Normally this blog post features first meeting scenes, but this book is about a couple trying to save their marriage of seven years, so the thrill of their first meeting is far behind them, though maybe the flight attendant will become important? Crash and Burn is part of the Crashing Into Love book bundle now available on Amazon.

In the following scene, Keira Matthews is on a plane heading to Australia with her husband for a second honeymoon at the order of their counselor.

EXCERPT

“I’m leaving you.” His harsh words echoed in her head. Her stomach clenched. Did the gasp come from her lips?

Anger boiled in her gut. Strike back. It’s not my fault. She balled her hands into fists, her nails biting into her palms. “You never have time for me. You’re always working. How can we even think about a family with you being gone all the time?” Her words spilled from her mouth like acid. She hoped they burned him.

“Look, I want a family, but someone’s got to provide for them.” His hand reached toward hers. His eyes pleading. “I’ll give it one more try. Let’s see a counselor. I still love you, have for seven years….”

Keira’s gaze slid to the wedding photo on the wall. Seeing the younger image of the man she married, vowed to love forever, she took a deep breath and released the anger. She wiped a tear from her cheek. “Okay.” Her voice weak and soft. “I don’t want to lose you either.”

Slowly waking, she glanced around the dark, unfamiliar interior. Confusion warred in her mind until she put the pieces together. I’m on a plane somewhere over the Pacific. She looked over at the sleeping man on her left—her husband. How did we get to this point? A romantic second honeymoon never starts with orders to fix your marriage, heal your relationship. I pray it works.

She stretched up and pushed the signal to get an attendant. The soft light and beep echoed in the silent cabin. Why can’t I sleep? Time change or bad dream? She observed the crisp black uniform of the put-together woman approaching her.

“Yes, ma’am. What can I get for you?” Her soft voice with a melodious Australian accent soothed Keira.

“Can I please have a cup of ice and bottle of water?”

The attendant nodded and headed toward the front of the plane.

Keira reached over to the carrier in the seat next to her. Shoving her hand inside, she felt the soft coat of her fur-baby. The gentle lick of a warm, wet tongue on her fingers tickled. “Shh. Don’t make noise, Gris. Everyone’s sleeping. Go back to napping. We’ll be there soon, and you can have a treat.” Another doggie kiss made her smile. My mind won’t turn off. I’m too nervous about flying and how important this trip is to my marriage. Appears as if slumber isn’t going to return. I can’t read without waking my husband. Maybe if I get my drink and let my mind wander, I’ll finally get tired enough to doze off.

“Here’s your ice and water, ma’am.” The attendant handed the items over. “Is there anything else?”

Keira noted her name tag. “Thank you, Julie. How much longer until we land?”

She looked at her watch. “About two hours.”

“I think I’m stuck in Midwest time. Still daylight back home.” She smiled at Julie and set the glass and bottle down on her seat-tray.

“Where are you traveling from?” Julie squatted down to whisper.

“We’re from Ohio. Our first trip overseas. A second honeymoon.”

“I’m sure you’ll love Australia. It’s a beautiful country. Let me know if you need anything else. Hopefully, you can rest again.” Julie touched her shoulder then stood and walked away. The tender contact of another person soothed her. It’s been a long time since anyone’s stroked me, hugged me, loved me.

Once again alone with her thoughts, she turned toward her husband. They’d been married for seven years, and his looks still caused her stomach to flutter. I love running my fingers over his buzz cut. And his rough beard left sexy marks on my neck when we made love…not that it’s happened in a while. A part of the reason we’re on this trip is because of our lack of sex, tenderness. Of course, he’d have to be home in order to touch me.

END OF EXCERPT

You can find Crash and Burn within the Crashing Into Love book bundle at Amazon.

If you’d like to stalk Melissa (her word, not mine) you can find her here:

http://www.melissakeir.com

http://www.facebook.com/melissakeir

www.twitter/melissa_keir

Thank you, readers, for visiting, and thank you to Melissa Keir for joining me today on First Sight Saturday!

