Guest Post with Author Roni Loren and Giveaway

Please welcome back one of my most favorite authors, Roni Loren. Roni is celebrating the release of Caught Up In You, the newest book in her Her Loving on the Edge series, and has stopped by to share an exclusive excerpt. Please give Roni a warm welcome.

Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. She is the National Bestselling Author of The Loving on the Edge series from Berkley Heat and RITA finalist.

Places to find Roni:

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First, I’d just like to say that it’s great to be back over here at Ramblings. : ) I stopped by last month to talk about all the crazy questions I get as an erotic romance author. Today I’m back to share a little bit of my new release, CAUGHT UP IN YOU.

I’m super excited about this book because it’s my first “geek” hero. Beyond being partial to guys in glasses, I think there is nothing sexier than smarts, so Wyatt was a whole lot of fun to write. And pairing him up with the unlikeliest of heroines was also entertaining. Genius CEO with questionable social skills paired with a former stripper/drug addict/waitress who’s just trying to get her life back together—what could possibly go wrong? ;)

I hope you enjoy this exclusive excerpt from the book!

Unbelievable. She would’ve never thought the man delusional. She reached up to pull the too-tight band from her hair, releasing her ponytail and some of the pressure building in her head. “Wyatt, have you met me? I’m a waitress who grew up in a neighborhood that cops were afraid to go to at night. No one’s going to believe I’m some rich chick from out of state.”

He leaned forward on the couch, bracing his forearms on his thighs, his features half in shadows in the lamplight. “Yes, I have met you. And what I see is a beautiful woman who can think on her feet and who has the ability to charm anyone in a room. I can get you up to speed on the finer details, the etiquette. And maybe you can help me, too, because God knows making small talk and schmoozing clients are on top of the list of things I suck at.”

She arched a brow. “You can’t be that bad.”

“No. Trust me. The universe gave all of that skill set to my brother.” His focus drifted to the hand she was using to finger comb her hair, his gaze tracking her movements with open appreciation. “I like your hair down. I never get to see it that way.”

“Thank you.” She clasped her hands in her lap, the memory of how he’d looked at her in the training room coming back to her. Even before she’d gotten over the surprise of seeing him standing there, her body had gone hot and needy at his blatant perusal of her form. Never had she had that kind of reaction to such a clearly dominant assessment. The rush of it had nearly knocked her on her ass.

But she couldn’t let herself get distracted by the bone-deep attraction he always roused in her. This was dangerous territory. The suggested deal was way too reminiscent of how her mother first started her “career.” Rich men making seemingly harmless offers. A night on the town, a few pretty things to wear, and a wad of cash to help a girl with her tough situation. What was expected in return was easy, right? Especially if the guy was good looking and charming anyway. Her mother had stepped into the trap of that fairy tale facade, and the sharp-toothed demons waiting on the other side had devoured her and spit her out, leaving her irreparably broken.

And though Kelsey didn’t want to believe that this was the type of arrangement Wyatt was suggesting, she needed to ask the question. She cleared her throat. “What exactly would you be expecting for the money?”

“Precisely what I said.”

She lifted her gaze to him. “But we’d be staying in the same room.”

“Of course,” he answered, looking a bit exasperated. “I thought that was clear.”

She shifted on the couch, the answer stinging and anger welling. “So you think because I let men pay me to beat them, that I’d just take a check to fuck someone, too?”

For a second, he looked as if she’d thrown ice water in his face, then he grimaced. “Kelsey, no. Do you honestly think I’d expect sex in return for money?”

She shrugged, her heart still beating too fast. “You wouldn’t be the first guy in my life to make that offer.”

Or the tenth.

When she’d stripped at the club, the offers had come nightly. Luckily, even in her haziest days of drug addiction, she hadn’t taken anyone up on it. But she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she’d stayed with boyfriends much longer than she would’ve because they’d funded her habit.

She bet if Wyatt knew all of that he wouldn’t be sitting here wanting to parade her around his clients. He wouldn’t want to be seen with her anywhere.

He dragged a hand through his hair, appearing to be truly pained that she’d ever been propositioned in that way, and met her gaze. “Look, I’m not good at lying. So I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I don’t want you. That I haven’t thought about you in exactly the position I found you in tonight. That sharing a room with you and not touching you isn’t going to be a challenge. But nothing has changed since the day I didn’t kiss you in the car. I’m not going to pretend to offer something I don’t have to give just to get you in bed.”

The stark honesty startled her, hitting some unfamiliar spot inside her. She wasn’t used to guys straight-shooting with her. All her life, the men she attracted were the smooth-talkers, the snake charmers, the guys with the wink-and-a-smile promises. This man wasn’t feeding her a line. If she took this money and stayed with him, he’d keep his hands off her no matter how much he wanted to do otherwise. She knew it without a shade of doubt.

But the question was, would she survive it?

***

The girl who has spent her life running is about to be caught . . . by love

After a shaky past, Kelsey LeBreck’s future is looking good. She’s been saving money for culinary school with her earnings from The Ranch, a private BDSM resort. Even better, she’s landed a day job where she can practice baking and flirt with her favorite customer. However, having secret fantasies about Wyatt Austin is where it has to end. If there’s one thing Kelsey knows can derail her, it’s a relationship. But when a danger from her past threatens to steal her fresh start, the intense executive may be the only one who can help her.

Wyatt doesn’t have room on his agenda for dating, but something about the pretty young waitress stirs desires he thought were long buried. So when he needs someone to pose as his girlfriend at an important business retreat and finds out Kelsey needs to go off the grid for a while, he can’t resist making her an offer. Soon, Kelsey learns that Wyatt’s power in the boardroom is no match for his power in the bedroom, and she wonders if her heart will survive. Because Wyatt Austin is a man who gets what he wants, and now he wants her.

Purchase: | Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository |

Check out the Loving on the Edge series:

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Check out what's up for grabs.

Up For Grabs:

• 3 lucky people will win a an eBook copy of Not Until You Dare

To Enter: 

• Please leave a comment or question for Roni.
• US ONLY.
• Please fill out the Rafflecopter form.

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