Monday, March 25, 2019

HIS ONE WISH IS LIVE ON AMAZON

Happy Monday, Everyone!

I'm so proud to announce that my novella, HIS ONE WISH, is now live on Amazon only.  This is my first release for 2019. If all works well, I will go through this crazy excitement three more times this year. 

I know my new cover is all over my blog, but here it is again. One more time....because it's RELEASE DAY!!!

 HIS ONE WISH

AMAZON

HIS ONE WISH is exclusively on Amazon. I did that for a reason. I wanted all my readers who are part of Kindle Unlimited to have a chance to get this book for free. If you are not a KU subscriber, it's only $2.99. 

HIS ONE WISH Blurb:

True worth comes from within…

Aiden Cooper loved being a Marine, but an explosion ripped that world to shreds, leaving him adrift without purpose.  When a contract to locate a missing high tech prototype appears out of thin air, he decides to take it despite the shady details. How much trouble could a palm size codebreaker cause?

Jazlin Morgan has been groomed from childhood to run Turhan Technologies, but she has another dream. However, when her father collapses into a coma from a poison with no known antidote, Jazlin steps into the CEO role with a vengeance. As she struggles to save her father’s company, she must confront whether she is the root of the chaos that has befallen it. 

For Aiden, locating the “Genie” is easy. Separating the job from the enigma that is Jazlin Morgan could destroy him. 

Jazlin can’t protect Turhan and her father by herself. Can she trust a stranger who is hiding his identity, but can’t seem to veil his heart? Or is he the real threat?

As competing desires tear their worlds apart, whose wishes will come true?

And once revealed, it will set the heart free.

A modern day fairytale retelling.
Heat level: Sensual

*** This is the re-release of HIS ONE WISH. It was previously published in anthology, Modern Magic by Crimson Romance.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

No matter how hard he planned and sacrificed, life still came from behind and kicked him in the ass. Aiden Cooper leaned his back against the wet brick and used the greasy dumpster as cover. “No job is worth this shit.”

Damn it to hell, he deserved a good ass-kicking. He could’ve been sitting, warm and clean, with his feet resting on a desk and a damn good annual salary resting in his bank account. Instead, he was wet to the bone and miserable, because he had too much pride to accept what he considered a pity offer.

It was honest work, moron, unlike whatever the hell this is.

The pungent stench of rotting vegetables made him gag as every instinct his training had drilled into him shot to the surface, awakening his senses for the first time in several months. The musky hint of wet dog hit him seconds before the black Labrador squeezed between his legs and the wall.

“You really don’t understand the word ‘stay,’ do you, Karo?” he whispered as his fingers gently scratched behind the dog’s drenched ear. “Just how did you manage to get out this time?”

He had secured his apartment door, but Karo somehow found a way to follow him. Then again, Aiden never stayed put, either. He had run free like a street rat for the first seventeen years of his life in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Baltimore. The military had given him a much-needed ten-year lesson in order and discipline after his unruly beginnings—that is, until fate decided to blow his left hand and forearm to pieces. The Marines had no use for a one-handed soldier and tossed him right back to the one place he never wished to return.
A dark limo pulled onto the side street and double-parked in front of the alley. The pretentious vehicle didn’t belong in the low-class Baltimore neighborhood. But what waited patiently behind the tinted glass of the limo was Aiden’s chance at a new beginning.

The deep, throaty growl from his only true friend bounced against the walls of the tight space. Without giving away his position, he rested his hands on Karo’s head.

“I know. This is a new low, even for me.”

The plan was simple. One job, one payoff, and he and Karo could get the hell out of this stinking city. Some big shot from Turhan Technologies needed the best in the recon business. When Aiden completed the assignment, he would have earned more money in one night than he did standing behind a mall security desk in a year.

His army buddy had promised him the assignment was on the up and up, nothing illegal. It wasn’t stealing, not really. Turhan Technologies had funded this project, paid the quantum physicist good money to design some special prototype. And the nitwit kid had walked off with it. Aiden didn’t have a clue what the stolen device did. His job was to collect it and return it to Turhan’s vice president.

Squaring his shoulders, he stepped out of the shadows. A sense of unease slithered down his spine, and the feeling had nothing to do with the dampness in the air. He was being watched, but he couldn’t detect from where.

Aiden approached the vehicle and gripped the passenger-side door handle, but it was locked. The tinted window rolled halfway down and came to a stop.

“Are you Cooper?” A deep voice resonated from the darkened interior of the limo.

