Monday's Montage Mantlepiece: Playing Ball

Summary:
Baseball - America's favorite pastime - provides a field wide open for romance. A Home Field Advantage may not help when Toby must choose between the team he’s loved all his life and the man he could love for the rest of it. In 1927, Skip hides his sexuality to protect his career until he meets One Man to Remember. Ruben and Alan fell victim to a Wild Pitch, leaving them struggling with heartache and guilt, and now they've met again. And on One Last Road Trip, Jake retires and leaves baseball behind, hoping to reconnect with Mikko and get a second chance at love.

Home Field Advantage by Shae Connor
One Man to Remember by Kate McMurray
Wild Pitch by Marguerite Labbe
One Last Road Trip by Kerry Freeman












Home Field Advantage by Shae Connor
Toby MacMillan, grandson of Atlanta Braves owner Ray MacMillan, lives for baseball and loves his team. When he meets new team member Caleb Browning, an innocent welcome-to-the-big-leagues dinner leads to a not-so-innocent night together. Toby quickly calls things off, afraid of the ramifications of their tryst, but the two men develop a friendship that soon becomes more. After Caleb takes a fastball to the head, their budding romance hits the news—and Toby’s grandfather hits the roof. When Ray MacMillan demands Toby deny the relationship, Toby must choose between the team he’s loved all his life and the man he could love for the rest of it.

One Man to Remember by Kate McMurray
It's 1927, and in New York City, Babe Ruth and the Yankees’ unstoppable batting lineup, Murderers' Row, is all anyone can talk about. Across town, the Giants' rookie infielder Skip Littlefield racks up hits, creating a streak to rival the Babe’s. Worried his secrets could get out, he avoids the spotlight, but he catches the attention of lauded sports reporter Walter Selby, a notorious dandy whose sexuality is an open secret. Skip reluctantly agrees to an interview, and mutual attraction is sparked. Skip can only hope the more charismatic stars will draw attention away from his romance with Walt. Otherwise, his career and everything he loves is at stake.

Wild Pitch by Marguerite Labbe
Ruben Martell fell in love with Alan Hartner during their years playing baseball. They stepped over the foul line once, but the encounter left them struggling with heartache and guilt, turning away from each other to focus on their families. Now retired from the majors, they run a batting cage together and coach rival Little League teams as they juggle fatherhood and being single again. Though Ruben has never given up hope that Alan might look at him as more than a friend, Alan seems determined to keep things the way they’ve always been. But long-buried feelings and desires have a way of resurfacing, and Ruben can't wait forever.

One Last Road Trip by Kerry Freeman
With the last game of his Major League Baseball career behind him, Jake Wilson hits the road. Years have passed, but he never got over the romance he shared with Mikko Niemi back in college. Finally, he's ready to do something about it. He starts with some crucial visits to his ex-wife in New Mexico, his son in Oklahoma, and his daughter in Tennessee. But his true destination is Mikko's home in Georgia, where he's hoping to get a second chance at love.

Author Bios:

Shae Conner

Shae Connor lives in Atlanta, where she works for the government by day and reads and writes about people falling in love by night. She's been making up stories for as long as she can remember, but it took her a long time to figure out that maybe she should start writing them down. Now, she usually has far too many stories in progress, but when she does manage to tear herself away from her laptop, she enjoys running, hiking, cooking, and traveling, not necessarily in that order.

Kate McMurray

Kate McMurray is a nonfiction editor. Also, she is crafty (mostly knitting and sewing, but she also wields power tools), she plays the violin, and she dabbles in various other pursuits. She’s maybe a tiny bit obsessed with baseball. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with a presumptuous cat.

Marquerite Labbe

Marguerite has been accused of being eccentric and a shade neurotic, both of which she freely admits to, but her muse has OCD tendencies, so who can blame her? Her husband and son do an excellent job keeping her toeing the line, though. Together with her co-author Fae Sutherland, Marguerite has found a shared passion for beautiful men with smart mouths. 

When she's not working hard on writing new material and editing completed work, she spends her time reading novels of all genres, enjoying role-playing games with her equally nutty friends, and trying to plot practical jokes against her son and husband. Her son is learning the tricks too quickly and likes to retaliate. You'd think she'd learn.

Kerry Freeman

I am an author of gay romance. My first novel What We Deserve is now available from Loose Id. 

I was born and raised in Alabama, and I grew up swearing I was going to get the hell out of Dodge the instant I could. Turns out Dodge ain’t so bad, and I never left. Alabama’s version of a city girl, I married a country boy, and we live in a small town with our two socially-awkward dogs.

