Sunday, October 25, 2015






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Monday, October 19, 2015

Riordan: Harrison Ambush Release Day & Winner Announced 10/19/15


Riordan Harrison can't believe it. Everyone is pissed at him and he doesn't see what the fuss is all about. All he did was tell the woman that she was his mate. He couldn't help it that his tiger caused him to pin the woman to the counter and she proceeded to throw him to the ground and cover him with sticky pastries. Now, no one will talk to him, including his secretary. He hasn't claimed the woman yet, and it is all seeming like it's more trouble than it's worth.

Storm Browning, Stormy to her friends, is a wounded war hero. She's done her duty and just wants to live a quiet life?run her little bakery without any hitches. The majority of the men she commanded in the war had been shifters so she wasn't surprised when the big oaf sniffed her out claiming that she was his mate. But that doesn't mean she has to agree with it. What else could she do? He had to go. He'd hightail it and run anyway when he saw her scars?they all did. She couldn't emotionally handle that, not again at any rate.

But if Riordan is going to get back on everyone's good side, he'll have to make peace with the woman. Even though he thinks he's innocent, he'll go for a visit and maybe apologize, but after he gets there things go from bad to worse. Stormy is targeted for assassination and he's in the line of fire....


 Buy Link:

 Amazon USA https://www.amazon.com/Riordan-Harrison-Ambush-Shapeshifter-Romance-ebook/dp/B01672STBQ/ref=sr_1_3_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444941466&sr=8-3&keywords=kathi+s+barton

 Amazon UK  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Riordan-Harrison-Ambush-Shapeshifter-Romance-ebook/dp/B01672STBQ/ref=sr_1_3_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444941758&sr=8-3&keywords=kathi+s+barton

Amazon CA http://www.amazon.ca/Riordan-Harrison-Ambush-Shapeshifter-Romance-ebook/dp/B01672STBQ/ref=sr_1_2_twi_kin_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444941795&sr=8-2&keywords=kathi+s+barton


B&N  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/riordan-kathi-s-barton/1122748301?ean=2940151129817

Smash Words https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/582718

I tunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/riordan/id1046682136?mt=11

All Romance  https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-riordan-1908407-340.html

KOBO  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/riordan-1





Winner of a mystery paperback is Neena Martain  Please check your email for info on how to claim your prizes 




Happy Reading !!!!!!!!!!!!







