My name is Kennedi Darling, and I write contemporary suspenseful MC Romance. I live in sunny Arizona with my husband of 14 years, our two boys, ages nine and five years, and our eleven-year-old dog named Roxie. In my day-to-day life, I spend my days as a full-time stay-at-home mom to my boys, as well as a full-time caregiver to my one-year-old niece. My nights are a different story. I use the little free time I have, to research, plot, and write the stories I love so dearly.

My journey into becoming a published author started in July of 2020, although my love of writing began in my youth. Creative writing was something that always fueled my soul. There’s something peaceful and utterly amazing about having the ability to bring something to life with one’s mind.

When I first decided to start this series, it began as a dream that wouldn’t let up. Piece by piece it came together, the characters slipping details to me like love notes written in class. It seemed to fill every moment of my day and consume my dreams until, finally, I had the whole picture. I remember I kept a notebook with me at all times because I never knew when someone new would pop up and say hello. This amazing world filled with characters, what they looked like, their pasts, their heartache, their strengths, and everything they’d need to succeed was there before me.

Then, I had all these puzzle pieces and two characters screaming at me to tell their story. They told me it was theirs that needed to be told first. It was theirs that was needed to start this series. So, that’s what I did.

Honestly, when I sat down to do this big scary thing, my husband thought I was nuts. “You’re going to do what now?” he said to me. “A book, like for other people to read?” I understood his confusion. Never in our sixteen years together had I ever mentioned wanting to write a book and now, all of a sudden, I was embarking on this journey I dove into headfirst. Well, I set out to write something that I thought people would love and relate to and be able to feel with every fiber of their being, and I hope I’ve done just that.

If you’ve ever read the MC romance genre before, you’ve probably heard of the SAA (sergeant at arms) position and what it entails. For those that haven’t, the SAA’s job is to maintain the safety and security of the club. That includes the safety of the members, their families, and all their property. The first novel in the series features a decorated former Army Ranger who now holds the SAA seat at the officer’s table for the Tattered Souls MC.

Follow Dagger’s journey along an emotional rollercoaster, battling a loss he wasn’t prepared for, treading water in a sea of misconception, and finally getting his hard-earned HEA. This book of trials, heartache, and undying love will leave you with a book hangover of epic proportions, but don’t worry; more is to come from the TSMC.

Dagger

Sienna:
I promised him forever, only one mistake became never.
My body was no longer my lover’s temple, but a madman’s canvas.
Instead of quivering with pleasure, I shuddered in pain.
Now I’m back, a shell of a woman with a shattered mind and a tattered soul.
There’s no way Dagger would see me for the woman I was.
And the loneliness is going to kill me.

Dagger:
I promised her forever, only one call became never.
Dreams of the future were no longer peaceful, but shattered by nightmares.
The woman who held the key to my soul was gone, though I never moved on.
Now she’s back, though tattered and broken.
She’ll never believe she still owns my heart.
But I’m determined to avenge her.

Dagger is the first book in the Tattered Souls MC. This story includes a HEA, no cliffhanger, and no cheating.

Adult Content Warning: This book contains explicit language, sexual scenes, and violence.

**Trigger Warnings**
This book contains instances of past torture, the recounting of past mental and physical abuse, as well as an instance of suicidal thoughts and a stopped attempt. If any of these subjects affect you negatively, this book may not be suitable for you.

Book Link:
Dagger (Tattered Souls MC: Book 1) is available on KU and on Amazon here: https://mybook.to/DaggerTSMC

Where to find Kennedi

My Links
Facebook Author Page: facebook.com/kennedidarlingauthor
Join my reader group here: ( I’m less socially awkward here…most of the time): https://www.facebook.com/groups/kennedidarlingsdolls
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21583118.Kennedi_Darling
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/kennedi-darling
AllAuthor: https://allauthor.com/author/kennedidarling/
Instagram: instagram.com/kennedidarlingauthor
Twitter: twitter.com/KennediDarling

Happy New Year to you all from Melbourne, Australia, and thanks to Delilah Devlin for hosting my blog.

What’s your favourite time of year? Is it Christmas? Your birthday?

For me, it’s the beginning of a new year. It starts with the magical build-up to midnight that will farewell the old and greet the new. My lovely husband and I get together with my cousin’s family for a night full of excitement and noise. Our lively conversation during dinner centers around the year that has been and what we hope is to come. It transitions into a games night and our competitive spirits come out to play. The husbands get a little merry, the volume increases and there’s always a side-splitting moment that will become folklore for the years ahead.

Somewhere between ten and eleven, a lull settles over the room. There are yawns and regular clock checking. Then a welcomed snack and refreshment interlude revives us for what is left of the countdown.

