What Makes a Man Wonderful? – Winter Wonder Man Hop

Sexy athletic bodyWhat makes a man a “wonder man?” It would be easy to point to extraordinary feats that different men (both real and fictional) have performed over the years to aid or protect their loved ones. But when I think about what makes a man wonderful to me, it’s the little things that matter. Is he there when I need him? Does he show up when he says he’s going to? If he says he’s going to do something, does he follow through? It’s these little things that I think make a wonderful man.

Do you have a wonderful man in your life? He could be a significant other or he could be your father, son, or brother-in-law. He could even be an ex you still remember in somewhat fond terms. If you feel so moved, please share in the comments what characteristics make your wonder man wonderful.

Below is an excerpt from my latest novel, The Reluctant Billionaire, in which Rhys (the billionaire) shows his own wonderful qualities. Also, don’t miss the giveaways before you hop away to your next site. There’s one below for this hop, and another here. If you check out the other giveaway, don’t forget to come back here in order to continue your hop. Thanks for visiting!

The Reluctant Billionaire Excerpt

“What did he do to you to make it too painful to see him?” Rhys said.

Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She’d made it to the opening in the treehouse floor when Rhys grabbed her arm.

“Tell me. Please. Because right now I’m imagining awful things.”

The truth was pretty bad, although who knew what he was thinking. She didn’t want to talk about it though.

“Please,” Rhys said.

Sophie gazed at the tree, trying to forget that Rhys was behind her. “He told me he loved me, and that we’d get married. I was a fool, and I believed him, so when we slept together I didn’t always make him use protection.” Make that never. She’d never insisted. She’d been stupid blind with love for him. “When I got pregnant, he gave me a stack of bills so I could get an abortion.”

She paused. “I told him I didn’t want an abortion and that I didn’t see the point, since we were going to get married. That’s when he laughed at me and told me it had all been a lie to get me into bed.” She’d been so gullible. What had made her think a rich, good-looking man would marry a round-in-the-middle cook?

Rhys squeezed her arm, just a little. “And the baby?”

“Miscarriage.” She spat the word out, trying not to think about what it meant. “I’m sure he was happy. Took me a while to get myself together again. Then I found this job, and here I am.”

Rhys put his arms around her from behind and hugged her. “That’s terrible.”

She put her hand on one of the arms around her. She’d gotten plenty of hugs from her family when she’d lost the baby. Somehow, this felt different. Maybe because Stanford hadn’t once consoled her. And now this man who hadn’t even known her then was giving her what she’d needed all along.

Sophie leaned her head back and rested it against his chest. “It’s over. But sometimes I still think about my little baby. I wonder if it would’ve been a boy or a girl, and what it might have grown up to do. And I wonder if I would have lost it if he’d kept his promises.” She’d never know. But she’d always wondered if the stress of losing him had somehow hurt the baby.

Rhys squeezed her tighter. They sat like that for a while. Then he loosened his arms and said, “Let’s get back.” He helped her find the wooden slats so she didn’t fall climbing out of the tree house. When they’d both reached the ground, he put his hand on her back and steered her down the path.

“Isn’t this away from the house?”

“We’re taking another route. There’s something I want to show you.”

They wound through the wooded area and emerged into the sun. More gardens and wild patches ranged for as far as she could see. “This is all Mr. Blackwell’s?”

“It is.”

“He must love the outdoors.”

Rhys didn’t say anything, just guided her down another path through shrubs and flower beds bursting with reds and pinks and purples. They seemed to be edging back toward the house, though she couldn’t see it through the trees.

“Here we are,” Rhys said.

They stepped into a small clearing still wild with clover and pretty little wild flowers scattered through the grass. As they stepped closer, she could see the ring of stones and the unhurried flight of ten…no, twenty, maybe even thirty…different butterflies.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

“I built it thinking someday my kids could come here and play. These flowers are designed to attract butterflies, and we’ve done other things as well to make this a sort of butterfly refuge.”

She took a few steps closer. Butterflies flew all around her.

“I would think, wherever your little baby went, it might be something like this.”

Sophie blinked back tears. She’d often wondered about where her child had gone. “Thank you.”