Chapter 1  
He’d wanted to get to his office and change into a clean shirt, but his mom had been waiting for him. And when she’d ordered—yes, she’d ordered—him to sit, he did. This day could not get any worse. He was sure now, however, that it was about to. “Your dad told me that you got into a fight with the local baker. And when you tried to molest her, she fought back. Would you mind telling me why you thought it was a good idea in the first place to have a public and very…well, colorful, fight in my favorite place to get bread?” “It’s nothing. Just a misunderstanding on her part. Her temper was out of control for no reason and she started throwing a fit. I’ll take care of it tomorrow. Can I go now?” She told him to sit again. “I needed something from her, and she got mad at me. It’s nothing, I assure you.” “Yet here you sit covered in jelly and custard, and all you have to say for yourself is it wasn’t your fault.”  Riordan wanted to point out again that he hadn’t done that much to her that warranted her having a temper tantrum, but his mom did not look like she was going to listen. It was women, he decided, that had the foul moods all the time. Men were not prone to acting like the world was coming to an—  “Riordan, if you don’t answer me, I’m going to use my favorite rolling pin on your thick head, and then I’m going to be even madder at you. Because I’m sure rather than knocking sense into your head, all it’s going to do is crack this wood.” “She’s my mate.” Her foot started tapping, and he tried to think. But his dad came in then and sat down and started laughing. “Ask him. He was right there when she got it into her head to start hurling Danishes at me.” “I was there, love. And she did. But I’m thinking it might have been due to what he said to her and the way that he was pressing her against the wall with his big body. That’s not what she called him…let me see, what was it? Ah yes. I believe she called him a hulking monster that had no more brains than…well, love, you get the idea. I will say that her mouth and language are a little on the rough side, and she made her point quite…loudly. But she did toss him around like he was nothing more than the child he was acting like. I would have kicked his butt, too, but her friends, two elderly women who would have made me think…well, they had it under control, sadly.” His mother huffed at him, and her foot took on a speed that had him thinking he was as good as dead. His dad cleared his throat, and he looked at him. “Son, you have a bit of jelly hanging off your ear that looks like one of them dangling earrings your mother likes to wear.” “She won’t let me clean up.” He knew that he’d spoken loudly when his dad cocked a brow at him. “I’m a grown man. Not some teenager that has gotten caught with a girl in the back seat.” “No, you’re a grown man, or so you keep telling me, that has made your own mate so angry with you that she’s thrown her hard-earned product at you and has threatened to have you arrested if you come near her again.” Riordan looked at his mother as his dad continued. “And if you want us to treat you like you’re all grown up, I would suggest that you begin to act like it. This is no behavior for a man who is in charge of a large corporation, as well as one that hits the papers more often than not because he’s such a humanitarian and a calm and level-headed man. You were not very level-headed, nor calm, today. What do you think they’d put there now if they were to see you like this?” He knew just what they’d say. He’d fallen off his rocker. But as his parents continued to talk, he thought about the woman. She’d been…she’d been perfect, except for her temper. And if 
she was going to be his mate, that thing was going to have to be simmered down a bit. There was no way he could have her flying off the handle like a harpy when she got her panties all in a bunch. He’d only gone in with his dad because he’d heard him go on about the place. All he’d talked about for the last month was the way this bakery made cheese Danish, and how they were flaky enough to make you beg for more. He’d even gone on to say that he wanted to invest in the place. And that was another reason Riordan had gone with him. No one was going to take his family for a ride. As far as space was concerned, the shop had it. The wraparound counter seemed to scream at you to come and look what delights were there. It was well lit, the glass sparkling clean, and the baskets were overflowing with an array of pastries and breads that made his mouth water. Even from the doorway he could smell the yeast and jellies, blackberry and strawberry. A coffee station sat on one side to the room with a carafe of water for tea, it said, and baskets of tea flavors that had him wanting to check them out. The two women behind the counter seemed to be working to their own music. They moved and slid around each other as if they’d been doing it for years, and not just the month that the shop had been open. They laughed with their customers, handed out samples big enough to look like a serving, and gave small ones cookies hand over fist. Whoever their marketing manager was had it right. The only way to make money was to spend a little.  A woman had come from the back with a tray of the most beautiful loaves of bread he’d ever seen. Then he’d gotten her scent. And Christ, it had been all he could do not to— “Riordan.” Riordan looked at his mother. She had been talking to him, and he had missed it all. “I asked you three times now what are you going to do to repair this. Because you will, or so help me, I’ll make you wish that you had.” “Repair what?” She bounced the rolling pin—her favorite—in her left hand like she was thinking it was his head. He had to think what he had to do to make her soften her glare. A glance at his dad was no help, as he was laughing again. “I don’t know what I did wrong that you think I need to fix. You should talk to her about what she’s going to do about telling me she’s sorry.” Riordan thought he heard his dad say, oh brother, but he wasn’t sure, because at that moment his mother slammed the pin down on the table so near to his arm he thought that she had cut that pretty close. But then…maybe she’d been trying to hit him. When she went to the door and opened it, he sat there, not sure what to do. It was Sunday after all. “Get out.” He looked at his dad, who was not only no longer laughing, but looked a little scared himself. “Get out of my house right now and don’t return until…until…get out of here right now.” “Mom?” She pointed out, and he had no choice but to move out or something was going to befall him that was going to be talked about in this family for the next couple of generations, if not forever.  Riordan moved out the door and turned to ask her what he’d done. But the door slamming in his face made him feel stupid…and a little pissed off. He was thirty-five years old, not some kid.  As he made his way to the truck, his brother, Mac, pulled in the drive. Riordan didn’t even bother stopping to warn him, but got in his own truck and left. “They’re all nuts.” Riordan turned the radio up as loud as he could to drown out his thoughts, then turned it down. He was pissed, but blaring his music wasn’t going to make it go 
