Tag Archives: Maisey Yates

Teaser “Tuesday” Exclusive Excerpt: Avenge Me by Maisey Yates

Hello my ducklings! (I mean who doesn’t love ducklings?! I love them…) You may know, June is my birthday month. If not, I’m telling you now 😛 June is my birthday month! So the idea is for me to superload it with fun fun fun! Also, because every week there’s a Guest Author & A Giveaway post. And … it almost seems like Maisey Yates is a June TT staple – just check out the archives ;). I got her to agree to provide an exclusive excerpt for us – and who knows, I might be lucky enough to get the other authors in this [series] too! Whee!

So without further ado, Avenge Me!

TEN YEARS AGO ONE DEVASTATING NIGHT CHANGED EVERYTHING FOR AUSTIN, HUNTER AND ALEX. NOW THEY MUST EACH PLAY THEIR PART IN THE REVENGE AGAINST THE ONE MAN WHO RUINED IT ALL.

Austin Treffen was born into a world of privilege, but behind its gilded doors lies a corruption so sordid New York’s elite would never believe it—especially as his infamous philanthropic father is at its core! With everything he believed in shattered, how can Austin take down his father—risking his family name and those he loves—without any proof?

Until one earth-shattering night with Katy Michaels unlocks not only their deepest, most passionate desires but also the key to bringing Jason Treffen’s reign to an end. But with an intense sexual attraction that combines a heady mix of exquisite pleasure and sublime pain, will they satiate their thirst for revenge and each other…or lose themselves forever in the darkness?

He had no right to be lusting after her like this. Not now. Not when he’d walked in on her like that without an announcement.

Of course, she’d been the one in his shower. His shower, when there was one right near her bedroom that she could have used. And all her girly shit was spread out all over his counter. As though she had every right to come in and take over his space, her things landing everywhere like a cloud of frilly locusts.

That was her fault.

She appeared a moment later, looking fresh scrubbed and wary, wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a long-sleeved pink top, her hair wet and hanging loose.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you knocking is polite?”

“You were in my shower, baby. I didn’t expect to find you there.”

“The music and running water weren’t a clue?”

“They were a trail of bread crumbs I felt obliged to follow. I honestly didn’t expect to find you naked and dripping wet in my shower when you have your own.”

“Well, you told me to make myself at home.”

“So you decided that meant going into my bedroom?”

He’d never had a woman in his personal space before. Ever. He’d had girlfriends, yes. But he spent the night at their places typically. Or he took them out and they spent the night in hotels. He wasn’t a hugger. He didn’t talk about his feelings. He didn’t let women leave their trappings all over his room.

There was room for one toothbrush in his bathroom, and that was his.

“Well, yeah. You railroaded me into moving in with you. You’re a Treffen therefore my trust in you is…eh. And so I decided to snoop around in your stuff. Then I saw your shower.”

“You went through my things.”

“Yes. And I’m not going to apologize. Anyway, no whips, chains or invoices for sexual favors. On that score you check out.”

“Disappointed?”

“About?”

He crossed his arms. “The lack of whips and chains. You like that sort of thing.”

She arched a brow. “You got your rocks off that night too, so don’t go putting it on me.”

“You were out of line going through my things.”

“Are you really all up on my butt for being intrusive?”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you really getting on my case for being intrusive?” she repeated, her hands on her hips. “Because the last I checked, you got me fired from my job. You effectively got me evicted from my apartment. You forced me to move here by default and then you said, make yourself at home. And so I have. And now you’re mad at me? You’ve interfered in every corner of my life and you’re pissed because I used your shower?”

“And left your girl crap all over everything.”

“My girl crap? What are you fourteen?”

“No, but I don’t share my space.”

“Yeah, well, newsflash, Austin, I haven’t done anything but share space my entire life. I’ve had had to make sure my schedule was conducive to taking care of my younger brother. I had to make sure my emotions never made a blip on the radar, because I had to keep things smooth and stable for Trey. Then I moved to New York and moved in with a roommate who had her name on the lease and who I had to tread softly with so that I wouldn’t find myself out on my ass. Then, guess what? Because of you I did find myself out on my ass. And now? Now I’m sick of treading lightly. You said make myself at home, I’m going to make myself at home. I’m not here because I want to be, buddy, I’m here because you stuck your all-powerful Treffen hand in my life and screwed with things.”

