107)

Kim (comment #37)

Chele (Goodreads comment #15)

Jeannei L (comment #78)

Winners, please email me at info@juliejamesbooks.com and let me know (1) which of my books you would like, and (2) if you prefer a signed paperback or a Kindle, Nook, or Kobo ebook.  If you would like a signed paperback, please include your snail mail address.

And for everyone else, don’t despair–there’s going to be another giveaway tomorrow. (Yes, tomorrow!) So be sure to check back then.