In this scene, Gratia has been trying to avoid a woman claiming to be her husband’s mistress by hiding in the darkness of a garden overlooking the Danube River. Her husband, Leo, has been gone with the emperor for over six months—most of their new marriage—and she fears this temptress is part of the reason why. As she hides, she presses herself against the high stone wall, enjoying the warmth left from the day, when a man suddenly steps up behind her and traps her.

“You should not be out here alone,” he said in a harsh whisper. The man smelled like horse and sweat and the thick dust of hard travel.

“Move away,” she squeaked. She could not free her hands nor turn her head far enough to see her attacker.

“Are you waiting for someone?” he rasped as he dared move his body close to hers, close enough she felt a heavy belt buckle press at the small of her back. “Perhaps a lover will meet you here in the dark, far from the light of the torches outside the house?”

“Move away,” she repeated, glad her voice carried more authority this time, though not enough to make the cur step back. What should she do? With what could she threaten him? “My cousin, the Lord of Regensburg, will hear of this!”

“Are you under his protection, then?” The whisper sounded angry now. Good. He should know he assaulted a woman of means, not some unguarded peasant.

“I am a guest here,” she snipped. “I also have a husband and a father who will—”

“Ah, so you do remember you have a husband.”

A shiver coursed down her spine like cold, inky river water as the whisper resolved into a deep voice on the word “husband.”

Her breath caught. “Leo?”

I really love this couple. Each of them is hurt and unsure, and they struggle to find the way back to each other over one tempestuous night.

If anyone would like a free review copy, please email me or comment below.

Love Like A River is available on Amazon for only 99 cents!

BLURB:

What is new bride Gratia to think when her husband’s been gone for six months and a woman claiming to be his lover attends her sister’s house party? Unsuspecting Leo returns eagerly home to a wife who isn’t there. When he finally locates her in a moonlit garden by the Danube, the reunion of these newlyweds sizzles with anger, accusations, and denied passion as each tries to find a path to the marriage they both desire. Love Like A River is Book Six in the Evolution Series set in Charlemagne’s Empire and is a novella of 11,000 words.

Don’t forget to visit the other authors sharing their Book Hooks.

Use the Click Here link below to find them!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to find the other participating authors.

My story, Unbidden is set in 831, when enough time had passed for Louis and his family to start screwing things up. This is a snippet from the scene where Rochelle, the heroine, meets her emperor.

EXCERPT

“Is there something you wish to say?” the emperor asked with a teeth-clenched softness, more than a little warning in his voice.

“I do not wish to marry,” she said, her voice cracking on the word marry. A hiss of indrawn breath came from her right, though she wasn’t sure if it was Theo or David. A slight buzz filled the room as the repetition of her words passed to its furthest corners. She lifted her chin to stare at him. “And I do not want a war fought on my estate.”

“I do not care what you wish,” he said quietly, his narrow face beginning to mottle with red. Then he shouted, “I do not care what you wish!”

END OF EXCERPT

We have a bunch of new participants in Book Hooks this week. Make sure to check out the list at the Click Here link below and visit a few of them!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

This excerpt shows Susan’s spunk as she argues with Alexander late one night in her backyard about his plans when he returns to England.

EXCERPT

“So you’re The Viscount of Nowhere.”

“Temporarily. When I marry well, I will repay my brother-in-law and return to my position.”

“Oh yes, the English girl again.” Susan sashayed to the well, holding her skirts wide as she lighted primly on the opposite side, trying to act as the proper English girl would though she had no real idea how that would be. “She must have money, tolerance for your mother, and must stay indoors after dark.”

“You possess the tongue of an asp.”

Susan shrugged. “If this woman holds the key to your life, why aren’t you in England finding her?”

“You do not comprehend the first thing about my life.”

“Maybe not, but I know I didn’t see one rich Englishwoman between Baltimore and here. It occurs to me you don’t really want one.”

“Ridiculous.” He shoved away from the well. Susan followed him as he hastened toward the house.

“Wait. I’m about to explain your life. If you don’t want the wife, then you don’t really want Furnivall, do you? Like I said, you are not sure who you are!”

He paused on the porch, turning to her slowly, his piercing eyes shooting daggers. “Your powers of inaccurate deduction astound me.”