“So that means my punishment is…leg wax on my bathroom counter and music that…was it talking about…?”

“Yes,” she said, her cheeks turning pink. “Yes it was. I like that song. Sorry if it bothered you. Or maybe I’m not sorry if it bothered you. Grow up.”

“Did you just tell me to grow up?”

“Yeah. I did. Like you can’t handle song lyrics about sex. Again I ask: are you fourteen?”

“It didn’t bother me.”

“Well then why are you complaining?”

“You have a bathroom. You could use that one.”

She arched a brow. “It doesn’t have three shower heads in the shower.”

“So? You don’t need three shower heads,” he said.

“Says the man who has three shower heads,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “Personally, I value the ability to cleanse myself with the ‘rainforest mist’ setting on. It makes this whole ordeal feel less traumatic.”

“I think you’re milking it,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the wall.

“Do you?” she asked.

“Yes. I do.”

“I don’t know if you know my pain and suffering. I was fired and thrown out of my house on the same day.”

“All right. If you want to use my bathroom, that’s up to you, but I’m not knocking on my own bedroom door and I will use my bathroom when I feel like it. If you’re so married to the shower heads, that’s your business, but you may end up with a guest.”

Her eyes widened. “I thought I told you I wasn’t sleeping with you.”

“And I thought I told you not to trust me.” The air thickened between them, her lips parting, her eyes darkening. “And you definitely shouldn’t look at me like that,” he said.

“Like what?”

“Like you’re considering letting the horse out of the gate again.”

She blinked. “I’m not. I just wanted your shower, not your body. Calm the hell down.”

“Have you eaten?” he asked, deciding it was best to change the subject. And to take the conversation into neutral territory. And to move them to neutral territory. Territory that didn’t have a bed with a very useful looking headboard…

“No,” she said. “I was going to order something.”

“Anything in particular?”

“I was sort of craving Thai.”

“I’m very good at ordering takeout,” he said. “Cooking not so much.”

“I can cook,” she said, following his lead and leaving the bedroom, heading down the hall a couple of paces behind him. “Really gourmet stuff. Ramen noodles, with some vegetables for added nutrition. Mac and cheese. In the blue box, I don’t screw around. Also, beanie weenies. A can of pork n’ beans and some cut up hotdogs. My skills cannot be beat.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had any of that.”

“Not even in college?”

He tossed a look over his shoulder. “No. I had a meal plan.”

“Oh, yes, of course. How could I forget? You’re all steeped in privilege. Which I guess I should remember since I just used your shower. Three shower heads.” She held up a matching number of fingers. “Three.”

He shrugged. “Yes. Yes I’m privileged. Lucky, lucky me. My dad is a pimp.” He headed down the stairs and he could hear her behind him.

“There are different kinds of privilege. I mean, sure, that’s a sucky reality you have to face. But I grew up in terrible circumstances and I didn’t get to eat good food. So you know…”

“Yes. Life was easy for me then. I won’t lie to you and pretend I had any great struggle. But looking back and realizing just how little I saw outside of my bubble? That’s hard. I’m not stupid. More than that, in my line of work, I’m trained to read people. I have to know how to read between the lines, how to re-interpret what they’re saying I have to know how to manipulate. But even with that, my world was so insulated, so damned perfect, that I just couldn’t imagine the kind of thing my father was doing. I couldn’t have imagined Sarah’s pain. I’ve seen more since then. I know more about human nature. About how truly horrible life can be. I look back…I hate that idiot that couldn’t see past the glitter all around him. Who thought bad things happened to other people. To other classes of people.”

“And since then you’ve learned…?”

“Life is shit for everyone. It’s just that for some people it’s shit with three shower heads. Pad Thai sound good to you?”

~*~*~*~*~

I also cajoled Maisey into a giveaway – cuz you know – birthday month! She’s willing to give one lucky commenter her (or his) choice of Avenge Me in print or e! Whee! So what’d you think of the excerpt? Also, there’s a free prequel right now – Take Me and you should get that [too]! 😀

Teaser “Tuesday” Exclusive Excerpt: Unbuttoned by Maisey Yates

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BIRTHDAY MONTH! … It’s drawing to a close, almost. Isn’t that crazy? As you see we have Maisey Yates sharing “definitely an exclusive excerpt.” With us today. And you know, birthday month is why the excerpts are every week, on Thursday in June. Because this month is super loaded.