I love to write about love, and it turns out most of the voices in my head are men. I also love to write about the South, so most of my stories end up there, one way or another. I believe the only thing Crash Davis left out of his speech was the happy ever after.

A tomboy and a geek from way back, I have a day job but dream I will one day write full time. I have a weakness for yaoi, Japanese stationery, YA, and ginger-haired soul singers from Britain. I own an impressive t-shirt collection. Nowaki & Hiroki are my homeboys.

Shae Conner

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Kate McMurray

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Marguerite Labbe

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Kerry Freeman

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Tactical Error by Bella Juarez

Title: Tactical Error

Author: Bella Juarez

Series: Black Ops Brotherhood #4

Genre: Erotica, Romantic Suspense

Summary:
Master Chief James “JJ” Jones is at the end of a thirty-two-year Navy SEAL Career. At a chance meeting in San Diego, he meets recently widowed and retired teacher Irene Ortiz. JJ and Irene feel an undeniable attraction that pulls them together for one night. He draws passion from the lonely Irene, the likes of which she has never known.

When JJ becomes the target of a traitor, his life and his budding love for Irene are put in jeopardy. He leaves his beloved SEALs to track down the people responsible for planning his demise when he discovers a plot that could bring the United States military to its knees. JJ is recalled back to Special Warfare Group 5 and sets out on a worldwide chase.

Irene decides to follow her heart, and at JJ’s side, she helps him to stop fervent terrorists from unleashing a deadly pathogen. Will JJ and Irene be able to keep the terrorists from unleashing a nightmare?

     Irene had never imagined her feet and ankles were so sensitive. Every time James kissed or ran his tongue over the area she almost passed out from the sensation. The feeling sent a jolt straight to her pussy every time he touched her skin. He pressed a kiss right above her knee on her inner thigh. He was even more overwhelming naked. For a man in his mid-fifties he was in damn good shape. When she moved her hands over his back, she couldn’t believe how tight his muscles were wound. In truth,      James didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. All she could feel was hard muscle.

     Her mind flashed a guilty picture of David. They had drifted apart over the years. David spent the last several years of his life obsessed with his job and ignoring her as a result. She had grown lonely, and thankfully she had a full life that kept her occupied. Sex became routine, and although Irene had been a good wife, she always wondered what another man would be like. All thoughts of David vaporized when James gave her the bone-melting kiss she had begged for earlier. So far, James had made it worth the wait. It had been a very long time since she had been this aroused.

     “Sugar?” James whispered.

     “Yes?” Irene asked opening her eyes.

     “What’s wrong?” James nuzzled her neck as if he could read her thoughts.

     James’s hands ran over her belly and up to her breasts. He found space right below her ear and kissed as he started stroking her nipples through the thin mesh material.

     “Nothing…Just kiss me,” Irene said, closing her eyes again and giving in to the bliss of his touch.

     “Where?” James kissed that space again.

     Irene giggled at the sensation of the kiss. “Where do you think?”

     It never occurred to Irene what she considered a kiss and what James thought it was were miles apart. Before she knew what was happening her panties were around one leg and he was kissing…

     “James! What are you doing?” Irene demanded as her eyes flew open at the sensation of him kissing her pussy.

     No one had ever done that to Irene. David didn’t like oral sex. He always considered it dirty and beneath them to even explore that part of their relationship. Apparently, Mr. Jones held no such beliefs and everything was open for him to explore.

     “Kissing you, sugar, lay back and relax. I’m almost positive you’ll like this,” James said before he went down and started licking and kissing her pussy.

     Irene’s eyes rolled back in her head as she melted into the sheets. She moved her hips, grinding her pussy into his eager mouth. His hands pushed under her thighs folding her legs at the knees. His alternate licking and sucking of her clit was driving her mad. He inserted his finger into her pussy and firmly stroked in and out as he orally pleased her.

     Irene gasped when he hit her G-spot and started rubbing back and forth. The sensation was like touching low voltage electricity and it was making her moan like a dying woman. If staying with him meant this kind of attention every now and then, she would move in tomorrow! Irene squeezed her eyes shut at the first indications of her orgasm. Her belly contracted slightly as James latched on to her clit and started sucking harder, encouraging her climax. She felt the wave hit and he had to use his free hand to hold her convulsing body. Her throbbing pussy contracted around his finger and tightly squeezed his thick finger. Irene couldn’t remember a more intense climax than the one she was experiencing now. Her nerve endings seemed to fire at once as her body came to its final apex.

