Author Spotlight and #Giveaway: DANGEROUS PROPOSITION by Jessica Lauryn

Dangerous Proposition

by Jessica Lauryn

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Heat Level: Steamy
Published: June 2013
Available from:  BookStrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/dangerous-proposition


A Short Note From Jessica:

Thanks for having me back, Kristine!  I'm very excited to be here today, giving away a copy of my latest release, Dangerous Proposition.  In this third installment to The Pinnacles of Power Series, Colin Westwood, (older brother of Alec Westwood, hero in Dangerous Proposal) and Julia Dyson (heroine Lena Benson's mysterious roommate in Dangerous Proposal) take center stage.  Country-bred Julia and power-hungry Colin are an unlikely match to say the least, but the couple will find themselves thrown together by both a dangerous and unfortunate circumstance, as well as an undeniable attraction.  This story is a bit heavier on the suspense than the earlier editions to this series, Dangerous Ally and Dangerous Proposal.  So if you like edge-of-your-seat moments as well as sizzling chemistry and red-hot passion, Dangerous Proposition is a must-read for you!

Giveaway
To win a ecopy of Jessica's Dangerous Proposition, leave a comment with your email address and tell us why you'd love to read this book. Good luck!

Synopsis

In the course of one disastrous evening, diamond smuggling kingpin Colin Westwood learns that his best recruit is missing in action, and that the man has been keeping a secret for years—he has a twenty six year old daughter. Determined to protect his identity, Colin vows to find the young woman, and keep her silent at any cost. Intrigued to learn that she is actually the attractive woman he kissed, he makes Julia an offer. Come to New York City with him to search for her missing father…as his mistress.

When Julia Dyson learns her father has been abducted, she believes his hidden profession may be to blame.  But when she discovers a man’s name in her Dad's caller history, a man suspected of shady business activity and also her teenage crush, she decides to take matters into her own hands.  She confronts her father's presumed abductor, resulting in an unforgettable kiss, and his offer of a dangerous proposition indeed.

Though becoming Colin’s mistress could very well be her undoing, Julia must choose—give in to her desires, or protect her already-broken heart…

Excerpt

Charging to the foot of the bed, Julia lifted the ends of the comforter. In one swift motion, she tossed it into the air and pulled herself underneath.

Pressing her body down, she held her breath. Instantly she grew hot, and her vision became about as good as it might have been on a rainy night in the woods. She could barely breathe, and the hefty down comforter on top of her was causing her to sweat profusely.

Two sets of footsteps sounded against the floor. The door to the room was shut from the inside.

“Tonight? How in God’s name do you expect me to take care of this tonight?” a man, who sounded even more afraid than she was, asked.

A deep-toned reply ignited goose bumps along her arms. “That’s your problem. Not mine.”

Heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat, Julia shifted her body. She urged herself to sink as low into the mattress as possible.

“I can’t possibly—I’m not sure you understand—”

A harsh reply came like crackling thunder. “What I understand is that if you don’t rectify this situation within twenty-four hours, there’s going to be a serious change to the status of your employment. Understand that?”

Silence followed.

“Yeah.” The owner of the softer voice seemed to swallow. “Sure, boss.”

“Yeah, what?”

“Yeah, I understand you!”

“For your sake, you had better mean it,” the man, whom Julia was certain had to be Colin Westwood, growled.

The knob jangled, and the door to the room was opened.

Colin, presumably, spoke in a hushed voice. “Keep this to yourself. I want no one to know that Dyson is missing.”

Julia gasped, forgetting to put a hand over her open mouth. She’d been completely right in coming there. Colin Westwood had kidnapped her father!

She had been doing all she could to convince herself that this wasn’t happening. That Colin might be a criminal, but that he couldn’t possibly be responsible for her father’s disappearance. She was going to be sick. And then she was going straight to the cops, getting a SWAT team to raid that mansion, and dragging Colin Westwood out of there on his billion-dollar ass!

Sliding forward so she could breathe a little, Julia urged her forehead against the cool air. Colin, who seemed almost as anxious as she was, was standing in the doorframe.