Hi Limecello! Thanks for having me on your blog. 🙂

I have a brand new series starting in June. Contemporary romances set in Silver Creek, Oregon with some very sexy cowboys.

The first book, a novella called Unbuttoned is out on June 18th, and I want to share an exclusive excerpt with you.

Carly Denton has learned to keep her buttons and emotions firmly fastened. Her parents’ constant drama, and an unrequited crush on her brother’s best friend, taught her to keep her passion beneath the surface. But she can no longer avoid the one man with the ability to bring that passion to a boil…

Lucas remembers Carly as a freckle-faced tomboy—not a frosty woman who treats him like a burr under her saddle. But when they must work together on a charity project, Lucas is shocked to find their bickering melt into some serious mutual attraction. He’s determined to show Carly that he’s the man for her, if only she’d learn to let loose.

Lucas is the last man on earth Carly should give in to. The freedom she finds in his arms has her feeling happier than ever, but is it enough to make her realize that the greatest risk isn’t losing your heart, but losing the chance at happiness?

“Who is it?” she called, heading to the door.

“Lucas.”

She cursed fluidly under her breath and opened the door, pasting a smile to her face. She wasn’t going to act bothered. No. He would like that too much. “Lucas,” she said, far too brightly, blocking the doorway, “what brings you here?”

Her held his hand up, a twenty dollar bill folded between his fingers. “You forgot this.”

“I paid,” she said.

“Nope. I did.”

“Oh, of all the macho . . .” she started to say, then took the money. “Thank you. Thank you very much. I’ll see you . . . later.” Hopefully much later.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

The words stopped her cold. “You’re what?”

“Sorry. For what I said earlier.”

“I . . . thank you.” She dropped her hand from the door frame and took a step back. “It’s . . . it takes a lot to admit when you’re wrong.”

Lucas seemed to take her movement as an invitation to enter the house. He walked past her and into the living room. “Oh, I wasn’t wrong. But I’m sorry I said what I said the way I said it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“You’re wound up tight, sugar, no mistake. I wasn’t wrong about that. But I shouldn’t have picked a fight with you, not over something so sensitive, and not in public.”

“I’m not . . . sensitive. And I didn’t invite you in.”

“Family friend, remember? I’m allowed to come in.”

“Why are you so dead set on driving me crazy this week?”

He paused. “A good question. And I could ask you the same thing.”

“What? I thought you were going out with my brother tonight, anyway.”

“Blew him off.”

“Why? I thought you were going to go hook-up, or whatever you guys call it.”

“Not interested.” His dark eyes clashed with hers and her stomach tightened. “At least, not with some random girl from the bar.”

She swallowed hard, her stomach so tight it was painful. “I don’t . . . I . . . and what do you mean you could ask me the same thing?”

“Why are you so dead set on driving me crazy this week?” he asked.

“I’m . . . I’m not. I haven’t done anything to you. Everywhere I’ve been, work, my brother’s house, my house”—she made a sweeping gesture with her arm—“you are. That’s not me doing anything to you. That’s all you.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean then?”

“You don’t know what’s been going on in my head, sugar.”

“No. No, I don’t. And I probably want to keep it that way, so maybe you should . . .” He took a step toward her and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “You keep doing that,” she said, his thumb still touching her skin.

“I know,” he said, “and when I’m not doing about it, I’m thinking about doing it. I don’t think I ever should have touched you.”

Her heart started pounding hard. “What do you . . .”

He raised his other hand and placed it on her cheek, shifting so that both palms were cradling her face, his dark eyes intent on hers. “This was also a bad idea,” he said, his voice rough.

“What was?” she asked.

“Well, touching you more. That little bit was bad idea enough. This . . . this is even worse.”

Carly couldn’t remember the last time a man had looked at her like Lucas was looking at her now. Like he was starving and she was the answer to the hunger inside of him.

The reason she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been looked at like that was because she never had been. And she was very aware of it in this moment. Aware that she was on the verge of something that was well outside her experience.

The strangest thing was that right now, she wanted it. She knew, somewhere in the dim, hazy corners of her mind, that she might regret it later. No, that she would. But right now, for some reason, she didn’t care. Not even a little bit.

Because all she could focus on was Lucas. His eyes, his lips. Lord, but he had beautiful lips for a man. It had been years since she’d let herself notice them. She had before, though.