     “James…” Irene sighed and shivered as he made his way up her post-climactic sensitive body.

     “My turn, sugar.” James kissed her deeply.

     Irene had forgotten all about his happy ending. She was exhausted and didn’t know how the hell she would keep up with him. He kissed and teased her all over again. James’s hands and mouth went to work on her overly sensitive skin. Irene shivered as he ran his hands over her ribs and up her breasts, gently teasing and squeezing as he nipped at her neck. She closed her eyes and let his manipulation of her senses begin again.

     James planted himself in between her legs and gently rocked his hard cock against her pussy’s entrance. She gripped his arms as he rose and looked into her eyes. A wicked look crossed his features as he rocked, teasing the entrance to her sensitive cunt. Her head was spinning. She waited and almost begged him to fuck her like she had never experienced.

     “Do you want me?” James growled.

     “Yes,” Irene said, running her hands down to his hips. She tugged and urged him forward.

Author Bio:

Bella Juarez is originally from San Antonio, Texas and now lives and writes on a small ranch in South Central Texas. She draws inspiration from the real life heroes and heroines of the United States military and her many experiences in the twelve years she worked within that world as well as from her life in the civilian world. Her love of thrill and adventure are reflected in her stories. When she’s not writing, Bella runs a business and is active in the business community. She also runs half-marathons and loves to be in the kitchen whipping up something to feed her hungry boys.

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Meet Me in the Garden by Rosa Sophia

Title: Meet Me in the Garden

Author: Rosa Sophia

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Release Date: January 20th 2015

Publisher: Limitless Publishing

Summary:
Memories of another life, and the garden where it all began, keep Amalie Jarvis awake at night.

A columnist for a popular magazine, she attends a function in Palm Beach at the famous Breakers Hotel, only to cross paths with graphic designer Ian Gardner—who appears to hold the key to her visions. The more time they spend together, the more Amalie realizes how much she wants to be with him. And how much she fears admitting that she loves him.

Ian can’t remember the past, but he is drawn to Amalie with an intense passion he’s never felt before.

Many moons ago, they met in a garden. Different names, different faces—but their souls were still the same. Unable to resist her, Ian falls deeply in love. He remains by her side as she battles severe facial pain, not knowing what it is or if it could kill her. Frightened for her, he swears his adoration without ever speaking the words.

But their devotion has dangers, and they’re about to be faced by hazards neither of them could have foreseen…

     There was something about the condo downstairs that captivated Amalie’s imagination. As the days passed, Ian’s words echoed in her mind. She knew he was right. She had to talk to Roseanne.
     She was the only person in the building who, on cooler days, would turn her air conditioning down and open the small window by her front door. Scents of freshly made apple pie and traditional kosher dishes would waft out the window, making Amalie’s stomach grumble as she passed the older woman’s condo on the way to her own.
     She wasn’t the only one drawn in by Roseanne’s oddly comforting personality. Amalie remarked to Ian one day about the tree frogs that continually took up residence outside Roseanne’s door. They sat on her welcome mat, barely moving. Sometimes they looked like tiny figurines, until Amalie stepped close enough and saw the gentle pulsing at their throats.
     Butterflies flocked to Roseanne’s windows, especially the zebra longwing, Florida’s state butterfly. They fluttered about as if peeking inside, wondering when she would emerge. Amalie watched them as she stood in front of the door, poised to knock. Before she could rap her knuckles against the wood, the door opened, and Amalie gulped in surprise.
     Roseanne was clad in another of her multi-colored kaftans, her red hair pulled into a casual up-do.      She smiled warmly and stepped aside, bracelets jingling on her wrists.
     “Come on inside, dear.”
     “How’d you know I was here?” Amalie said in a small voice, her heart pounding in her throat.
     “I saw ya through the window.” Roseanne cocked her head, one bushy red eyebrow rising above her pale blue spectacles. “Are ya feeling all right?”
     “Uh, yeah, I…” Amalie laughed nervously. “I don’t know, it’s stupid, I sort of felt like you knew I was coming.”
     “Oh, don’t be silly!” Roseanne waved a hand dismissively as she shut the door behind them. “I’d hafta be psychic, wouldn’t I?” She let out a musical peal of laughter and took off her glasses. “Don’t need these anymore. I was reading one of those dirty novels, ya know. Just got to the part where he was ‘bout to rip her shirt off, then ah looked up and saw ya out the window.”
     “Maybe you won’t be able to help me,” Amalie mumbled distractedly.
     “I’m sorry, what’d ya say, dear?” Roseanne stepped into the kitchen. “Would ya like a slice ah cherry pie? I just baked it yesterday.”
     “Uh, sure. I mean, Ian keeps telling me you might be able to help me with something, and I don’t know who else to talk to. I…I’m afraid you might think I’m crazy if I tell you. And we don’t really know each other that well.”
     “Honey, the things I’ve seen, most people wouldn’t dare believe,” Roseanne said, the tone of her voice becoming stronger, more indicative of her Jersey Jew roots. Amalie watched her scoop a generous helping of pie onto a gold-rimmed plate. She handed the plate to Amalie and served herself a slice. “Let’s sit down at the table.” Roseanne indicated the small dining area near the front door.
     The two women settled across from each other, and Amalie dug into the pie. It was delicious. As she savored her first bite, she nearly forgot why she’d come to see Roseanne in the first place.

