Thanks for all the sales and downloads last week! Please keep them coming!
I’ll be taking a short break from The Beautician and the Billionaire while I get Thankful Hearts ready for publication. Please follow my blog so you don’t miss the beginning of Episode Three: The Third Ship. Also, I’ll be doing some Halloween Treats this month, and you won’t want to miss that!
And now at long last the Finale for Episode 2: The Contract. Enjoy!
Sorry again about the delayed post. Still dealing with personal events.
Thanks for all the sales at All Romance! Right now they are running a storewide event today only. You can get The Beautician and the Billionaire Episode 2: The Contract for only $0.74! They have Kindle, epub, and pdf formats! Read it before I blog it!
You can also get Masked Hearts for only $0.75. What a bargain!
If you are a diehard Amazon user, The Beautician and the Billionaire Episode 2: The Contract is also available there for $0.99.
Sorry Smashwords and Barnes and Noble readers. You are not forgotten! I will be getting the copy up soon!
A big shout out to Natalie at D’Ambrosio Designs Hair Studio. You were the calm in my storm today. My hair is as soft as a fluffy cloud!
And now, things are heating up between Charisse and Conor!
Charisse withdrew her shaking hand, making a fist in the hopes he wouldn’t see it. She’d been prepared for his cold business mask—the one she was sure he used when taking over companies. Instead he’d arrived with sincerity and honesty. She’d almost leaned in and kissed him when he told her why he’d been such a rat bastard after the shampoo yesterday. Continue reading
I was soooo excited about the end of Episode 2: The Contract that I decided to release it early at All Romance!
I will still be posting it up on my blog, but if you’d like to read it before I blog it, head on over to All Romance! It’s available in epub(Nook), mobi(Kindle) and pdf.
Enjoy!
XOXOXX
Evelyn
Charisse hated herself for allowing Conor to see her unsettled. She was giving him so much personal ammunition that he could use against her later. He and Josh were the same ilk. Conor was just looking for weaknesses to use later against her.
The phone kept ringing in his hand. His frowned deepened, but it was somehow different. He didn’t seem mad at her anymore though she had no idea why he’d been mad in the first place. He leaned towards her and put the phone on the counter behind her where she kept the coffee maker. The phone finally went silent.
He gazed into her eyes, and she imagined him kissing her even as he slowly pulled back. The power he emanated seeped into her soul. She wanted him to protect her from Josh even though she had no idea what Josh wanted. But she gave her head a mental shake. She would not be weak. She’d just ignore Josh like any sensible woman. Not wish for a billionaire hero to save her.
Conor pulled back, but still stood close enough that the small hairs on the back of her neck stood on end like she was anticipating his touch.
Conor said, “Is he harassing you? You know you can block his number.”
“Actually, I’m sure he blocked my number. I never thought I’d hear from him again and he called just before you arrived. I didn’t answer it then either.”
His eyes searched hers. “Would you like to talk about it?”
Oh, God. She could not fall for this man. She’d been wrong. Conor and Josh were different. Conor had just been more concerned than Josh had ever been in the two years they were together. But she and Conor were business partners now. She cleared her throat and turned around, busying herself with pouring two cups of coffee. “No, I’d rather talk about the contract. I’m really confused. Is everything intact? It’s only twenty percent that you get right?”
She turned back around and Conor took the offered mug. She should’ve sat down in one of the chairs but she chose the French country style love seat instead. Conor sat next to her and they both turned towards the center to face each other.
Conor adjusted his tie again and took a sip of coffee. “I’m keeping the contract the same as it was between you and your father.”
Charisse took a sip too—the perfect Puerto Rican cup of coffee. It was her secret. “That’s not an answer. What did the contract say? Did you bring it with you? I’d like to read it.”
October fifth was World Teachers’ Day! If you’ve read Masked Hearts, then you’ve seen my Dedication at the beginning:
To teachers everywhere who work hard for our children and deserve a little romance in their lives.
I was once a teacher and know how hard they work. As many hours as I put in, there were always others who put in even more. Please support teachers!
This is a clip from Masked Hearts that was inspired by something that actually happened to me in class. You just never know what kids will do.