She should have ducked, but a mix of fascination and fury kept her in place as he shut the door, enclosing the two of them inside the room. Watching him take off his jacket, Julia almost forgot she wasn’t invisible. He seemed deeply troubled, as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Taking something from the dresser, an object she couldn’t quite make out, Colin clenched his hand into a fist. Failing to flick the light switch, he sat on the sofa and rubbed his tired-looking eyes.

Colin stared at the object in his hand. He remained that way for several moments, deep-blue irises lost in the contents of his hands. Slipping whatever it was he held into his pocket, he closed his eyes again and leaned forward, massaging his temples.

He seemed so strong and confident, even in spite of how stressed out he appeared to be. Watching him, Julia found herself imagining how his arms would feel around her body. Wondering whether his large, shapely hands had murdered her father, she stared at them. That was, until Colin turned in the direction of the bed.

Heart slamming hard against her rib cage, Julia ducked beneath the covers. Footsteps thundered toward her with a quick stride.

“Who sent you here?” As though it weighed no more than a feather, Colin tore the cover from the bed. “Damn it, woman, answer my question!”

Julia was paralyzed. She wanted to move but couldn’t. She shifted sideways, nearly sliding off the bed. But before she could get one foot on the ground, Colin dove on top of her, locking her between his legs.

Arms that felt like steel pillars held her in place. She fought to move as her wrists were pinned against the mattress.

“No one sent me,” she exclaimed, fighting with all of her might to break free of his hold. “I sent myself!”

“You sent yourself,” he repeated in a mocking tone, as though it wasn’t possible.

She narrowed her gazed. “Yes.”

“You came here on your own?” he persisted. “There’s no one you’re protecting?”

Julia pried one tender wrist free. “Guess you’d better double-check your memorandum of enemies. Last time I checked, I’m on no one’s payroll.”

“You’re lying.”

“Think so?” She smiled cleverly. “You must really have an onslaught of nemeses if you think a woman who can barely balance her checkbook is trying to shake you down.”

“Enough!” he roared. “Tell me who you are and who you’re working for. Assuming you cooperate, I might decide to handle you with kid gloves.”

“Isn’t that sweet of you? I guess this is how you get all of your enemies to back down—crush them until there’s no air left in their lungs. You’ve been warned. I’m not that easily broken.”

A sinister smile formed on Colin’s lips. With his free hand he snatched hold of her chin, smoothing his thumb across its surface. “There are easier ways to break a woman than by crushing the air from her lungs.”

Did he mean…did he intend to… Julia shook her head furiously. Just because his words were laced with sensualism and he was staring at her lips as though they were coated in cinnamon glaze, it did not mean he was going to kiss her.

Or did it…

About Jessica

At two years old, Jessica became a devoted fan of both listening to and reciting the books her parents would read to her at night. When she was a little older (about four), she sought a greater challenge in her life, and began making up stories of her own, acting them out with her dolls. “When the dolls got “boyfriends,” she says, “I knew I was getting too old for dolls!”

A life-long lover of romance, Jessica took several writing classes in college, and told her professors she was one-day going to write soap-operas. When graduation came, she joined a critique group, and on a whim, decided to “write a romance novel.” That first attempt will forever be staying under the mattress…

Then, on a train ride to her internship in the fashion industry, Jessica finally cracked open her first romance novel. That hot August morning, she fell head-over-heels for the genre, and has been writing it ever since.

Jessica is most intrigued by dark heroes, who have many demons to conquer…but little trouble enticing female companions into their beds! She feels that the best romances are those where the hero is already seducing the heroine from that first point of contact. “Isn’t it the hero’s job to seduce?” she says with a grin.

Jessica loves to see the sparks fly when a stubborn, domineering hero crosses paths with a bold, feisty heroine, and uses the combination frequently in her stories.

When she’s is not writing, Jessica enjoys listening to as much 80’s music as possible, watching the same re-runs of Smallville over and over, shopping for exceptionally unique cameos, and taking long walks in nature where she can daydream about anything romantic. Though she resides in Central New Jersey, her heart belongs to the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

How to contact Jessica

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/romancebyjessicalauryn
Facebook FanPage:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jessica-Lauryn/245896705433424
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5081732.Jessica_Lauryn
Google:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/117124426880360830802/posts
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jessica-lauryn/2a/9ba/761
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/JessicaLauryn_#
The Romance Reviews:  http://www.theromancereviews.com/mypageprofile.php?location=JessicaLauryn