During those dozen or so precious minutes, as the celebrations peak, we head outside for the festive, 360-degree fireworks, and it’s then that my reflection time begins. I relish the good that has evolved during the year and let go of the bad. I shed a tear for those I’m leaving behind and feel that glorious tingle for the possibilities that lay ahead.

After the cheers fade and the hugs are distributed, our short drive home is consumed by Christmas lights and a call to more family for New Year’s greetings.

At a more reasonable hour on the first of January, the organized Libran in me gets to work. I pull out the latest purchase that’s going to take control of my world and keep me balanced. It’s amazing to think how much stock we put into the idea of an inanimate object changing our life. What is yours?

Barista hubby would tell you that for him, it’s the coffee machine I gave him as an early Christmas present. After keeping me caffeinated all year, he deserved an upgrade.

But for me, it’s all about my new, glossy day planner. Who doesn’t love a brand-new piece of stationery? With meticulous thought, I write my goals, the steps I need to take and the words of motivation that will keep me focused throughout the year. I fill it with tasks for that all important first month that will set the tone for the year. And I’ve got big plans for 2022.

In 2021 I published my first hot contemporary romance novel on Amazon Kindle. The Cop was mostly written during Melbourne’s sixth lockdown (Yes, that’s right! The most locked down city in the world. Bah!)

The Cop focuses on the chemistry between a sexy as sin cop, Kane Browne and Jess, a woman who is battling self-confidence issues due to an illness. Kane’s selfless nature is put to the test when a possible promotion to Sergeant would see him moving to a rural town, three hours away. There’s also the issue of the three younger brothers, Kane and his next in line sibling had to raise due to the passing of their parents. Just as Kane has everything under control, the unthinkable happens which has him questioning everything he knew about himself.

This novel is not only about love, delicious sex scenes and a happily ever after. It’s also about resilience, overcoming adversities and the importance of family. And for Kane, it’s about the ultimate test of selfless versus selfish.

It is the first in a series featuring the Browne brothers and I‘ve already begun work on the second novel. Although I am prepared for the battle between working twenty-five hours a week at an office job (dealing mostly with figures), writing and maintaining housework and a husband (wink).

Publishing a novel was a dream that was a long time in the making, mostly from a lack of hard work and dedication. Over the past decade, I’d started and stopped so many times, it’s embarrassing. But being open and honest about failures is part and parcel of life. It’s how you grow or so I’ve been led to believe.

So, what changed, I hear you ask. The blunt answer is the passing of my father.

My Dad, Kevin was diagnosed with Leukemia at the start of 2019, after previously beating lymphoma a year or so earlier. As you can imagine, writing was an outlet for expressing my feelings and it served as a distraction from his fight. I told myself that if he’s strong enough for his battle than surely, I could match him with dedication and finally finish something I’d wanted to achieve for the majority of my life. Although, it should be noted the novel I was working on at the time, isn’t quite finished yet. The characters need a little more development. But I’ve promised them they won’t be left on the shelf for too long.

Unfortunately, Dad lost his battle in August 2020, but it fueled my desire and need to write more than ever before. I came up with the idea for The Cop in the middle of 2021, got to work and never looked back. Three beta readers gave me both good and constructive feedback. I tweaked and re-wrote some scenes until here I am, a smile of accomplishment on my face and a self-published novel to show for my efforts.

I like to think my father’s battle and his subsequent passing weren’t in vain. I like to think he gave me the desire. That sink or swim moment I needed to pursue and conquer the dream I’ve had since I was a naive fifteen-year-old who thought writing would be all about the glory and less about the hard work and dedication it requires.

So, now what’s going to drive me? My characters, of course. They’re all in my head, ready to burst out onto a fresh, white blank computer screen. The plotline for the next Browne brother’s chance at love has my fingers itching to hit the keyboard. I’m ready for the challenge of completing a second novel. And then a third. The prospect is exciting.

Whatever it is you’re planning for 2022, I wish you joy, health and happiness. I wish you nothing but success. And I’d love to hear about your plans, your life changing inanimate object or anything else you’d like to share.

The Cop

Kane Browne is a sexy as sin cop who is used to accommodating everyone else’s needs before his own.

Cue Jess Frost, the gorgeous woman with a sharp tongue and eyes like the ocean.

From their first roadside interaction, sparks fly but an illness has robbed Jess of her self-confidence and Kane needs to convince her he’s worth taking a chance on.

This sexy, contemporary romance is a little sweet, a little naughty and comes with a side of handcuffs and a HEA (happily ever after). First book in a series, featuring five very different brothers.