But during story time at the end of the day, Sienna noticed Tyler bouncing pebbles that invariably ended up in the classroom. She hated to draw attention to him. All the other kids were ignoring him, so he wasn’t a distraction. She kept reading and asking the students questions about the story. After a few more pages, Tyler screamed. He yanked his nostril back, pointing at it and yelling more.
Sienna dropped the book and crouched next to him.
He poked his finger up his nose and yelled, “Oooowww!”
“Take your finger out of your nose and take a deep breath. What’s wrong?”
“Ahhhh!” He pulled a bloody finger out. “Ahhhh!”
She whipped her head around and asked Kelly, “Did you see what happened?” but Kelly shook her head.
Blood trickled out of a nostril as Tyler yanked it back with one hand and shoved a finger from the other hand up it.
“Sweetie, take your finger out.”
But Tyler kept it up there and continued screaming.
“I saw him stick a rock up his nose,” said a little girl, sitting next to him.
Sienna’s throat made an “erp” sound—caught between humor and horror. She gently pulled his finger out of his nose and pulled Tyler up by the wrist. She said to Kelly, “Could you finish the story and have them get their backpacks? I’ll take him to the nurse.” She stopped at the door and called back, “Oh, and remember to send home the notes about the new class.”
In her five years of teaching, she had never had a student shove a rock up his own nose. She couldn’t even fathom what the thought process was. Tyler kept screaming in the hallway until she told him, “School’s almost over. Your daddy will be here soon.”
At the nurse’s office, she explained what had happened. He was so squirmy that Sienna had to hold his arms down while the nurse used tweezers to pull the rock out. There wasn’t as much blood as Sienna thought there would be, but the level of disgusting was pretty high.
“Tell his mom to rinse it out with saline.”
Sienna nodded, cleaned him up and took his hand to walk him back to the classroom. Once the whimpering settled down, she said, “Why did you stick a rock up your nose?”
He didn’t answer right away. As they turned the corner to her classroom’s hallway, he said, “I just wanted to know what it felt like.”
She had no response. How would she ever explain this to Mark? Sorry, your son stuck a rock up his nose right in front of me, and I didn’t see.
Parents had gathered outside the classrooms to wait for their children. She glimpsed Mark staring through the window in her door. She dropped Tyler’s hand, the rock issue vanishing from her mind.
Oh, God, what had she done? She was insane to think she could separate everything out. She’d fucked a parent over the weekend, and all the other parents here were going to find out. She’d be the next headline: Teacher uses Parent as Sex Toy.
Be sure to buy Masked Hearts and find out if Sienna can handle sex with a hot millionaire parent and remaining professional at school. It’s on Sale for $1.00 at All Romance for the rest of October!
And for more information about World Teachers’ Day, check out this awesome graph at Grammarly!
Happy Friday! The Beautician and the Billionaire Episode 1: The Deal is finally free at Amazon! If you’ve been waiting to read it until you could load it on your Kindle with your Amazon account, you can! At the moment of posting, it’s sitting at
It’d be great if it broke into the top 100! Please pass the link to your friends for a weekend read!
And now let’s find out what Charisse is up to before her meeting with Conor. Be sure to follow my blog so you don’t miss the Episode Finale next week! Continue reading
The edits for Thankful Hearts have fallen on me like a pile of leaves.
Here’s a freshly minted moment to whet your appetite:
Stacy’s heart pounded against her rib cage as she watched Hudson peeking through the blinds and holding his gun like they were on the run in a freaking action movie. His neck and arm muscles were taut, but his expression was calm. If he wasn’t holding the gun, she’d be admiring his nude body. Did he think he was in Afghanistan? Did he remember she was with him? She’d read up on PTSD, and the reality of everything she’d read was giving her a heart attack. She didn’t want to startle him, but she wanted that gun out of his hand. The sounds of the fight next door finally pushed themselves into her consciousness. In a whisper she asked, “Hudson?” Continue reading
Conor unfolded the contract, willing the adrenaline in his body to dissipate. He needed a clear mind now. Obviously the contract was going to be different than expected. He couldn’t let thoughts of Elise ruin his rationality.