Author Bio:
Rosa Sophia divides her time between South Florida and Pennsylvania. She edits for publishers and independent clients, holds a degree in Automotive Technology, and enjoys running, hiking, collecting comic books, and traveling.

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Cover Reveal: Broken Chords by Carrie Elks

Title: Broken Chords

Author: Carrie Elks

Series: Love in London #2

Genre: Adult, Romance

Release Date: February 26, 2015

Cover Design: Okay Creations

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Summary:
Lara knows she should feel lucky. Married to the man of her dreams, with a gorgeous new baby, she should be enjoying her happy-ever-after. But she never expected motherhood to be so difficult, or for her life to change so dramatically.
Alex has it all: hot, tattooed looks, a beautiful wife, and a band that's finally getting noticed. A lucrative offer of a US tour should be the icing on the cake. But as he leaves the country, distance isn't the only thing that starts to pull their relationship apart.
With half a world dividing them, Alex and Lara have to battle for a marriage they once took for granted.

***Broken Chords is the second story in the Love in London series but can be read completely as a stand-alone.
Though it's a series, it's not a serial and there are no cliffhangers, each book features a different couple!***

     “What caused that smile, gorgeous?” Alex moves back towards me, pulling me into his free arm. His hand cups my hip, fingers digging in deliciously as he bends his head to my neck and presses his lips there. I breathe him in, fresh and clean from a shower, hair glistening and moulded into an almost quiff.
     He’s all gel and rolled-up sleeves. There’s no collar on his t-shirt, so I can see the dark inked scrolls that lick up from his chest and shoulders peeking out from the material. Even though Max is in his arms, I can’t help but trace them with my fingers, feeling him tense up as I flutter my hand against his skin.
     “Maybe Max should have a nap.” Alex’s voice is thick. “He seems really tired.”
     Max starts babbling again; sleep is clearly the furthest thing from his mind.
     “He’s not due another nap until this evening.” I try not to laugh at the disappointment on Alex’s face. He stares at me through narrowed eyes, and I smile in response. I’m caught somewhere in the middle of turned-on and amused.
     “He seems really tired,” Alex repeats. “And those lips of yours look really empty.”
     I know where he’s going with this; I feel like playing.
     “They are. Really empty. Desperate to be filled.”
     “Then put the baby to bed,” he growls.
     I lean forward and press my mouth to Alex’s. He kisses me back, his movements heated. Cupping my chin, he angles my head, slowly running his tongue along the seam of my lips. “Put the baby to bed, now, Lara.”

Coming Down #1

Summary:

Beth finally has her life back on track. A job she loves, a wealthy husband and a beautiful home are a far cry from the tragedy that struck when she was nineteen. But now that her past seems firmly behind her, an old flame walks back into her life. Bringing back painful memories of a time she's worked hard to forget, reviving a passion she tried to bury years before.

Niall is an up-and-coming artist, recently returned from success in America. Volunteering to teach in an inner-city drug clinic, the last person he expects to see is the girl who broke his heart nine years earlier. Working closely together allows their old wounds to heal, forging a deeper connection between them. One that slowly starts to burn.

As she becomes tangled up with a neglected child and her drug-addict mother, Beth finds herself drawn to Niall. But neither of them can anticipate how hard it is to tread the thin line between friendship and desire.

Author Bio:
Carrie Elks lives near London, England and writes contemporary romance with a dash of intrigue. At the age of twenty-one she left college with a political science degree, a healthy overdraft and a soon-to-be husband. She loves to travel and meet new people, and has lived in the USA and Switzerland as well as the UK. An avid social networker, she tries to limit her Facebook and Twitter time to stolen moments between writing chapters. When she isn’t reading or writing, she can usually be found baking, drinking wine or working out how to combine the two.

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