Rhys put his arms around her again and kissed the top of her head. They stood like that for a while and eventually, a butterfly landed on one of Rhys’ arms. It flapped its wings lazily not far from Sophie’s face.

She’d never been anyplace that felt so peaceful. This is exactly where she’d have wanted her child to have gone.

Sophie rubbed her cheek against Rhys’ arm. “Thank you,” she said again.

Quietly, without talking about it, they disentangled themselves and left the butterflies. Rhys took her down a different path that led back into the forest.

“You can go there anytime,” he said at length.

“I think I will.”

He walked her all the way to the kitchen door before wandering back into the garden. She still thought she needed to avoid a relationship with him. But was she making a big mistake in pushing him away?

 

Ebook360 When BBW Sophie begins her new job as chef in William Blackwell’s mansion, she wants a new start. Her last job led to a romance with her billionaire boss which ended in heartbreak. This time, she swears she’ll stay away from workplace romance…a vow that’s put to the test when she meets the enigmatic Rhys, one of the mansion’s gardeners.

William “Rhys” Blackwell might be a billionaire, but he still loves digging in his gardens. When he meets Sophie he feels instantly attracted to her. But Sophie says she doesn’t want to date anyone from the mansion, and Rhys knows that goes double for him, so he keeps his identity quiet. Maybe if she gets to know him first, she’ll change her mind.

In the midst of the growing attraction between Sophie and Rhys, they have other problems to deal with, too…a lawsuit, a billionaire ex-lover and more. In the end, there’s just one question: what are they willing to risk for a chance at love?

Discounted for a limited time.

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A Billionaire-Laden #Giveaway

Emma South’s new novel Writing Our Song will be out soon, and to celebrate, she’s giving away Clive Christian 1872 for Men, a $50 Amazon Gift Card, and a $25 Gift Card. And she’s gathered together several other authors (including me!) who have each donated three copies of a novel for an amazing zip file of romance.

Here are the books you’ll get if you win one of these prizes:

* Remember Our Song – Emma South
* Saltwater Kisses – Krista Lakes
* The Arrangement – Abby Weeks
* Random Acts of Trust – Julia Kent
* The Object of His Desire – PJ Adams
* How Not to be Seduced by Billionaires – Marian Tee
* I Married a Billionaire – Melanie Marchande
* Forever Innocent – Deanna Roy
* Magic Academy – Jillian Keep
* Skin Deep – Dez Burke
* The Upside of Being Let Down – London Casey
* The Reluctant Billionaire – Danielle Duncan
* Fight For You – Adriana Hunter

How to enter? Just use the Rafflecopter below!

First prize:
1x 1oz (30ml) bottle of Clive Christian 1872 for Men valued at $190.00 plus aforementioned ebooks for your kindle (.mobi files)

Second Prize: 1x $50 Amazon Gift Card (email) plus aforementioned ebooks for your kindle (.mobi files)

Third Prize: 1x $25 Amazon Gift Card (email) plus aforementioned ebooks for your kindle (.mobi files)

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Great Sales and a Party, too!

Not This Girl

Two great things are coming up!

First, today — Black Friday — I’m joining a group of other authors in a big romance Black Friday sale! Check out the links below for Evading Nevah and many other books, all at $0.99 for today only!

Second, that same group of authors will be holding a Facebook party on Cyber Monday. I hope you’ll join us! You can find out more or RSVP here. We’ll play games like “whose hot abs are these?”, give out tons of free books (no strings attached) and have a great time! Please join me — RSVP now!

Evading Nevah by Danielle Duncan

Syria’s Seduction by Starla Cole
Little Tease by Amy Valenti
The Warlord’s Concubine by J.E. & M. Keep
Skin Deep by Dez Burke
Hopelessly Broken by Tamryn Ward
Wild Impulse by Lexi Lane
Protecting The Pack by Tabitha Conall
Need Me – Being Trevor’s Toy by Charlotte DeCorte
Burning For Him by Michelle Fox
My Alpha Billionaire by Tawny Taylor
Naughty (Box Set) by Kami Kayne
Rock Star Romance Box Set
Heartstrings by Adriana Hunter
The Alpha’s Touch Box Set Modern Wicked Fairy Tales by Selena Kitt
Lucky Girl by Emme Rollins
Her Billionaire’s by Julia Kent
Psychic Appeal by Michelle McCleod
Curves For The Lone Alpha by Molly Prince
Dominating by Malia Mallory
The Billionaire’s Wife by Ava Lore
Rocked by Clara Bayard
The Stronger, Safe Kind by London Casey
West For Love by Clarie Charlins
Alice’s Steamy Wonderland by Julianne Reyer
Havana Curves by D.H. Cameron
All Access by Karolyn James
New Adult Romance Boxed Set
Vegas Knights by Marina Maddix
Shifter Romance Boxed Set