“You strung together a lot of big words but I think you said I’m wrong. How?” She hopped on the porch to stand right in front of him, close enough to count the individual whiskers on his shadowy chin.

A ragged sigh tore through him. He lifted a lock of her hair, rubbing the strands between his thumb and finger as if testing the value. Susan’s breath locked in her throat. “It is all wrong, Susan.”

His scent wafted around her, spicy and unique. She stared into his eyes and saw trouble. Confusion, anger, and something else – something more base – blended into a turbulence of blue. “I’m not wrong, Alex.”

“Are you not, with your bare feet?”

“Yours are too,” she said defensively.

END OF EXCERPT

Conversation gets pricklier than a cactus and desert temperatures are bound to rise when American common sense meets British nobility in Arizona Territory. To learn more about the story, visit the Sass Meets Class page, or you can find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Thanks for hopping with BookHooks. Make sure to visit some of the other authors. The list can be found by clicking the link below.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

In this passage from historical romance Unbidden, the heroine endures a journey in the unexpected snow as her villainous brother-in-law kidnaps her to Bavaria. Since many of us are feeling the effects of holiday spending, I offer this first book in my series for FREE. Treat yourself to a warm, sensual read with a classic hero and a feisty heroine.

EXCERPT

Snow began to fly on the third day, setting up a night of misery. Rochelle couldn’t help but imagine how different it would be if David were curled behind her. She wondered if he slept safe in their bed. The thought of that chilled her as much as the weather, that he might be ensconced at Alda while Doeg dragged her across the empire. Her thoughts preyed on her. She swung the gamut of imagining him healthy or dead or every possibility in between. Healthy meant he’d sent her away from him, her home, and their marriage. Injured or dead meant Doeg had finally succeeded at whatever nefarious motivation drove him. If that was the case, however, what did he want from her now?  For what purpose would he kidnap her?  Exhaustion eventually stemmed the wild flow of her thoughts, letting her sleep.

A wet covering of snow as deep as the horses’ fetlocks coated the ground by morning. The further east they traveled, the more remote the surroundings became.

Doeg announced heartily, “We will pass Eichstadt today. Tonight we sleep in a hut, and by tomorrow we should arrive at Atrum Calx, if the snow does not slow us down too badly.” He’d become less arrogant, perhaps even a bit cautious with her of late. He acted like someone who had belatedly realized his own blunder, finding himself set on a track he could not leave.

“What will you do with me there?” Rochelle asked cautiously, trying to make out his purpose.

“I will show you the estate,” he replied, “after you have had a day or so to rest, of course.

The strange answer threw her, but his caring whether she had rest was even stranger. They retreated into the usual uncomfortable silence, only heightened by the muffling effect of the falling snow.

END OF EXCERPT

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Smashwords    Kobo

Unbidden is not free at these vendors, but still a bargain!

iTunes for 99 cents

In print at Createspace for $9.99

Whispersync audio version just $1.99

Audible for $1.99

Thanks for visiting my BookHooks post. Make sure to check out the other blogs on this lovely January day by choosing the “Click here” option below! Happy reading!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

EXCERPT

He had never heard Lily sing, not consciously. He had never seen Lily dance. Had she ever really laughed in his presence?

They danced for over an hour, carried in the sea of sweaty bodies and injured toes. Theo bought ale and roasted nuts, and they sat on his cloak in the grass watching the chaos, then he pulled Lily back into the fray. When the musicians finally tired and the torches started to sputter out, he had to search in the darkness for his cloak while Lily giggled behind him. He finally found it, probably ruined by grass stains and people tramping on it. He flung it around his shoulders anyway. He took her hand in both of his.

“May I walk you home?” he asked earnestly, like a boy with his first love.

Her smile faded. She stared up at him, her face pale and her eyes wide in the light of the harvest moon.

END OF EXCERPT

What is Vain about? A tailor’s abandoned daughter fashions a vain nobleman’s tunic, finding passion between the neckline and hem as misfortune forces her into his precarious aristocratic world. Vain is book three in the Evolution Series, but stands alone as a story. In fact, I wasted two hours skimming back through Theo and Lily’s story, and decided it is my favorite.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble    iTunes     Kobo

Thanks for hopping with Book Hooks.

