Strictly Business Book Launch

Yay!  My second full-length novel, Strictly Business, has just been released.

This book was heaps of fun to write and I love my two main characters, Coley and Sean.  It is Book 2 in the Love, Money & Shoes series and tells the story of Sean Donovan (Ben’s brother from Book 1) and Coley McKenzie.

I wasn’t particularly fond of Sean in book one, but when I started to write his story, he grew on me 🙂 and I absolutely loved Coley from the minute she walked onto the page.

This book is a bit sassier than Walk of Shame and definitely a bit steamier.  Sean and Coley’s attraction to one another is volatile, quick silver, and it was fun to watch how they navigated working together under such intense sexual tension.

Don’t forget I also have two other shorter books in the series, kind of side stories, The Five Year Plan a short story and Summer Fling a novella.  Each book can be read as a standalone, but they are all linked by the characters.

My books are available on Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and now Nook, so you have plenty of options.

I also have another two books coming out soon, so if you would like to find out more about them sign up to my newsletter here

Now here is a short excerpt from the book!

Sean watched from the upstairs window as the woman got out of her car, placed a hard hat on her head and picked her way through the muddy job site towards the front door of the house.  It had been raining for almost a week and the front yard was now more of a mud wrestling pit than a lawn.  She must be the new interior decorator that the owner was foisting on him, some relative who had just completed her course.  What was she doing here on a Saturday of all days?  She hadn’t even had the courtesy of calling him first to arrange a time to come onsite.  He liked to come here on Saturdays when the other tradies were absent so that he could work in the hushed atmosphere.  He may be the architect, but he still liked to be hands on and, as project manager, he felt it was his duty to keep an eye on things.  If that meant the others on the crew thought he was checking up on their work, then all the better, they were less likely to cut corners if they knew he would be snooping.

She was a tiny thing, tightly wrapped in a dark grey suit, her slim fitted skirt finishing just above her knees.  He felt the blood rushing to his groin and the familiar tightening of his jeans as he unashamedly admired her firm body.  The business suit she wore was professional, but Sean saw what it hinted at and liked the view. He thought of himself as somewhat of a connoisseur of women, and this one was top shelf.  He knew that the thought would be considered chauvinistic, but he didn’t care.  He liked women, liked that they came in all shapes and sizes, appreciated their differences, but also knew that he found some more attractive than others.  It was a fact of life, it was the birds and the bees, and he would challenge anyone who denied that they felt the same, and this one definitely rated high on the old Attract-O-Meter.

He knew he had a reputation as a playboy and he relished it.  Women may say that they wanted a man who would commit to them, but that didn’t stop them flocking to his bed.  Sure they tried to turn him, but Sean was a confirmed bachelor who had no plans to ever settle down.  He would not give up his life of fun for the corporate merger that was the farce of his parents marriage.  His younger brother Ben had found love, but Sean knew that that was the exception and not the rule. No, he was content with his carefree life, he didn’t want to get tied down, didn’t want to eat oatmeal for the rest of his life – he liked variety. The only long term relationship commitment he was comfortable making was the one he had with his dog.

At the thought of the big golden retriever, he swore under his breath and turned from the window, bolting for the stairs.

“Connor!” he yelled as he ran, “Connor! Heel!”

He heard the unlocked front door bang open and new he was going to be too late. As he reached the doorway he saw the horror unfold as his big hairy dog loped toward the unsuspecting young woman.  Her head was down as she navigated the wet and slippery planks that were placed over the muddy front yard and she didn’t see the big dog barrelling towards her. Sean tried to yell out to warn her, but he couldn’t get the words out quick enough and he watched in horrified fascination as the bear of a dog greeted the newcomer.  Connor leapt towards the woman, muddy paws outstretched and a doggy smile on his face.  He wasn’t dangerous, just overly friendly and completely unaware of his size and strength. The woman looked up at the last minute and a look of terror flashed across her face as Connor’s paws connected with her chest and the momentum caused them to fall into the mud in a tangle of legs and hair.

It had all happened in slow motion and Sean’s feet seemed to be cemented to the floor, unable to move and unable to look away.  Her piercing scream and Connor’s joyful bark galvanised him and he rushed down the front stairs calling to Connor in a commanding voice.  The dumb dog loped towards him, covered in mud, tail wagging and tongue lolling.

“Sit,” Sean commanded and the dog sat, miracle of miracles. Connor was not known for his obedience, “Stay.”

Sean stepped forward and held out his hand to the stunning woman sprawled in the slush that was the front yard.  Her suit skirt had ridden up, revealing long, alabaster legs  that ended in red patent leather four inch heels that buckled around her slim ankles. Her suit jacket was delightfully rumpled and he had visions of how she would look if he were to take her up against a wall. Her hard hat had fallen off leaving her raven hair cascading over her shoulders and her red pinstriped business shirt had two large paw prints in a most unfortunate spot. Wire rimmed glasses sat askew on her nose and deep violet eyes flashed angrily at him.  The whole scene turned him on more than he was willing to admit.

She took his hand and a jolt of electricity shot through Sean, almost causing him to lose his grip on her delicate fingers. Pulling her to her feet, he prepared to apologise, but she wouldn’t let him get the words out of his mouth.

“What the hell!” she yelled, “That dog is a menace and should be on a leash.”

“Hang on a minute,” Sean growled, his own anger building at her unfair assessment of his dog, “Who the hell are you and what are you doing on my site?”

“I have every right to be here,” she fumed, “I’m the Interior Designer.”

“Did you have an appointment?” he replied, “You’re not allowed on site without one.”

She stomped her foot and huffed causing his anger to dissipate. He ran his hand through his hair and blew out a breath.

“I apologise for my dog.  If I had known you were coming, I would have made sure he was restrained,” he said through gritted teeth. He was within his rights to be angry over her unannounced arrival, but he knew she was related to the owner and he was willing to try and play nice.

She sighed dramatically and looked down at herself, taking in the ruined suit and mud covered shoes.

“My new Louboutins,” she whimpered, “Damn, damn, damn,” she said as she stomped her foot again which nearly caused her to topple off said shoes and fall again.

Sean reached out to grab her elbow to steady her, but she wrenched it out of his grasp which caused her to over balance. Sean stepped forward, but his boot slipped on a patch of mud and before he could stop himself he was falling into her.  They went down in a heap, her grunt confirming that he had landed on top of her, the soft body beneath his being his first clue. He landed on his hands, which were either side of her head and sinking rapidly into the wet mush, and his nose ended up only inches from hers, his body lying prone over hers. The look of anger in her eyes was replaced with shock and then the undeniable look of lust flitted through them before anger once again resurfaced.

Sean hissed as desire coursed through his veins and he wanted nothing more than to lean down and capture her ruby red lips with his. He knew it would be a bad idea, but he wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at that moment.  The swell of her breasts pressed into his hard chest and her warm body beneath him caused all the blood to drain from his brain. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, closing his eyes and giving himself over to the sensation of their warmth and softness. She froze beneath him before responding to his kiss and he completely forgot where they were.

Connor barked and his senses snapped back to reality. He pulled away from the kiss and looked down at the woman beneath him, he didn’t even know her name. He pulled himself together and stood, leaning down to help her to her feet. She looked as shocked as he felt and neither of them seemed to be able to speak.  Sean cleared his throat and gestured to the stairs, allowing her to go ahead of him. He watched her mud slicked behind as it swayed in front of him and knew that working with her was going to be a beautiful disaster.