Blurb

Botanist Madeline Wentworth is relieved to be heading into the Amazon, far from the university and the vicious rumors circulating about her failed love affair. But on arriving in Peru, her team finds their guide dead with a small puncture wound to his neck. Waiting to replace him is Travis Kane, Amazon guide, treasure hunter, and superhunk. Mattie is instantly attracted but uncomfortably suspicious. When a member of her team falls ill and a similar puncture wound is found on his body, her suspicions deepen.

Travis has stuck with being a jungle guide for over ten years despite a run of unsavory clients. The rain forest is full of hidden ruins and undiscovered treasure, and he’s determined to find his share. But when his grandfather dies, leaving a letter boasting of Templar gold, he's sure it's nothing more than an old man’s delusion. Everything changes when he finds his grandfather's map. With high hopes, he leads Mattie's team into the rain forest and finds himself overwhelmed by the beautiful blonde. When the group is attacked and has to fight its way out of the jungle, Travis discovers something more precious than gold--the love of a woman who’s made him want to be a better man.

Excerpt

Mattie strolled to the edge of the pool, then slipped off her boots and dipped a toe into the water. It was surprisingly cool considering the temperatures around them. She couldn’t wait to feel it against her skin. Later, after she swam, she’d wash some of her dirty clothes and hang them to dry. They might be in the rain forest but that didn’t mean she couldn’t try to stay clean.
“Are you going to swim?” Just the sound of his voice sent a thrill of excitement through her, made her skin heat.
Mattie turned, noting those buttons were undone again, a light perspiration visible below the pulse point at his throat. “Yes, I’m going to. How about you?”
“Maybe later. I still have a few things to take care of.”
His answer disappointed her. She’d hoped to see what lurked behind those buttons. A glimpse of golden skin only made her eager to see more of what he looked like beneath his shirt.
Could he be as buff as she’d pictured him?
“I won’t keep you,” she said, whirling back to the pool, needing a cold reality check. You’d think she’d have learned her lesson with Elders. But in a way, Travis was different. She was attracted to this man. She hadn’t been to Gerald. She’d given in to him, but was never washed away by passion. That had never happened with any man--unless you counted the dream she’d had the night before they’d left Manu.
Could Travis be the man in the dream? Was that why she was so drawn to him?
That was crazy. It was just a dream. That’s all.
Slowly she waded into the water, the liquid swirling around her, washing away all that troubled her. When she was up to her waist, she dived under, the coolness instantly reviving her.
She resurfaced and swam toward the middle of the pool where Drew floated on his back. She splashed him to get a reaction.
“Now you’re in trouble,” he said, a mischievous glint in his light blue eyes making Mattie backpedal toward shore.
Drew dived on top of her and they both went under, the playfulness transporting her back in time. She felt like a child again. Before her father destroyed their family’s happy existence with his excessive gambling.
Mattie came up and shook her head, spraying water around her. It had been ages since she’d enjoyed herself so much. The only thing that would make this perfect was if Travis was the man she was playing around with.
Stop it, Mattie. It’s obvious he doesn’t want you like that, even though his eyes seem to say otherwise.

Grace Under Fire
Jerri Drennen
Crimson Rosebud
Release Date: 11-18-2009

Since her husband's death, Grace Diaglo has been sleepwalking through life. That is, until her husband's ex-partner shows up just in time to become her impromptu bodyguard when a peeping Tom is spotted outside her bathroom window. Grace isn't sure who she's more afraid of, the man trying to see her naked or the one she's started picturing that way.

Ex-Chicago cop, Cord Rawlings, intends to find his partner's killer. What he doesn't count on is an intense attraction to the dead man's wife or the corruption a probe into his friend's death uncovers-an investigation that has the pair dodging bullets to stay alive. Will he be able to keep Grace safe or have they become the targets of the last person either of them suspected?

Excerpt

Cord Rawlings lifted the bottle of whiskey to his lips and drained the last drops. He wouldn’t say he was drunk, just numb. He’d spent all evening in Rockford, Illinois, holed up in a room at a roadside motel, drinking, and still felt no better than he had before he’d opened the bottle.
Would the painful memories ever fade—as the face of his partner, Vincent Diaglo, had?
He forced himself to swallow past the burning in his throat as he slammed his fist into the lumpy mattress.
Contempt for himself consumed him.
Vince had died because of him. He should have been in the car that exploded, not his partner. Now all Cord saw when he thought about his friend was his charred remains—not the strong, dedicated cop he’d been.
Inside, Cord was dead too. Probably wouldn’t fear dying because he’d been lifeless inside for a long time.
Maybe he should just end it all. Right here, right now.
He shook his head. That would be taking the coward’s way out. No way could he do that.
He sent the empty bottle into the air. It landed with a dull thud onto the carpet.
Vincent would have been disgusted with what he’d become, and that bothered Cord more than anything. Vince and his wife had been like family to him.
God, he could still see Grace’s pale, tear-streaked face at the funeral as the graveside attendants lowered the shiny silver casket into the ground, her hands white-knuckling the American flag that had draped it only moments before.
He hadn’t been able to face her that day. Guilt had eaten at him with a vengeance. So he’d watched from a distance, afraid she’d blame him for not being there to save her husband—to save the only friend he’d ever had.
The morning of the funeral, he’d pictured Grace’s misty green eyes filled with loathing, eyes that had haunted him from the moment he’d met her, and known facing her would be impossible. Burying his partner and losing her respect, all in the same day. No way could he have dealt with that. He’d chosen not to confront her.
Instead, he’d run away and buried himself in a bottle.
Shaking off his alcohol-induced buzz, Cord forced the images from his mind. He refused to think about Grace any longer. Every time he did, his stomach knotted. What he needed was another bottle of whiskey. Maybe then he’d pass out.

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“Aztec Security PRINT” by Jerri Drennen

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense

ISBN 978-1-60504-122-3

Length 272 Pages

Price 14.00

Publication Date January 27, 2009

http://samhainpublishing.com/print/a...

Love is the most dangerous mission of all…

Inventing the Abbotts
Following the rules has never been agent Ava Stanton’s strong suit. Thorn Abbott isn’t exactly your average agent, either—more like Mr. Computer than James Bond. Until he leaves his desk to join her in operation “Fly to the Spider.”

Now Ava’s seeing a whole new side of Thorn that ignites her passions. And as they dance a dangerous two-step through the Louisiana bayou, it’s difficult to tell who’s the spider and who’s the fly…

Mauvelous
Yancy Adams returns determined to prove he’s no traitor—and to get fellow agent Mauve O’Connor out of his head. Seducing an international criminal’s girlfriend should do the trick on both counts.

Mauve not only doesn’t trust her partner, her job is to watch him prove his innocence…or guilt. Except memories of their one night together hold her hostage. As sparks—and bullets—fly, she finds that the most elusive and dangerous thing of all is the truth.

Caddy-Did
Kent Jameson is content with his free-and-easy life—until he’s sent out on a survival training mission with the agency’s newest recruit. Cadence Fleming didn’t get what she considers the best of the best as a trainer. She’s stuck with a man who reeks of booze and sex and brings out the worst in her.

Then they come across a body, and their training mission becomes a trial by fire. There’s a killer in the Everglades—and he’s hell bent on making them his next victims.

Warning: This title contains graphic language, violence, kick-ass heroines, heroes to die for, high-octane action, run-for-your-life suspense, and hot steamy sex.

Aztec Security Series was chosen as a 2008 Gem over at Kathy’s Review Corner. If you jump over to her site and join her announcements newsletter, you’ll get a chance at winning a print copy of Aztec Security.

http://www.kathysreviewcorner.com/co...