Thursday, January 25, 2018

Hat Trick Excerpt Reveal!




EXCERPT REVEAL
Title: Hat Trick
Series: Blades Hockey #3 (standalone)
Author: Maria Luis
Genre: Sexy Sports Romance
Release Date: February 8th, 2018

EXCERPT

What the hell is Gwen doing here?
        My stride slows, and she must hear the tread of my heavy boots because she glances up from her phone with a strained expression. The loose curl of her hair is frizzier than normal. Even her clothes, which are usually perfectly tailored, look disheveled today.
        Her slim, knee-length skirt is off-center, the row of buttons not aligning with her belly-button. Her flouncy shirt is half-tucked into the skirt. And, hell, the woman is wearing flats.
        Gwen James is a stiletto kind of girl.
        I haven’t seen her in anything else since Accounting 201.
        Be casual, man.
        Right. Be casual. How’s that even possible when all I want to do is muss Gwen up even more? With my fingers. My tongue. My cock.
        I purposely slide my gaze down her trim frame, taking in my full, before slipping my phone into the back of my jeans and cocking my head to the side. “Fancy seeing you here, Miss James.”
        Her blue eyes flick away from my face, but I suspect the aversion has less to do with checking me out and more to do with hiding her flushed cheeks—a blush that I doubt has anything to do with the chilly weather.
        “Marshall,” she says somewhat stiffly, sliding her hands down the length of her skirt. “I was hoping to run into you.”
        Had she? I squelch down a burst of pleasure, stomping the bastard hard into the ground. I’m done with the hope. I meant what I said last night. Sliding my hands into my jeans’ pockets, I tilt my head toward my truck. “Looks like you found me.”
        The flush burns even brighter, and this time I know damn well the freezing temperature isn’t responsible.  
        “Yeah, I . . .” She visibly swallows, and I realize that I’ve never, not once, seen her so at odds. Gwen is the epitome of ice and class, a concoction that keeps her nose in the air and her true feelings wrapped up in steel walls.
        But this Gwen . . . the messy, uncertain Gwen standing before me? Well, color me intrigued.
        Wanting to push her a little more, I lift my brows in a show of deliberate patience. “You are . . .?”
        Her red hair is shoved indelicately behind one ear. “I’m here.”
        She’s pretty much told me nothing. I nod slowly. “Congratulations. You lookin’ for a trophy or something?”
        White teeth sink into her bottom lip. I suck down a groan and force myself to stop thinking about those lips wrapped around my cock. Never gonna happen, that’s for sure.
        “I, um.” Gwen shifts her weight, tucking one foot behind her opposite calf like she’s nervous to have me see her this way. “Listen, I . . . So, this is officially a lot harder than I thought it would be.”
        I watch her expectantly, giving her nothing. Oh, how the tables have turned. Plus, I doubt she’s here for anything us related. If anything, she’s probably here on her boss’s bidding. The man has been trying to lock me down into hiring Golden Lights Media for a year now.
        I’m not interested.
        I’ve already signed on the dotted line for another firm; a firm, I might add, that took me on even when I was still on the farm team, when the Blades had yet to pull me up onto their official roster.
        “Okay, okay.” Gwen shoots me a glare, like I’m the one at fault for her halted speech. I hear her mutter something that sounds suspiciously like, “I can do this,” and then she’s straightening her shoulders, thrusting her full breasts up and out, and announcing, “I’d like to take you up on that offer for our date. The date that I won from the charity auction last spring.”
        Shock clamps my jaw shut.
        But now that Gwen has opened the gates, proverbially speaking, she doesn’t stop. She steps to the side, head down, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I know that I sort of . . . you know, turned you down rather harshly. I’d told Zoe I didn’t plan to bet on you, and I know the money was going to first responders, but I just couldn’t . . . I mean, it’s never been about your looks.” She offers an awkward ha-ha, her blue eyes skirting up to my face before swiftly darting away again. “You’re handsome. And young. Oh, God, what I mean is—I already said that. The I mean thing, I mean. I just did it again.” Her eyes go wide as though begging me to end her misery.
        I don’t.
        Let the misery continue.
        I fold my arms over my chest and keep up the mute act. I like this Gwen. Hell, I really like this Gwen.
        She huffs out a heavy breath, repeating the tuck-the-hair motion again. There’s no more hair to tuck. It’s already been plastered behind her ears. But she’s nervous. For the first time in years, I think I may be witnessing Gwen James come undone.
        Over me.
        Does sweet justice actually exist? I think it does.
        “So, yes, I turned you down repeatedly. That’s on me. I was going through . . . life? Yeah, we’ll go with life. But I listened to what you said last night, Marshall, and I realized that I’d like to go on a date with you. It’d be nice. I mean, I think it would be nice. We won’t know if we’re compatible until we go out or whatever. To be honest, I’m not even sure a relationship is the best thing. Does love even really . . . it doesn’t matter.” Her shoulders hike up, her flouncy shirt fluttering around her breasts.
        Blue eyes meet mine, hopeful and nervous.
        “Will you go on a date with me, Marshall?”
        I stare down at her—the woman I’ve crushed on like an idiot teenager for half my adult life—and say the one word I never anticipated telling her.
        “No.”
RELEASE DAY ALERT NOTIFICATION: http://bit.ly/HatTrickAlert

BLURB

The NHL’s most charming player is ready to score a hat trick on and off the ice...
As the star forward for the Boston Blades, I’ve earned a reputation for no-strings attached hookups and a mean slapshot that has all the ladies purring -- but it’s never been the one woman I want to see all fired up and ready to score.
Boston’s own Ice Queen Gwen James has had my emotions all tangled up for years. I’ve played the games. I’ve sat on the sidelines.
No matter her reasons, I’m done being benched.
When she approaches me for a second chance, I accept on one condition: she’s got to prove she’s all in.
No kissing. No sex.
It just might kill me to keep my hands to myself, but it’s time Gwen knows what it’s like to beg.
At the end of the day, I play to win, and I want what no other man has ever had…her heart.

ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE BLADES HOCKEY SERIES

Power Play
US: http://amzn.to/2mIrGLh
Amazon Universal: myBook.to/PowerPlayBlades


Sin Bin
US: http://amzn.to/2BbKmrM
Amazon Universal: myBook.to/SinBinBlades

ALL books are free in Kindle Unlimited!


AUTHOR BIO
Maria Luis is the author of sexy contemporary romances, though she may or may not have a few historical romances hiding in the cobwebs of her computer.
When she’s not writing about strong men and the sassy women who sweep them off their feet, Maria is a historian who specializes in medieval England and 19th century New Orleans. What do the two eras have in common, you ask? Not much, except for disease, scandalous activities and crime—Maria’s favorite topics.
Maria lives in New Orleans with her better half, where she can generally be found hiking with her two dogs, Zeus and Athena, kayaking in Louisiana’s inter-coastal waterways, or curled up on the couch with a good book.

AUTHOR LINKS
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/marialuisauthor
Amazon: amazon.com/author/marialuisauthor
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)