“Yeah.”

The man’s features were partially hidden, but Aiden recognized the deep slant in his thick eyebrows, his chiseled cheekbones, square jaw, and dark, thick head of hair. Malcolm Morgan, Turhan’s vice president and chief technology officer, was everything Aiden wasn’t. Rich. Powerful. Ruthless. The Baltimore Sun painted him as a gifted philanthropist, a man willing to put his expertise behind any project that would keep Baltimore booming. His latest project was reconstructing his brother’s company so it could once again compete in the global market. Aiden had just read about it in the paper that morning.

Morgan stuck his hand out the window and handed Aiden a folded sheet of paper with a key taped on the outside. “Everything you need is here. Call the cell phone number when you have my merchandise.”

The window slowly rose. Aiden slammed the paper against the glass. “And my payment?”


The window came down just low enough to pass the manila envelope through. 

“Half now, the rest when you deliver.”

Morgan leaned forward and turned toward the glass. “Try to run out on me, Cooper …”

“Save your threats, Morgan. I agreed to the job, and I’ll get it done.”

Aiden stepped onto the sidewalk and studied the limo until it turned the corner. He memorized the address on the paper and tucked the key and envelope into his jean pocket. Karo flanked his back like a trained soldier. “I can’t leave you here and don’t have time to walk you back home, so you might as well come along.”

His comment fell flat. The only control over the animal Aiden had was what Karo gave him. The black Lab had followed him home from the corner bar a week after he was released from rehab and hadn’t left his side since.

The envelope of cash was burning a hole through his conscience. Bad money only brought trouble. Aiden had about a hundred yards to make up his mind. The kid’s apartment was in the next block.

A hint of jasmine and spice hit his nostrils, and goose bumps tickled the back of his neck. He was being followed. He slowed his pace to give his stalker—female, judging by the scent—a chance to reveal herself. It wasn’t a good idea to sneak up on him.

But if this was a real threat, Karo should have warned him. “Some guard dog you are.”

Karo let out a slight whimper. Aiden could swear he looked guilty. They turned at the corner, and Aiden plastered his back against the brick. The instant the woman stepped into his path, he pushed off the wall, blocking her way, and almost swallowed his tongue.

She stood poised, her shoulders back, chin high, and her expression almost regal. Under the hood of her fur-lined coat, a rhinestone-studded gold headband glistened. The jewels didn’t end there. Gold chains that draped low between her breasts and around her wrists had to be the real thing. Damn, she was stunning.

“Princess, you lost?”

She let out a soft gasp. “No, I don’t think so.”

“What are you doing here?”

The words tumbled out of his mouth of their own accord. But what the hell was a woman with this much class doing in a dark street corner on the wrong side of Baltimore. His assessment stopped on her face, and her dark brown eyes sucked him in, keeping him prisoner. Karo bumped Aiden’s leg with his nose, yanking him out of her spell.

She moved around him and knelt next to a man asleep under an awning, slipping several bills into his coffee can. Aiden’s survival instinct shot to the surface. “That’s not smart.”

“I was following you.”

“What?”

“You asked what I was doing here. I was following you.”

“And that’s not smart either. Why?”

A look crossed her face that said, how dense can you be?

“To find out where you were going.”

Damn, she was sassy. Something close to laughter boiled up inside him. He’d forgotten the last time he laughed. “Is living dangerously something you just felt like doing tonight, princess?”

“Stop calling me that.”

Aiden couldn’t help raking his eyes over her from head to foot—beautiful, exotic, every inch of her perfect. Smooth, dark chestnut hair flowed gently down her back almost to her waist. She nervously pulled a tassel of hair around to the front, twisted it around her finger, and then let it loose. It took everything in him to keep from brushing it behind her shoulder, taking his time to caress the back of his finger over the swell of her breast.

“You’re staring.”

“Yeah. That’s what happens when you follow someone, princess.”
“Seriously, don’t call me that. I’m not—”

“What should I call you?”

“Jazlin.”

“That fits.” He leaned on the wall with his hands on his hips. “Again, why in the hell are you following me?”

This time, a faint hint of rose appeared on her cheeks. Her gaze roamed passed his left shoulder. “Do you work for Malcolm Morgan?”

Aiden stepped into her personal space, eyes narrowing. Anyone in their right mind would’ve had the sense to run. She lifted her bewitching eyes and matched his glare with one of her own.

“Is that your business?”