away. Instead, he lightened his foot on the accelerator and tried not to drive angry. That was all he needed to do, have an accident that would make his mom really mad at him. Riordan liked to think of himself as a cool and very rational man. He thought things through before speaking, his plans were flawless when he put them out for people to see, and he never did anything on the spur of the moment. He liked order, planning, and a calendar. Doing things off the cuff or sly, as his brother, Ennis, called it, was not his way of working, not in business or his personal life. The calendar on his phone was as filled as the one on his secretary’s. The ones on his computer in his office as well as his house were updated daily. And if there was something that had to be canceled or moved, he’d go over the entire month to make sure that it didn’t conflict with something else. Riordan was a man who did not like surprises. And finding out that the woman in the shop was his mate had messed up his entire schedule for the day. “What did she think she was doing throwing me out?” Riordan wasn’t sure if he meant his mom or the woman, but they both had done it. “It’s Sunday, after all, and we have dinner as a family. Was this worth Mom getting all upset and telling me to leave? No, it was not. This is her fault, too. The bakery woman’s.”  As he drove to his apartment downtown, he thought about the way she’d felt pressed against his body, and wondered not for the first time what she would feel like wrapped around him naked. He had to adjust his cock for the third time since getting in his truck. She’d been coming from the back room, her arms loaded with loaves of bread, when she’d taken a short stumble. His only thought was to keep her from falling when he caught her scent. Then she’d told him to let her go, and he’d had to taste her. And just like that, her temper flared, and he could only stare at her. Who knew that being pissed off could be so sexy? As he reached for her again, having put the bread on the counter, she’d backed up quickly. Putting up her hands to warn him off, he thought, did nothing to slake his need, and he backed her up more until she was pressed against the wall. Burying his nose into her neck had made him hard as stone, and he could think of nothing else but taking her to the floor and coming deep inside of her. Except that she’d unmanned him with her knee, and that had him dropping like a stone. Then the projectiles had started flying. He’d been hit in the head with several of them before he could stand up. When he reached for her again, this time her hand was filled with more Danish, and he felt rather than saw her move. He was on his back and looking up at her before he could catch his breath. Then one of the older women was standing over him with a large knife in her hands. “I think you have overstayed your welcome, young man.” He nodded but was afraid to move. “You can crawl out on your belly or get up and walk out. Either way, she wants you gone. And I’m thinking that she might be right. I don’t want to have to stab you to get you going. Unless you want me to.” “I need to talk to her.” The woman told him he’d be better off talking to the door, which he’d better be going through rather than talking to her right now. “Can I at least have her name? I can call her later so she can tell me what she thought she was doing by this mess. Don’t you think she overreacted, even just a little?” “No, I don’t think so.” She pointed to the door again, and he got the idea that he was going to get nowhere with her. As he made his way to the door, his dad was paying for his purchases as if nothing at all had happened. He was going to have a talk to him as well. The man would surely have his side on this. 
Only he hadn’t. Not only had he laughed at him the entire way home, but he’d not agreed with him at all. Not about the woman being nuts, or about her blowing things out of proportion, nor did he think that she’d done a thing wrong. Riordan was going to go down there first thing Monday, which would mess up his entire morning, just so she could apologize to him. This was no way to start a relationship. ~~~ Storm washed down the wall where blueberry jam had stained it. She’d have to find the paint can in the basement to touch this up. The strawberry had washed off a good deal easier, but it was fresher. She thought that she’d grabbed that tray last when he’d— “You scrub much harder and the wall will fall over. You thinking about that man?” Storm nodded at her aunt. “Yeah, he was a big guy. Pushy as hell, but a big one all the same. Can’t seem to understand why you’re all pissy with him. You’re hurting now, aren’t you, child?” “Just a little, nothing I can’t handle. He mentioned that I was his mate.” She looked at Aunt Lynn when she huffed. Storm wasn’t sure if it was because she knew she was lying about the pain or about the man. Either way, it was a moot point. “I don’t have…he can’t be my mate. I don’t want him. And he won’t want me once he sees what is under my clothing.” “No one is more concerned with that than you are.” Storm knew that her aunt had never seen her body since she’d come home, so said nothing. “You still seeing that doctor? The one that says you need to have those drugs to help you sleep? You gotta see someone about that pain, too. We both know you’re hurting.” “You know that I’m not seeing him.” Aunt Lynn nodded. “I know that the VA pays for it, but it’s stupid to take them when all they do is make me weirded out. I was sleeping no better with them than I was without. But I do go and talk to that lady shrink. She’s not too bad.” The doc had been all right until about a week ago, right after Storm had told her that she wasn’t going to be able to see her again due to her having a job now. It was as if she’d taken it personally. Storm knew that she had to see someone or be back in the hospital again, but she was trying to stand on her own two feet instead of depending so much on her family. It wasn’t like she had to work for the money, but she needed to work to keep her body from tightening up. “That man, do you suppose he’ll come back here?” Storm didn’t turn around as she spoke to look at her aunt, but heard her huff again. “The man that he came here with is a nice man. I like him. But as far as I’m concerned, I really could care less if that fucking bastard darkened my doorstep again.” “Sally and I will keep him in line now that we know about him. I’m thinking he will be back. He didn’t strike me as a man that would give up too easily.”  Storm had thought the same thing. But before either of them could say anything else, the bell over the front door sounded and Aunt Lynn went to answer it. Storm Browning was a woman that few people knew well. She preferred it that way, more now than before she’d joined the army. She supposed her upbringing had had a lot to do with that…at least the first ten years of her life. Now her memories were nearly too much for her to deal with, and she had a shitload of them. Few of them nice ones. Her men, nine of them when she’d gone in country—overseas—had been her friends, but they were all dead now. All but her. As she made her way to the oven again when the timer went off, she tried her best not to think of that day and what had happened. Instead, she thought about how many cookies she had left to bake. The board that Aunt Lynn had put up for her was filled. It felt good to see so many orders there, but it made her a little nervous too. If she was in too much pain, she knew that either of her 