The Cop is now available in paperback and e-book formats on Amazon.

Get your copy here!

Follow Deb Robinson on her official Facebook page
Follow on Twitter @DRobinsonbooks
Follow on Instagram debrobinsonbooks

Hello all! My name is Jaiyde Thomas, and I am an indie author of mm romance. I love books with lots of angst, a character-driven plot, and of course, lots and lots of sex or BDSM scenes. My favorite romance tropes are hurt/comfort and first-time gay, and I’m a sucker for happily-ever-afters. What I wish to see more in fiction, whether it be TV or books, are disabled characters.

I have been blind since birth. I was told that because I was born premature (1lb. 6oz.), I was placed into an incubator to help with my growth and development. Too much oxygen to my brain led to my cause of blindness, retinopathy of prematurity, which is an eye disease that causes abnormal blood vessels to grow in the retina in premature babies. I was in the hospital for two months before my mother was allowed to take me home. At some point, I was also diagnosed with glaucoma, which is increased pressure in the eyeball that causes vision loss.

Being blind had its challenges and its advantages. As a young child, I had moments of doubt because of my disability, and I felt I was different when I was around sighted peers or family. I had many passions as a young girl that kept me feeling normal, and one of them was reading. The Library for the Blind would send me stacks of books, and I would sit on the floor and devour all that I could. Sometimes, I wouldn’t even take off my shoes after school, or I’d be late for dinner, my Granny having to call me multiple times before I understood: stop reading and come eat. Then, I was allowed one day to bring a Braillewriter home from school, and that started my writing journey.

I won’t bore you with my entire life story, but I started writing songs and short stories at around age nine. Then, in seventh grade, I decided to write my first story about a teenage pregnancy. When I became bored with that, I wrote a seven-story series based off my own experiences in high school. In one of them, the main character is blind for a few months, but regains her sight soon after. I wanted her to deal with what I was in real life.

In 2020, under my other pen name, Kelanie Black, I created The Red Lair book series. The focus for this was to show that disabled people, such as the blind, could explore BDSM just like sighted people. Each book had one or two blind characters, each dealing with their exploration of the lifestyle and disability in a different way. After the series was completed, I had decided to try my hand at a new genre: mm romance.

A question online made me push forward writing disabled characters. I will address it below:

Why do you always write about blind people?

Firstly, I don’t believe that we as disabled persons get enough recognition. In TV shows and movies, there are some, but they only have a small role where they are seen and forgotten about, or the disabilities are portrayed inaccurately. I haven’t read a book that includes sex and disabled characters, but I’m sure they’re out there.

Secondly, BDSM is stigmatized just like blind people having sex. People think that because we are blind that someone has to help us all the time and watch over us 24/7. That’s far from the truth! I know many blind people who enjoy sex and BDSM and don’t have a sighted person with them to guide them. We are just normal people, we just do things a bit differently, and we may need accommodations to do them, but we still get things done.

Finally, I write about blind people exploring the BDSM lifestyle so that I can educate others. If you aren’t blind, you wouldn’t know what the day-to-day experience of a disabled person is like. I encourage questions, comments, and even feedback regarding blindness, BDSM, accessibility, because how will you learn if you don’t ask?

Thank you so much for having me! I will post my socials below, and please feel free to follow, friend, and PM me with anything of interest that catches your eye from this post or questions.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaiyde_thomas
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaiyde_thomas
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/jaiyde.thomas2142/
Website: www.trustsayyes.blogspot.com

Claim Me, Love Me by Jaiyde Thomas

The Red Lair series by Kelanie Black:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLM4WWH?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tukn

UPDATE: The winners are…Laura and K. Campos!
*~*~*

Besides my series, I have written some very sexy standalone stories, too! I forget about them because I’m so busy trying to keep up with series, but I shouldn’t. In fact, I should go back and look at my workplan, because I deserve to write something completely fun and one-off!

If you haven’t read the books below, now’s your time to peruse this incomplete list, and I’m including an excerpt from one of them so you can sample some of the fun. Several of them are menage stories, so if that’s your thing, be sure to check them out!

Contest

For a chance to win your choice of one of the books below,
share something about yourself others might find interesting!

Click on any cover to learn more about the story!

Excerpt from Fun with Dick and Jane…

Tuesday

They were going at it again, and he was gonna get arrested. Which would be pretty damn embarrassing, considering he was cop.

Like clockwork, the couple across the alleyway started banging the minute his car pulled into the garage.

A sight impossible to miss. The street along the back of the parallel rows of one-story houses wasn’t much of a buffer. Driveways spoked off the narrow, paved road, and only twenty feet separated his garage from the bedroom window across the way.