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

The lead character in my new release, Eruption, has one best friend/college roommate. The two of them seem like opposites on the surface, but Violet likes Mia’s eccentricity, and Mia likes Violet’s normalcy and steadiness. They’ve both been burned by people they’ve trusted before, so they take nothing for granted with each other.

In this excerpt, we see Mia helping Violet get ready for her first date with a guy she’s been crushing on for a year.

EXCERPT

Mia and I dug through my wardrobe on Saturday, a day of perfect football weather. Chilly temps on the walk to cafeteria “brunch” morphed to blindingly sunny and warm by noon. Mia and I had totally different taste in everything, which meant I couldn’t pull off her ruffled mini skirt and black leather jacket look. She understood me, though, and we settled on a pair of skinny jeans, a yellow sleeveless top with black trim (school colors!), and my sporty flip-flops with floral straps. I slathered sunscreen on my shoulders and arms while Mia searched her collection of hair clips.

My brown hair rested a tad below my shoulders. I finger combed a sloppy part down the middle most days and usually had at least one side tucked behind my ear. I tried not to pull it up all the time ’cuz the bulk made the top of my head look too wide. Mom said my face was heart-shaped which I interpreted to mean my chin was too narrow for my forehead.

Mia twisted the front pieces of my hair back and secured it with a bobby pin so it didn’t blow into my lip-gloss if a breeze kicked up at the stadium. (I’d rejected a rhinestone clip and a daisy barrette.) “You sure you won’t wear some eyeliner?” she asked for the third time. “I could make your eyes look big as pool balls if you’d let me.”

“Just the look I’m going for,” I said, picturing one of those big-eyed puppies that adorned every greeting card a few years ago. “This is a football game, not the prom.” I already felt overdone with one coat of black/brown mascara.

“If one wants to be treated like an aristocrat, one must dress like an aristocrat,” she said in a voice like the Queen of England’s.

“I’m a Copperhead, not Princess Kate.”

“Whatever.” She sulked. “Ooh, ten ’til one. I’m outta here.”

“You don’t have to leave.” The panic I’d been fighting since daybreak changed my breathing to hitching gasps. Boone Ramer. Here. To get me. Soon. I thought I might puke up my ham and cheese omelet.

The best roomie ever grabbed my shoulders to show me my reflection in the mirror screwed into our dorm room wall. “You got this thing, sister. His Hotness obviously likes you, and you’ve been ready to have his babies for a year. Be you. Except lose the expression of terror.”

I nodded and smiled and practiced not looking like a deer in the headlights.

Mia grabbed her jingly neck lanyard and skipped through the open door.

END OF EXCERPT

These two will go through plenty together in this book—including Mia’s only half joking encouragement for Violet to jump Boon’s bones—and they’ll experience plenty more growing pains in the series.

Eruption Blurb

I’m in the middle of the perfect college semester, hundreds of miles from Mom, with an awesome roomie and my freshman crush finally becoming a sophomore reality—Hotness! I’m figuring out calculus, I’ve got both hands on the handlebars and the wind of freedom in my hair. What on earth could slow my roll?

How about if the Yellowstone volcano erupts for the first time in 630,000 years, spewing a continuous load of ash (crap) all over North America? Think that’ll put a kink in my bicycle chain?

Make that kinks, plural, because here’s a scientific fact I’ll bet you didn’t know. Nothing ruins the perfect semester like a super caldera. Now that I’ve made you smarter today, maybe you can tell me how to keep my life cruising in the right direction—no to Mom, yes to roomie, double yes to Hotness!—during a global disaster?

My lame name is Violet and, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m not hanging from the side of a cinder cone on the last page of this trauma, but there’s definitely more to come. Unless, of course, humans become extinct and then there’s not. Duh.

Eruption is available for preorder, released on September 13, and will be on sale for 99 cents until September 27.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MRHAIRO

I’m giving away some cute swag with the book cover and Yellowblown™ series logo charms made into necklaces, bracelets, and bookmarks. Sign up for my newsletter at www.jillhughey.com/contact for a chance to win one of your choice!