aunts could bake for her, but she wanted to keep them from having to lift so much. They were in their late seventies, both of them, and they were actually her great aunts. All the family that she had in the world. The cookies were put onto the cooling rack, then she put more on the parchment paper to bake as the first batch cooled. She had a system. It wasn’t a great one, but it worked for her. Stretching her arm above her head to hear it pop, she had to hold onto the table when the pain took her breath away. Storm made her way to the cabinet where she kept her medications. It was time for the next round of drugs anyway, and she thought that having a pain pill was in order this time. Moving slower now that it was getting later in the day, she sat down on the seat she used when she decorated if anything needed her attention. Since the man had left her, her back had been throbbing and her legs felt like rubber. Her body hurt now, and not just a little. There was more baking to do, and then there were the dishes to wash, but Storm wasn’t sure she could do either without lying down for a bit.  Going to the front of the shop, she saw that her aunts were busy and went to talk to the man at the counter. He grinned at her when she welcomed him to The Bakery. “Nice name. Simple and right to the point.” Nodding, she waited for him to order or tell her what he wanted. He was dressed well, expensively, and he had a face that made her think she’d seen him before. “I need to get three loaves of rye and two of sourdough. And I’m supposed to ask you if there are any…let me see what Mom called them before I make a fool of myself.” She got his bread for him and put them into the long loaf bags she’d just gotten in. They were generic, but they served the purpose. He was still talking on his phone when the next man came to the counter. Storm wanted to ask him to wait for her aunts, but he looked like he needed more than what was on display. “You Sergeant Major Browning?” Storm nodded, but looked around to see if anyone else had heard him. “I was told to come on down here and see if you could use some help. The lady at the VA, she said you were looking for someone to help wash up.” Taking him to the back room, she sat him on the chair she’d been in and asked him when he’d last eaten. He told her that it had been a couple of days, because the shelter wasn’t open on the weekends. And he hadn’t cared for the meal they had on Fridays either. “It’s Monday. What’s your name, soldier, and don’t lie to me again.”  He straightened up in the chair and nodded to her. “I’m PFC Daniel Gunning, but I go by Danny. I don’t have no problems with drugs or nothing. Just nightmares and so on. I get to where I can’t leave my place. And when that happens, I lose my place in line at the food pantry. It’s been a couple of days since I’ve…leaving the apartment kind of gives me the willies.” She knew that feeling. “I heard from Nurse Mason that you were looking to find someone to come in some days and help out by washing up. You mean dishes, I’m suspecting.” “Yes.” He looked around the room, then stood up…much easier than she could have today. She sort of envied his ease. “You can start today, but I’m feeding you first. And if you object then you can think of it as an order.” He nodded and moved to the table in the back of the kitchen. Storm went to the front to get a loaf of bread, and the man from earlier was still standing there. When she told him she was sorry, he winked at her. “I saw you were busy. You going to hire him, Sarge?” Nodding, she told him not to call her that. “All right. But what were you, if you don’t mind my asking? Air force? Army?” 
“Special Forces. Did you ever find out what your mom wanted?” He told her that he needed a dozen filled donuts, he didn’t care what flavors. As she filled his order, all she could think about was the man in the back.  He’d be a great help should he be able to show up to work daily. She knew how hard it was for her just to get out of the bed some days, the pain was so bad. When she had the thirteen donuts for the man, she let Lynn ring him out. But he stopped her before she could go to the back again. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for you to hire him? You don’t seem to know anything about him other than someone sent him to you.” She pulled away from his touch on her arm. “I’m sorry. I just—” “I can take care of myself. I have been for a very long time. While I appreciate your concern, trust me when I tell you that he should be more afraid of me than I am of him.” He nodded and then looked over her shoulder. She didn’t have to look to know who stood there. He might have just been hired, but Danny was a soldier first and foremost. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve had a bang-up day so far, and I’d really like to be left to my own council.” “I’m sorry.” Storm nodded and moved to the back room. The man left a few minutes later, and Storm made Danny a sandwich. She also cautioned him about helping her out when he thought she was in trouble.  “I’m hurting, like you, but I can handle myself. There is no reason for us both to get into trouble with some over protective shit that thinks because I don’t have a dick between my legs that I’m one of them fainting hearts.” Danny grinned at her. “Next time, you just let me handle it. But if someone fucks with my aunts, you have my full permission to kick some ass, all right? And don’t call me by my rank here. It’s Storm, or Stormy if you wish. I left that all behind a while back.” “Yes, sir.” He bit into his sandwich and finished chewing before he spoke again. “You’re that CO that got all those guys out, aren’t you? I heard about it when it happened. I’m really sorry.” “I don’t talk about it. And if you want to continue working here, you won’t either.” He nodded again. “I’m not trying to be a bitch—well, I am, but I don’t want to think about it anymore. The nightmares plague me as well.” “Yes, sir, I’m betting that they do. If you, you know, need to talk, I can listen to you. Won’t say a word, just be here for you.” He took another healthy bite, then continued. “I might need you, too. I won’t mean to, but I might just need to…I get them willies I was telling you about, and you might have to talk to me. About nothing if you want, but I get myself scared to death sometimes. I won’t hurt you, but I do get scared.” “I’m here.” He nodded, and she walked to the board. She had no idea what it said at that moment; her eyes were filled with tears. Storm wasn’t the whiney kind of woman. She wasn’t even one to lean on people, even if she was falling over on her face with the need to. But there were times that hot tears could make her feel more alive than anything. After a bit, she heard the water at the sinks turn on and Danny start to hum to the music that was playing in the front of the shop…soft country music that her aunts both loved to hear, and sometimes even sang to. Storm pulled the first of the orders down just as Aunt Lynn came into the back room. She had the nightly list of things that they were running low on up front.  “We’re taking what is left to the shelter.” Nodding, Storm made a mental note to save some food for Danny to take home with him when he left. But her aunt handed her a sack that she could smell the bread in. “How’s your back, sweetie? Want me to stay and help?” 
“I’m going to go up in a bit and take a little nap.” Storm was pretty sure her aunt knew it was a lie. “Then I’ll work on some of this and the front stuff.” “Don’t work too much, honey. We’ll make do with what we have, and tomorrow is a half day too, so we might be able to make it.” Storm nodded and locked up after her aunts left. Going to the back room, she started measuring things into the big mixer. It was going to be a very long night. 
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Sunday, October 18, 2015

