Sunday Snippet: Crossing Lines by Alannah Lynne

You know when one of your friends tells you you need to read a book and you say I’ll get to it, and then another friend tells you need to read the same book and then another friend, and so on? Well that’s how this author came to my attention. So I’m passing on the pressure, and also giving you an excerpt of the book.

Mirrored shades served several functions. They looked cool. They protected the eyes. And they provided the perfect cover for sizing up a man’s ass.

Sam Wallace always found work boots sexy, and as Kevin Mazze stormed across the parking lot, he screamed sex with a capital S. His powerful strides were like those of a lion as he moved with authorial grace through the concrete jungle he ruled, commanding attention and respect.

A sigh slipped from her lips as she followed the roll of his shoulders under his light-blue button-down shirt and the sway of the soft, well-worn denim.

He was the man her mama warned her about.

The one her friend, Cheri, begged her to find.

When angry, his eyes were cold and hard and his lips compressed into a sharp, thin line. But when he smiled, those steely eyes turned soft and gooey, like rich, dark chocolate, and his bottom lip grew thick and plump, perfect for nibbling.

The whole package reminded her of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, and her mouth watered for a bite.

She hadn’t been with a man since her piece-of-shit ex walked out. And even though Cheri encouraged her to find one, Sam steadfastly refused. She didn’t need a man… At least, that’s what she claimed.

Kevin Mazze, however, put a little purr in her motor and made her want to take a test drive.

He wasn’t wearing a ring—not that she’d been looking. She just happened to notice his finger was bare as he silenced his phone… Right before she saw the dark, curling chest hair peeking over the open top button of his shirt… Which she noticed when she snapped her gaze upward in an attempt to not get caught staring at his crotch… Which definitely snagged her attention.

Oh hell, who was she kidding? Everything about Mazze called to her on a deeply feminine level, guaranteeing him a starring role in all future fantasies.

“You’ll have to overlook his irritability,” Wade said, interrupting her thoughts. “He’s on edge because of the wedding.”

Her heart sank with the sound of screeching tires, signaling an end to her dreams before they even got started. “Oh, yeah? Who’s the lucky girl?” Realizing that might come across more forward than she intended, she turned to Wade to clarify.

Before she could formulate her defense as nothing more than a figure of speech, Wade said, “Oh, no. I doubt Wildman will ever marry.” He laughed nervously. “He’s planning my wedding.”

A ridiculous image of Mazze in a yellow sundress, wearing a matching hat and white gloves, directing the flower girl and bridesmaid from the back of a church, flashed through her mind. The scene was straight out of a bad horror movie and completely incongruous with the real-life, testosterone-driven flesh and blood.

The closest Mazze probably ever came to a dress was while removing one. Patience didn’t seem his strong suit, so rather than dealing with delicate buttons or sticky zippers, she imagined he would just rip and strip.

Kinda makes a girl want to go out and buy a dress.

She removed her sunglasses and used her shirtsleeve to wipe the sweat from her eyes. “The heat must be getting to me. Did you say he was a wedding planner?”

Wade laughed and took off his ball cap. “Unfortunately, that’s what’s happened.” He scratched the back of his head, then repositioned the cap a half dozen times before settling on a spot.

Looking at his boss with a combination of brotherly affection and hero worship, he said, “My fiancée wanted an outdoor wedding. Kevin’s house in Riverside overlooks the Pamlico River… the perfect setting.” He said the last in a singsongy voice as he made quotation marks with his fingers. “Kevin offered his house and now he’s dealing with Lizilla—my fiancée’s sister. She’s an event planner and this is a great opportunity for her to do her thing. But she’s driving everyone crazy. We’ll be lucky if he and Lizbeth are still speaking when this is over.” He kicked the curb. “We should’ve made life easy on everyone and eloped.”

“I’d advise skipping the wedding altogether.”

Wade grinned. “Bad first marriage?”

“Yeah, apparently.”

The world’s best-stocked toy drawer can only take a gal so far. Bored with her current assortment of vibrating, plastic pieces, Sam Wallace decides to add a new sex toy to her collection: Kevin Mazze. The sexy Italian is more than happy to help her live out her long-held sexual fantasies, and trusting him with her body is easy. Trusting him with her heart, however, is not… especially when he commits an unforgiveable sin.

Kevin Mazze is one of the good guys. He’s spent his life always doing the right things and making those around him happy. When he meets the woman of his dreams, at the worst possible time, he finds himself making bad choices in the name of good and crossing lines he never thought he would… while praying she never finds out. 

 

The next book out is Going All In.

A good ’ol Georgia boy teaches a Myrtle Beach princess how to get down and dirty…

It’s been two years since Callie Holden helped put her father in prison, and since then, she’s learned a lot about life and herself. To Callie’s surprise, she actually likes working and has learned money is a tool to be used for good… or evil. She also realizes that even though she’s traveled the globe, she’s never truly lived. She longs for adventure and to experience a wildly passionate romance. The last place she expects to discover her dreams is in the arms of the ever-surly man she’s dubbed “The Beast.” But when they’re forced to work together, unexpected chemistry changes everything. In Wade Neumann’s arms, Callie finds the excitement and passion she’s been looking for, as well as a few other surprises.

Wade Neumann has spent the last year burying the pain and humiliation of being left at the altar by a woman who used him as a novelty toy before settling down with someone like herself—someone rich. He’s lost himself in a stream of nameless females, but instead of the trysts helping him heal, he’s only grown colder and more jaded. He hasn’t moved on with his life. He’s merely stuck going through the motions… until he meets Callie Holden, a woman who looks like his ex but is actually the opposite—sweet, compassionate, loyal, and most importantly, not rich. Or so he thinks. Because just as he starts to believe things with Callie are real and true, she gives him thirty million reasons to doubt all over again.