Last night, he’d loosened the garage light bulb to make sure it didn’t give him away when the door slid up. Tonight, he’d flicked his car’s overhead lamp switch off so that the light wouldn’t beam the moment he exited his vehicle. Carefully, he closed his car door, pushing it with his hip to muffle the click as it locked, then walked around to the back of the car to lean his ass against the trunk and watch the show.

They had to know anyone walking by could see every damn thing—every drop of sweat, every short curl of pale blonde hair. She faced the window, clutching the bottom windowsill, her breasts bouncing every time Boyfriend slammed her ass.

God, her tits were Grade-A prime. Cherry nipples topping creamy mounds.

Her blue eyes closed, her mouth rounded, and he knew when she came because she always wore the same expression—her cheeks growing rosy, her eyebrows drawing together tightly, and the corners of her mouth curving like the cat that licked the cream.

And if the wind hadn’t been whistling through the alley, he would have heard the whimper she gave when Boyfriend milked the last little contraction of her orgasm.

Fuck. He needed his own woman. Maybe she had a twin. Because he sure as shit wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone who wasn’t her, Jane Peabody—Jane Hotbody as he’d begun to call her in his head. He’d had her plates run so he’d have a name to assign the woman who’d played a starring role in all his fantasies these past couple of weeks.

At last, the couple finished and Boyfriend was pulling her into his arms, wrapping them around her belly and cupping those beautiful breasts as she snuggled her back against his chest.

It was time to leave. The show was over for the night.

Then her eyes opened, and Garrett Masters could have sworn she looked right at him. He cussed softly, straightened, and raised his arm, pulling down the garage door and shutting off the sight of her mouth stretching into a wide grin.

This post is a duplicate of the one I put up on the Collections website today. I didn’t have a guest here and was feeling a little lazy—plus, I love to introduce new authors to you all. Be sure to welcome Izzy and take advantage of her special offer!

Good things come to those who wait?

I’ve been writing for years—familiar story—without thinking about a next step! They say, write what you want to read. I write stories about love, lust, romance, relationships, and am now just realizing, hey, someone else might enjoy these suckers. Being a fan of Delilah’s racy romances, I’m over-joyed for Izzy’s debut in the Cowboys Behaving Badly Anthology. I hope you love Deacon in “Something to Talk About” as much as I do, and please reach out if you’d like more of my strong, silent, hunky cowboy! My brand-spanking-new website went live today. Come find me!

About Izzy…

• Izzy Archer is my pen name… shhhh. She’s badass.
• I discovered my love for erotic romance in a writing course: How to Write SEX. I’m currently working on a collection of erotic short stories revised from my old homework assignments.
• Paris is my favorite city and will definitely factor into future stories!
• I recently moved into an old Victorian in the Boston area, so it’s a good thing I’m handy, own power tools, and can fix things. Although, this place is over my skill level. But what’s more inspiring to a romance writer than crews of interesting workers coming and going? Everyone has a backstory!
• I turned into a wine snob from living in California. Reds from boutique vineyards. My favorite kind of day is wine tasting while taking in a view of the mountains.
• I believe in true love, soul mates, and the destiny we make. I create strong female characters. Don’t get me wrong, I love an alpha male. But, if there’s rescuing to be done, she’s fully capable.
• My stories will always have a happy ending. Otherwise, what’s the point?

I believe good things can come at any time! And if you’re willing to wait until late winter/early spring, I’d love to send you a freebie of my story collection when it’s out! Sign up on my new—as in HITTING-THE-LIVE-BUTTON on 12.30.21 (TODAY!)—website newsletter list. The Mailing List link is on my Contact page. Mention Delilah or Cowboys, and I will send you a book in 2022! Find the link here: Izzyarcher.com

Cafe Paris is for Lovers

SNEAK PEEK from short story, Prêt-à-porter (Ready to Wear) inside Cafe Paris is for Lovers…

Caroline, in Paris for Fashion Week, meets her longtime lover at a café in Le Marais, where he has arranged a special lunch for her…

Caroline wove her way through the outdoor seating of tiny marble-topped tables and caned-back chairs to the inside warmth of the cafe. She inhaled the smell of fresh bread and dark roasted coffee.

“Jean Claude, you waited for me.”

“Caroline, pas du problem. I’d wait a thousand years for you.” Jean Claude stood immediately and discarded the paper on the chair. He kissed her on each cheek, Parisian-style, right-left-right, and then they embraced. Tight at first, like old friends. When his hand lingered around her waist, his lips grazing her neck, Caroline smiled to herself. Only a tourist would think we were just friends.