Ain’t it Wicked? – Thankfully Naughty Blog Hop

naughty

This year I read a lot of wicked cool books (and some of them were truly naughty). I thoroughly enjoyed I Married a Billionaire by Melanie Marchande about a marriage of convenience with a billionaire.

I also went on a run of medieval romances, including Master of Craving by Karin Tabke, Heart of the Hawk by Elizabeth Mayne and my favorite of the year, Wicked by Jill Barnett.

I’m currently reading another Jill Barnett romance, Bewitching.

Have you read any wicked cool (or just wicked) books this year?

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Evading Nevah

Two wayward souls from opposite sides of an intergalactic war find each other against all odds.

Captain Alara Nadrin leads an Alliance warship in battle. Above all else, the Alliance prizes military prowess, duty, and following orders. And Alara wants more than anything to make her father, the Admiral, proud of her but struggles when her conscience and her orders conflict.

Zarik of Thallor leads a refugee ship while carrying a holy relic to safety. His plans fall apart when Alara’s warship captures them, putting his people, his family and the relic in danger. He’ll do anything to protect them.

With war at stake, can Alara and Zarik choose love?

Excerpt:

“I had an idea.” He paused. “What if you let me send a message to my people, telling them where the camp is? That way they could come get us as soon as you leave.”

She was silent for several seconds. “That might be possible. But you’d still need to make it look like you’d managed the communication through subterfuge, so if anyone found out, I wouldn’t be culpable.”

“That works for me. Let’s figure out how we can do it.”

“Would your military really spare a ship to come so far and get you?”

They would if they knew the Relic was on board. He would just need to retrieve it and somehow take it with him when the Alliance dropped them off. Then keep it safe from the pirates while they waited to be rescued.

As a plan, it wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t bad, either.

“I think so. If not the military, then a civilian ship. Our people take care of their own.” He immediately wished the last sentence back, but to his surprise, she didn’t bristle.

“Is your ship capable of sending such a transmission, or will you need access to ours?”

“Our ship can do it, if we can get to the bridge. We just need to know the location of the camp.”

She was quiet for some time. “In the Andaran sector. The planet Nevah.”

He swallowed. That was a desert planet. He’d heard of it, not because he knew so much about other worlds, but because it was notorious for being a killer. People joked that Nevah was worse than Hell. Nothing grew. There was no shade, just the beating sun and the dry dust. And pirates? The place was rife with pirates, because no one else wanted to go there.

This was where Alliance admirals thought babies should be sent.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice sounded muffled.

Zarik put his hand on her back. “You’re doing what you can for us. I appreciate that.”

“I never thought my people would do something like this. We stand for something. We—I thought we stood for something.”

He rubbed his thumb against the muscles along her spine. Just a little, to soothe her. “You’re doing the right thing now.”

“I hope it’s enough,” she said.

She looked so down, he couldn’t help himself. He gently pulled her into his arms and rested his cheek on the top of her head. She was so tiny. How could such a tiny woman be so strong?

“We shouldn’t,” she murmured, but she put her arms around him and didn’t move away.

He didn’t want to move away, either. She felt so good in his arms. Just right. And as soon as he moved, he’d have to remember she was someone he should never hold. And could never hold again.

She shifted, maybe pulling away, and he tightened his grip without thinking. He wasn’t ready, damn it.

“Zarik,” she said.

He dipped his head and kissed her. The kiss held the force of his frustration at liking someone he could never like, at having to let go of someone he didn’t want to let go of. After a moment, she tightened her arms around him and kissed him back.

If anything, that made it worse. He wasn’t alone; she liked him too. Now they’d both be lonely.

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