There had been a time when this moment, the possibility of it, had been her dearest fantasy. And it was something she didn’t even let herself remember now. There had been a time when she’d dared to want.

His words from earlier rang in her ears.

Live dangerously.

Just a little. Just a taste. It wouldn’t be so wrong. Not any worse than one french fry.

She leaned in, her lips brushing his. Her breath caught in her throat and held, electricity shooting through her veins, immobilizing her.

But Lucas wasn’t immobile. Far from it. He dropped his hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his hard, muscular body.

She whimpered and he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping the inside of her mouth. The wet friction stole every thought from her head, made it impossible for her to do anything but feel. She was lost, completely, in his touch. In a whole world of new desire and need.

She’d thought she’d known what attraction was. Had thought she’d known, intellectually, how she would handle it. But she’d never felt anything like this. She hadn’t known. Not at all.

She pressed her hands to his chest, curling her fingers around his shirt fabric, clinging to him as he kissed her, long and deep.

“Kiss me back, Carly,” he growled against her lips.

So – what’d you think? Do you like cowboy romances?

Birthday Twins! Birthday Bash with Maisey Yates and Vivian Arend!

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A few months ago I was looking at future ALBTALBS scheduling, and I saw March 2nd was free. I then thought “hey I know something…” so being mischievous I poked at Viv and Maisey and was like “HEY! It’s your birthday ON THE SAME DAY!” And they were both like “huh, so it is!” Then I was all MAJOR BIRTHDAY BASH! Being good sports, they responded with “let’s do it!” So here we are. Everyone wish Maisey and Vivian an awesomely wonderful birthday!

Serendipity: a “happy accident” or “pleasant surprise”; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it.**
**from Wikipedia

Used in a sentence: It’s very serendipitous to discover that Maisey Yates and Vivian Arend share a birthday.

~~~**~~~
It is easy to understand this discovery is a ‘happy accident” and a “pleasant surprise”. Maisey and Viv are friends as well as writers who face each day armed with their trusty computers and a plethora of ideas, and in the end they create stories.

How is this good? Well. Between them they have 25 (Maisey’s books number, not all released yet) + 30 (Viv’s book number) which equals a whole of stories to make you smile, laugh, cry or shake your fist in the air when appropriate.

How is this useful? Well…. Since we’re talking about birthdays, there are usually presents involved. So how about some presents for this post?

—–birthday word association, Maisey and Viv style—–

PRESENTS:
HARLEQUIN! (well, I mean, come on…I write Presents!)

Wrapped up…unwrapped…belt removal…abs…sexy shifters…Viv’s Takhini Wolves

CAKE:
Frosting…abs…cowboys… Maisey’s Silver Creek series!

Cowboys, Angel, Kissing, Environmental issues…Viv’s Rocky Mountain Angel!!

CANDLES:
Wax…burn…sexy burn…kinky stuff…silk scarves…Maisey’s April release Heir to a Desert Legacy

Wax…burn…sexy burn…kinky stuff…oh wait, is there an echo in here? We’ll just stop at the kinky stuff then, and find Viv’s newest release, out this coming Tuesday, March 5, High Risk

ICE CREAM:
Abs? Any of Maisey’s books.

In Viv’s house they have ice cream every Friday. Friday night is also pizza night. Pizzas are round. Knobs are round. You turn knobs. The Turner Twins are two books by Viv!!! Turn It Up and Turn It On.

~~~**~~~
Viv: So Maisey, I just have to point out that you seem to have a bit of an obsession with abs. Not that there’s anything wrong with it per say, but… 😀

Maisey: it’s probably because I don’t have them…. Honestly though, you can eat birthday cake off a plate, but wouldn’t you rather eat it off abs?

~~~**~~~

BIRTHDAY BASH PARTY PRIZES
Leave a birthday wish and be entered to win one of six ebooks. Three winners names picked for Viv, three for Maisey:

Viv: Winner’s choice of any ebook in backlist

Maisey: E copies of Maisey’s Secret Heirs of Powerful Men series, Heir to a Desert Legacy and Heir to a Dark Inheritance!

Sounds good, right? I’ll start off the birthday wishes – may you both have a fabulous day with good food, good company, lots of fun, cocktails (virgin if you prefer!), cake, and sculpted abs to use as a plate for your ice cream. 😉