About the Author

Izzy Archer writes erotic romance with a pen in one hand and a glass of Casamigos Reposado in the other. On the rocks, with a twist of lime. She has a fondness for both cowboys and cowboy boots. Not always in that order. Find out more about Izzy at IzzyArcher.com!

Her story inside Cowboys: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology was “Something to Talk About”…

When a grad student takes a job as a nanny to two motherless children on a cutting horse ranch, she catches the eye of her sexy boss

UPDATE: The winners are…Daun Ann Corty and Laura!
*~*~*

I loved writing my Uncharted SEALs series. All those rugged, alpha heroes and strong heroines. Humor. Action. All the ingredients that make stories fun for me to write, and hopefully, fun for you to read.

With Uncharted SEALs, I experimented a bit. For the first time, I did sequels with the same characters—for the simple reason I couldn’t say goodbye to them. I wanted to see inside their Happy Ever Afters. Through Her Eyes and Between a SEAL and a Hard Place share the same main characters, as do Dream of Me and Heart of a SEAL. Big Sky SEAL gave birth to my Montana Bounty Hunters, introducing Jamie and Reaper, who as a result of their work in Big Sky earned their own satellite office of MBH.

A fun theme I used in two of the stories was a cruise ship. Both Before We Kiss and Hard SEAL to Love are set on the same ship and have the same supporting characters. Plus, Hard SEAL to Love features a disabled female vet! Enjoy the excerpt below!

   

   

  

Click on the covers to learn more!

Contest

Win your choice of one of my Uncharted SEALs stories! There will be 3 winners! All you have to do to enter is answer me this…

(IGNORE COVID) If you got two free tickets for a cruise, who would you take with you and where would you go?

Hard SEAL to Love

Former SEAL, “Big Mac” McLane, is sure he earned all kinds of bad karma somewhere when his first mission with Charter Group is guarding the “Love Boat” and its activity director. Okay, so the cruise line is sponsoring a special cruise for wounded soldiers and their families — a great cause — but Big Mac doesn’t do well around families and children, and Kylie Hammond is cute, but he feels like he has two left feet whenever she’s around. But he’s going to do his job, keep it strictly business, fade into the background whenever she’s around, but it seems Kylie has other ideas…

Kylie knows the big SEAL isn’t exactly gung-ho for his new assignment, but she can’t be more pleased. The big man’s the yummiest thing she’s ever seen, and coaxing blushes and glares from him becomes her favorite sport. But then things begin to go wrong aboard ship, people disappear, and then someone’s killed. The thing her charity most feared — a terrorist attack at sea — appears to be underway. Now, she has to trust Big Mac and his team to keep her wounded soldiers safe.

Excerpt from Hard SEAL to Love…

“Big Mac” McLane stood on the well-lit dock beside his team leader, Deke Warrick, and his teammate, Jackson Keller, as crewmembers and dockworkers rolled storage containers from the belly of the huge cruise ship. Soon, the refuse from a four-day cruise would be disposed of, and new provisions, along with a new group of passengers, loaded.

Waves lapped against the piers, the wheels of the rolling containers whirred and grated, and forklifts beeped. All familiar sounds but made surreal because he wasn’t waiting to board some Navy battleship, and the size of the cruise ship was astounding.

Mac admired the lock-step precision of the entire operation as the unloading continued. Despite the added pressure of law enforcement personnel crawling all over the ship, the Delphin’s crew didn’t miss a beat. Nothing would delay the ship from leaving the dock just after fourteen hundred hours that day. The cruise ship had a schedule to keep.

Stretching his arms, Mac stifled a yawn. The trio had taken a red-eye flight from Dallas to meet the ship in Miami. Due to the recent troubles, Charter Group wanted feet on the ground to make sure the Countess cruise line and law enforcement were taking seriously the string of events aboard their ships that had unfolded over the past weeks since the abduction of Poppy Shackleford. Although Charter Group’s people had successfully recovered the general’s daughter, everyone involved with the upcoming Soldiers’ Sanctuary cruise feared the problems would only escalate. Mac had been tapped to provide the program director protection during the special cruise which was scheduled to leave the Port of Miami the following day.

Although the time was just past O-five-hundred, the air this morning was warm and balmy. Temperatures would rise to a boil by mid-morning, so Mac didn’t mind waiting on the dock to speak to the Delphin’s captain while passengers set to disembark midmorning still slept. A Miami-Dade County medical examiner’s van stood by to remove the body of one unlucky soul whose cruise hadn’t ended well.

“And the ship’s doctor is sure the cause wasn’t a heart attack?” Jax murmured.