She had the decency to swallow. “No. Well, kind of. He’s not a nice man, and—”
“How do you know him, princess?”

Her expression turned hard, and her hands fisted at her sides. “Don’t call me that again.”

“Answer the damn question.”

“I’m trying to figure out what he is up to.”

“So you’re out spying on your sugar daddy. Did he find himself a little plaything on the side? Maybe it’s time you readjust your standards.”

“You think I’m his … that I would …”

Aiden spun her around and gave her shoulder a light push. “Go home.”

“Whatever he paid you, I’ll double it.”

He’d sure as hell read that situation wrong. Still, the woman was crazy to go against someone like Malcolm Morgan. “No.” He placed a hand on her elbow and began walking back the way they had come.

She jerked her arm free and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. “Okay, I’ll triple it.”

His pulse quickened. “Where’s your vehicle?”

“Why?”

“I’m putting you in it, and you’re getting out of this neighborhood.”

“God, you’re such a macho, pigheaded jerk.” She maneuvered around him and strutted to the corner, Karo at her heels. The dog paused and appeared to be waiting for Aiden to catch up, like he was slowing down the party.

“Shit,” Aidan muttered. “I’ve fallen down a fucking rabbit hole.”

When he finally caught up to Jazlin, she was standing in the middle of the block with her fists at her waist. “It’s not this block, is it?”

Without waiting for him to answer, she rushed further down the sidewalk, pausing only long enough to check traffic before she crossed the street. The building she stopped in front of was the address from Morgan, but Aiden wasn’t going to share that tidbit.

Jazlin was the first woman in a long time who made him wish he’d shaved his Unabomber beard and worn something he hadn’t slept in the last two days. But, damn, was she high-strung and unreasonable.

“So, now what, princess?”

Her stare bore into him, nearly causing him to take a step back. “Call me that again and you’ll be eating pavement.”

Aiden moved in close enough that her spicy scent made his mouth water. “Sweetheart, you don’t want to threaten me.”

She sucked in a breath and whispered, “What’s your name?”

“Aiden Cooper.”

“I’m not afraid of you, Mr. Cooper.”

“You should be.”

“Liar.” She nodded at Karo. “Your dog cares about you, protects you. That speaks volumes to me, but I’m not here to get in your way unless you intend to hurt my friend.”

“Who is your friend?”

“Jin Ru. We work together at Turhan, but he’s been out for the last couple of days. I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Shit. There couldn’t be more than one Jin Ru hiding from Malcolm Morgan in this neighborhood. Tiny pricks of raw nerves teetered on the boundaries of Aiden’s patience, and he could taste the danger in the back of his throat. Karo must have sensed it, too, because he let out a deep growl and raced up the four steps of the building.

“I don’t mean to be—”

“Inside. Now.” Aiden took hold of her elbow and rushed her up the stairs. He removed Morgan’s key from his front pocket and unlocked the door. Before he could do a rough breakdown of the apartment building, Jazlin yanked her arm free.

“Is this where Jin is hiding?” She didn’t wait for an answer but dashed up the staircase, calling out her friend’s name. Karo took off after her.

Aiden glanced through the small windows next to the entrance, but everything was still, quiet. Whatever spooked him had decided to make an appearance.
Jazlin pounded back down the steps to the landing. “Are you coming?”

“What chance do I have that you’ll wait for me down here?”

“None.”

Aiden took the steps two at a time, ascending the four flights quickly. Outside apartment 4B, he raised his fist and let loose three loud knocks. When no one opened the door, he pounded on the wood again. “Jin Ru, we need to talk.”

The shadow beneath the threshold changed. Someone was standing in front of the door. “Look, I’ve been sent by Malcolm Morgan to retrieve the device you took from Turhan Technologies. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Jazlin moved in front of the door. “Jin, it’s me, Jazlin. Open the door. I need to know you are all right.”

The lock released and the door opened. Jin Ru only stood an inch taller than Jazlin, but he was wiry … and pissed.

“What the hell, dude? Why did you involve her?”

“I didn’t,” Aiden said. “She stuck her nose in the middle of my business, and I can’t shake her.”


A car door slammed in the distance, and Jin’s posture stiffened. “Great. Then all three of us are screwed.”

AMAZON

~~~
That's it for today. I hope you have a great week. Make sure you find a few stolen moments to read a wonderful book. 

Hugs to all, 
Nancy C. Weeks

*** Don't forget to join my Facebook Fan Page, Nancy's Corner, join my Newsletter and follow me on BookBub.   


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