As he took in the contract, he dropped his stoic mask and allowed his eyes to widen. He raised his head and saw Roy frowning at the clouds rolling in. Lightning flashed far away.
“You’re a bastard,” said Conor. “How did you even get her to sign this?” Continue reading
My air conditioner is still coming on here in New Mexico, but I’m looking forward to the leaves falling eventually and the cold afternoon when I can relish my hot cinnamon latte.
Afternoons in the coffee shop were the inspiration for my Holiday Cafe series. Here’s a glimpse of Masked Hearts:
“Hey,” said Mark, stopping her with a hand on her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this again. I can’t have you romance me and fall in love with you and end with a terrible break-up. I’d rather we fuck and be done with it.” She bit her lip and cursed herself. She couldn’t believe she’d just said that to a parent. From the look on his face, she could tell he couldn’t believe it either.
The phone finally quit ringing as she gathered up her folders and left. She expected him to call out to her, but then remembered men were bastards. Of course he wouldn’t.
Outside, embarrassment hit as if the heat of a summer sun shone on her instead of the chillier fall rays. She ran to her car, not hearing the footsteps pounding behind her because her ears were filled with the beating of her own heart.
She set the folders on top of her car. Before she clicked the lock with her remote, hands grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. Mark stared into her eyes for one moment then pushed her back against the car with his body against hers. He kissed her with a passion she’d never felt, even from Glen, and it made her body tremble. His hands roamed down her arms and to her hips, and she felt his erection against the crevice between her thigh and her abdomen. Her insides pulsed with desire that only strengthened when he ended the kiss and spoke, his lips brushing her ear.
*
Mark felt her body yield against him and begin to shiver. God, it’d been too long since he’d fucked. So long that restraint was near impossible, and he pressed himself fully against her with his cock showing his craving.
He broke off the kiss and whispered words that he hoped made sense through his haze of desire. “I would love to take you out on dates and slowly fall in love with you over coffee and bouquets of roses. But it’s been two years since I’ve had sex, and if all you want is a physical relationship, I’ll take it.”
He kissed her neck while he waited for her answer. When his lips nuzzled her below her ear she quivered again, and her hands slid up his back, drawing him even closer. Unfortunately, her words were contrary to her actions. “I can’t do that with a parent of one of my students. It’s unprofessional.”
His lips had strayed down to the base of her neck. He wanted to tug her shirt off her shoulder so he could kiss more of her, but he managed a modicum of restraint. He lifted his lips back to her ear and murmured, “I’ll pretend there’s nothing between us when I pick up Tyler. I’ll be like every other parent.” Even though the thought of unattached sex fired his drive, he didn’t want to give up on being her boyfriend. “And if we dated, I’d pretend nothing was going on until you were ready. I’m alone Friday to Sunday. We could date on those nights far away from school.”
Her body stiffened. “I don’t want to date.”
He drew back a little and cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “I think you’re making that decision because you just saw someone who hurt you badly. I’ll text you my address. If you want to watch a movie and eat popcorn like a normal date, come over dressed like this. If you just want sex, wear a coat with nothing underneath.”
He must be out of his mind—what a stupid thing to say. He waited for the slap, but instead, she wrapped one of her legs around his and drew him in for another kiss. He wished they weren’t in a parking lot in the middle of the day.
She broke off the kiss and gently pushed him away.
Without a word, she turned, grabbed her folders, got into her car and waited for him to step back before she drove off.
He watched her going, wondering if she’d take him up on the movie date. He told himself that’s what he wanted. But two years was a long, long time to go without sex.
Buy Masked Hearts at one of these stores and find out if Sienna goes for a date or for sex!
Conor leaned across the desk, swung his hand around and grabbed Roy by his tie right up at the neck. He yanked the tie, slamming Roy’s chest against the edge of his desk. Sweat beaded across Conor’s forehead and his vision blurred in his rage.
“The investigation was routine for an accident of that sort. But the reporter overheard the conversation with the police and wanted to blow up the story. I paid the police nothing.” Continue reading
Evelyn Aster 