Deke’s lips tightened. “He smelled almonds, and the woman’s cheeks were cherry red. Her traveling companion described her as having a seizure and not being able to breathe. M.E. looking at the body now thinks it was cyanide, but we won’t know for sure until an autopsy’s performed.”

Jax scraped his palm across his stubbled jaw. “No one else was affected?”

Deke shook his head. “It happened while they were eating in the dining room. No one else’s plate was tampered with.”

“The traveling companion?”

Deke shrugged. “Her girlfriend of thirty years. The ship’s doctor had to administer a strong sedative because she freaked. He doesn’t think she did it.”

“So, another incident.” Mac took a deep breath. “How many does this make?”

“Three.” Deke lifted his hand and began counting off the list with his fingers. “First, a water system was tampered with on the Tethys. Someone flushed red dye through the ship’s fresh water. Passengers thought it was blood.”

“So they may have been testing methods of dispersal,” Jax muttered.

“Looks like. Or they could be assessing which method of attack will cause the most panic. Next, was the small explosion in the engine room aboard the Nereus. The ship had backup generators, so services weren’t stopped, and the crew effected repairs to continue to their next port. Other than a loud boom, the incident caused no injuries, and the passengers were no wiser. The cruise line can’t be a hundred percent sure whether it was sabotage or a malfunction. So their resistant to cancelling any voyages. But their security’s stretched. And now, we have last night’s poisoning…”

“Gonna be bad PR for the line,” Jax said, shaking his head.

“The company’s keeping the incidents under wraps,” Deke said. “And Homeland’s locking down this investigation here. Miami-Dade will help with interviewing passengers and crew, but they’re informing everyone for now that it was a routine death at sea.

“Just got off the phone with Jake Patton at Homeland. He says they want to catch whoever did this. They don’t want the culprits spooked and scattered to the winds. If their ultimate target is the soldiers’ cruise, we’ll be waiting. In the meantime, they do their due diligence, talk to every person on that ship who had access to the victim’s meal, and search every corner of the ship to see if any clues were left behind. He’ll have men with the ship when it sails today to continue the investigation.”

“Had to have been wait staff,” Mac said, frowning while he thought about the thousands of support personnel that worked on the ship. Homeland and the police had a small army ready to question all cooks and waiters and still wouldn’t be done before the boat sailed.

“Probably was some waiter,” Jax said, “maybe someone embedded, or someone bribed or threatened to get them to add the poison to her plate. And the next question is whether the victim was a random target—as in, just another test.”

“Or they’re taunting us.” Mac’s hands slowly curled into fists. He hated goddamn cowards who picked a fight but didn’t bother showing their faces. “Maybe they’re letting us know they can get to our guys, no matter how well prepared we are.”

Deke’s cheeks billowed as he blew out a long breath. His gaze darted to Mac. “You’re set to meet with Kylie Hammond at the Hampton Inn this morning. Have to warn you, she’s no happier at the thought of having a babysitter than Poppy was to discover we’d put Wiley on her detail.”

Mac grimaced. “Doesn’t matter if she’s not happy. I’m her date for the next four days. She won’t move without me one step behind her.”

As he leaned forward to look sideways, Jax’s mouth twitched. “Didn’t turn out so bad for Wiley and Poppy.”

Yeah, right. Mac gave him a blistering glare. A wedding at sea wasn’t in his plans. Nope. Didn’t matter if Kylie Hammond was a knock-out or not, he was immune to commitment. After transferring teams, all he wanted was to settle into this gig and prove his worth to Deke. “So, you two wanna tell me who I pissed off to get this assignment?”

Jax chuckled.

Deke’s grin was wry. “Thought you were ready for a vacation.”

Mac shook his head. Maybe he’d been too quick to accept Charter’s offer for an “easy assignment” after the last one where he’d spent weeks guarding freighters dodging Somali pirates. He’d been ready for some down time. Had even considered doing some house hunting or heading to his buddy Carter’s ranch in Texas. Although the last time he’d been there, he’d grown restless after witnessing just how happy Carter was with his new wife and little niece he’d adopted to raise as his own.

All that domesticity had made him itch. As a guy who’d spent his teenage years bounced around in foster homes, he couldn’t imagine any man willingly being leg-shackled to one woman or even planting roots to live in one place. Not that he couldn’t see the attraction. Carter had carved out a nice life for himself. Now that his father was on the mend, Carter wasn’t tied to the ranch, although he was always eager to return there after an assignment. He had a pretty wife, a great kid, and nice-sized piece of heaven in the ranch he’d someday inherit.

