Untouched

Hi everyone,

I’m back again to talk about my upcoming release, Untouched, the second book in my Silver Creek series.

We first met Lark in Unexpected, shooting Nazi Zombies and drinking energy drinks. I confess, I was pretty much dying to write her book from the moment she first showed up on the pages of Cole and Kelsey’s book.

Because Lark was different. She was nerdy and awkward, and I confess, I have a real soft spot for heroines like that.

I knew her book would be next, but what I didn’t know from the outset was who her hero would be.

Lark was such a sweet, innocent, special heroine, I knew she needed a special hero. But who materialized to lay claim to her? Quinn Parker.

A very non-sweet, non-innocent, bad news cowboy who has it in for Lark’s older brother’s and has an attitude problem that won’t quit. I admit, Quinn starts out kind of a jerk. But I think that’s why I was so attracted to having him be her hero.

He pushes her, and it gives her the chance to have something to push back against.

Lark has a lot of growing to do in this book. She’s been sheltered and overprotected all of her life. She’s barely made her own choices, still lives at home and hasn’t begun to make mistakes.

Quinn, on the other hand, has made a lifetime of them.

They’re opposites in so many obvious ways, but at their heart, they’re two people who need to forge on and make a future for themselves, apart from what anyone else thinks or wants for them.

I’m very excited for these two to come out. This is my second non-category book and they make me feel like a newbie all over again. In good and scary ways!

I’d like to share a little excerpt with you, and I hope you enjoy it!

“I don’t trust you.”
“Good. You shouldn’t.”
“And here you’ve been asking me to believe you didn’t do anything to Cade.”
“Yeah, I didn’t. But that doesn’t mean you should trust me.” There, it was a warning. An honest one. And if she didn’t listen, it wasn’t his fault.
“Don’t worry about that. I won’t.”
“Great. I hate for people to have expectations of me. Good ones, anyway, because then I might have to rise up and meet them.”
“That you really don’t have to worry about. Do you know what I expect from a snake, Quinn?”
“What?”
“I expect him to bite me. Maybe not right now, but someday.”
“And you think I’m a snake?”
“You said you had some animal in you. I’m calling it like I see it.”
“Good. Keep expecting me to bite you,” he said, flashing her a smile. “Might keep you safe.”
“Am I in danger?”
“It depends on what you consider danger.”
“I have mace in my purse, so I don’t consider you too dangerous.”
“I like that even better.”
“What?” she asked, eyes narrowed.
“The possibility of you biting me back.”
“Well . . . I don’t . . . I can’t. I would if I had to. Self-defense.”
“Oh, really?” He took a step toward her. “So, if I leaned in and bit you”—he lifted his hand and traced a line from her neck, just beneath her ear, down to the edge of her shirt collar, with his knuckle— “here. You would have to return the favor?” He kept the motion slow and, frankly, seductive, but the only question was: Which one of them was being seduced by it?
Because she was so soft. Like silk to the touch, and warm; warm enough that he thought if he pulled her against him, she might be able to transfer some of it to him. Not to his skin, but to somewhere deep inside of him. To places that were always cold.
“Retaliation,” she said, her voice thin, shaky. Affected. “Not returning favors. Defense of my . . . person.”
“I see.” He lowered his hand, and her frame folded in on an exhaled breath. “I’d hate to make you feel like you were threatened.” He took a step back and watched her face closely. No, he didn’t want her to feel threatened at all. He wanted her to feel that same pull he did.
“Good. Good thinking. I’m dangerous when cornered.” “Oh, yeah?”
She nodded. “Yep. Like a honey badger.”
“Very scary.” She smiled and it felt like a fist was squeezing his gut tight. “Yeah, yeah. I’m terrifying. At least, I am when I play Zombie Watch.”
“Zombie Watch, huh?”
“No matter how fast they shamble, I will find them, and I will destroy them. I’m the one-shot kid.” “I’m assuming this is a computer game?”
“Yes. Do you live under a rock?”
“No. I live outside.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Outside is overrated.”
“This from a girl who lives on a ranch out in the boonies?”
“Yeah, well, it’s not my first choice of setting.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Really? Where else would you live?”
She lifted a shoulder and planted her hand on one of the chairs that was placed in front of the computer table. “I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter, because I don’t do very much. Out, I mean. I mean . . . my work is on the computer, and my hobby is on the computer, so . . .”
“Honey, you need to get out more.”
“Nope.”
“Honey badgers don’t belong inside,” he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. He was enjoying messing with her more than he’d imagined.
“Honey badger don’t care,” she said, planting her hand on her hip.
“In the great outdoors, I’m less likely to corner you. Less likely to get . . . bitten.”
“You seem very concerned with that whole subject.”
“It’s an interesting thought.”
“Yeah well, I probably won’t bite you, so don’t concern yourself too much with it.”
“It’s too late,” he said. “I’m concerned. Definitely pondering it.”
“Quinn,” she said, her tone filled with warning. “I’m going to have to report you to HR.”
“I’m pretty much HR around here, and I think I’m fine.”

That’s just a little taste of Lark and Quinn. They were definitely one of my favorite couples to work on, and I hope you enjoy them too!  

Untouched releases January 21st, 2014 wherever ebooks are sold.