Family, a home passed down through generations of Texans—all that was as foreign to Mac as the thought of sitting on the “Love Boat” for a fancy cruise with a privileged society girl building her social media cred through charity work. “Hell,” he muttered. “Job’s just four damn days.”

“Five. The assignment starts today.”

Mac lifted his shoulder. “Whatever. She’s locked down in the hotel until the buses come tomorrow morning to take the soldiers to the ship.”

Jax slapped his shoulder. “You do know ships’ captains can perform marriages in international waters…”

“Hey, I’m happy for Wiley.” Mac shuddered. “But he has General Shackleford for a father-in-law. Wonder if he has to snap a salute before they sit around the table to eat turkey and cranberries at Thanksgiving.”

Deke coughed into his fist. “Having a powerful father-in-law isn’t always a pain in the ass.”

Mac winced, having forgotten that Deke’s father-in-law was a former Navy commander-turned-congressman, and was now in charge of special operations for Charter Group. “How’s old Commander Martir doing, anyway?”

“Still a badass,” Deke said, giving him a glare.

“Once a SEAL…” Shrugging, Mac didn’t complete the phrase.

“Stop bellyaching about the assignment, McLane.” Deke braced his feet apart. “You might be bunking in a stateroom but don’t treat this assignment differently from any other you’ve had. Kylie Hammond’s safety is your mission.”

Five hours later, Mac stepped through the entrance of the Hampton Inn. The lobby was a study in orderly chaos. Suitcases were lined up and stacked against one wall. Men and women, some in wheelchairs or walking with crutches and walkers, and missing limbs—some multiples—filled the space.

Mac tamped down a feeling of guilt for being able-bodied and whole as he walked through the throng, nodding now and then as he passed the veterans. He headed to the concierge and asked where he could find Kylie Hammond. After being informed which conference room Soldiers’ Sanctuary had commandeered to hand out welcome packets to arrivals, he headed down a hallway, relieved he didn’t have to push through a sea of bodies. He was ready to start this op. Sooner the better. Five days would fly by, and then he’d have the down time he needed to get his head on straight before the next assignment.

Stepping inside the room, he noted two long conference tables filled with plastic buckets of folders. Three elderly men manned the table.

One of them who sported a gray buzz cut and a surprisingly muscular build glanced his way. He lifted his chin in greeting.

Mac decided he was as good a place to start as any and strode toward him.

The old man held out his hand. “Joe Olinksy,” he said, in deep, loud voice. Then he leaned against the table edge and whispered, “You with Charter?”

Mac eyed him then glanced at his two buddies who were moving closer. His presence as part of the security team was supposed to be on a “need-to-know” basis.

Grinning, Joe waved a hand. “We’re part of your support. Eyes and ears only. We’re a little too long in the tooth to be the muscle, but we’re here to help. We’ll be staying in the stateroom next to yours.”

Skeptical that this band of elderly brothers could be of any service at all, Mac drew a deep breath and gave Joe’s two companions another look.

“This is Morty,” Joe said, pointing toward a thin man with a round, pot belly. “And that’s Sly.”

Sly smiled, and his teeth were blindingly white and little too large in his mouth.

“Ex-marines, 3rd Division during Viet Nam,” Joe said. “You a SEAL like Wiley?”

“Semper Fi,” Morty said, grinning.

Mac grunted, revising his original assessment. These guys had seen real action. “I’m looking for Kylie Hammond.”

“She’s out in the atrium,” Joe pointed toward the windows behind him, “getting a cup of coffee. She’s been manning the tables since dawn. And don’t worry about us. We can handle ourselves. After all our help on the last cruise, Poppy made sure to add us to the team. We’ll have your six.”

The three elderly men hadn’t been mentioned in any of the briefings he’d attended back at HQ. Wiley for damn sure hadn’t said a thing, but then again, Wiley had looked a little smug when he’d heard Mac was being assigned to protect his wife’s best friend. He cleared his throat. “Mac McLane by the way,” he said, giving a nod to all three men.

“We’ll see you aboard the Oceanus,” Joe said.

Mac left them and thought about calling Wiley to find out why the hell he hadn’t mentioned his geriatric buddies. Just to bitch because he was already dreading the coming minutes. He didn’t have a lot of experience with Ms. Hammond’s brand of womanhood. He’d served with women in the field, and slept with the women who swarmed bars outside Navy bases, hoping for a hookup with a SEAL.

Women outside those two categories tended to make him nervous. In his experience, women had served only two purposes, as support and/or stress-relief for a SEAL. Not that he looked down on them. He liked the women he’d known. But he hadn’t had to think much about what kind of impression he made or how to talk to them. He could be gruff and blunt. What the hell would he talk about for the days and nights he and the princess would be glued to each other’s sides?

Entering the atrium, he glanced around for someone who fit the picture he’d made up in his mind. She’d be pretty, no doubt. He couldn’t imagine anyone who was friends with Poppy Shackleford and attending her social functions looking any different.
Most of the small round, brightly tiled tables were filled with men and a few women. Probably wives of the wounded soldiers, who’d be accompanying their husbands on the cruise.

One woman sat alone, her head bent over her cell phone which lay flat on the tabletop, a tall Styrofoam cup beside it. Her hair was a mass of dark brown curls. Her body, what he could see of it hunched over the table, was slender. Her bare arms and the tops of her shoulders, revealed by an olive tank, showed well-developed muscles. She wore no jewelry, save for a watch on an olive-colored web strap. Faux military-issue? And now he wondered whether she was one of those who was so enamored of military men she wore cammo pajamas. He’d met a few like that. As he moved nearer, she must have sensed someone watched her.

The woman’s gaze lifted from her phone and locked with his.

As he took in her features, he slowed his steps. Wide-set green eyes whose gaze never wavered, tan skin, rose-colored lips, cheeks that were prominent and high. She was lovely, but didn’t wear a hint of makeup. She didn’t need it. Unbidden, interest flared inside him, heating his blood.

“Are you Mac?” she asked, her voice even and little husky.

His tongue felt thick as he gave a crisp nod and replied. “You Kylie?”

Her smile was a little tight, but she pushed up from the table to greet him, her arm reaching forward.

When he looked down at her hand, with its long fingers and short bare nails, his gaze dropped to her legs. Another shock stole his breath. She wore shorts which ended at mid-thigh, revealing one long, nicely turned limb paired with a shapely thigh that disappeared into the black cup of a prosthetic limb.

Do you love MC romance? If so, be sure to check out author Kennedi Darling’s new series, Tattered Souls MC! Book 1, Dagger, is now FREE in Kindle Unlimited, and Arrow is coming very, very soon! Be sure to pre-order it now! And, I know it’s puzzle day, but I’ll be back here with one tomorrow! 🙂 ~DD

Arrow, Tattered Souls, Book #2

Calista:

Living fast-paced days of endless work and finding pleasure in one-night stands was how I enjoyed my life. At twenty-eight, my career as a psychiatrist was fulfilling, and I had too much to accomplish to allow myself to be distracted by foolish things like relationships and love. But the night I walked into his bar threatened to break my resolve.

He was everything I shouldn’t want and everything I secretly craved. The most potent addiction I couldn’t get enough of, no matter how hard I tried.

Arrow:

As President of the Tattered Souls MC, life had a way of speeding by.

Forty had crept up on my door, and between the military and my club, I’d never expended the energy it took to find my queen. Until the night she came into my bar. Gorgeous, feisty, and smart as a whip, she didn’t let me get away with anything. Despite her determination to keep me at arm’s length, I was a man used to getting what I wanted.

So, when fate intervened, it was my chance to make her mine. Now, I had to find a way to keep her safe from the dangers that haunted us both long enough to claim her as my own.

**Arrow is the second book in the Tattered Souls MC. It features an Age Gap, a heroine with a disdain for bikers, and a hero who will do everything it takes to change her mind.

This story includes a HEA, no cliffhangers, and no cheating. It is recommended that the series be read in order as there are continuing elements that follow the club from book to book, however, each couples’ story is completed within the pages of its own book.

Coming February 8th! Pre-order now!

And in case you missed the first book! It’s FREE in KU!

Dagger, Tattered Souls, Book #1

Sienna:
I promised him forever, only one mistake became never.
My body was no longer my lover’s temple, but a madman’s canvas.
Instead of quivering with pleasure, I shuddered in pain.
Now I’m back, a shell of a woman with a shattered mind and a tattered soul.
There’s no way Dagger would see me for the woman I was.
And the loneliness is going to kill me.

Dagger:
I promised her forever, only one call became never.
Dreams of the future were no longer peaceful, but shattered by nightmares.
The woman who held the key to my soul was gone, though I never moved on.
Now she’s back, though tattered and broken.
She’ll never believe she still owns my heart.
But I’m determined to avenge her.

Dagger is the first book in the Tattered Souls MC. This story includes a HEA, no cliffhanger, and no cheating.

Adult Content Warning: This book contains explicit language, sexual scenes, and violence.

**Trigger Warnings**
This book contains instances of past torture, the recounting of past mental and physical abuse, as well as an instance of suicidal thoughts and a stopped attempt. If any of these subjects affect you negatively, this book may not be suitable for you.

Get your copy here!