Royce The Hunter Series Chapter 23 last chapter to read

Chapter 23  
The jury came back the next afternoon. Royce had wanted Kasey to stay home, but she said she needed to be there. He didn’t want to be there so he thought her being beside him would be a tad easier. He held her hand and had his son in his arms. He was sure that White was going to be convicted, but on what charges he had no idea.  When everyone sat back down they looked over at the jury when the judge asked them if they’d reached a verdict. The foreman stood as asked and she started reading the charges.  Guilty. On all nine charges, he was guilty. Before the judge could say more, White stood up. “You can’t convict me, you stupid bitch. I didn’t do a damned thing to those women that they didn’t want.” He turned to the judge. “You have to tell them to try again. You make them go back in that room until they come out with a better verdict. I’m not going to jail. There is no way I’m going to jail.” “Then what do you propose we do with you? Let you go? I don’t think so. You have to pay for the crimes you’ve committed. And to do that you will serve—” Royce would remember the next few seconds for the rest of his life. He would never…no, that’s not right, he could not believe that someone could do so much damage so quickly and then take her own life. Gertrude Best had been in the court room daily with them. She’d been quiet and reserved for the most part, only getting upset once or twice, but had delivered her story with as much dignity as anyone could under the circumstances. And every day she’d come in with her wand at her throat. Royce knew that she’d never been questioned about it after she’d been on the stand. The little gun had gone off before the judge had had a chance to make a date for sentencing. Gurt had pointed the little wand at White on several occasions throughout the trial, that when she’d done it this time no one had thought a thing about it. At least Royce hadn’t. The pop-pop-pop had sounded long seconds before anyone moved and the last pop had gone off before Gurt could be reached. The final bullet had torn through her chin and up through her brain in seconds. While everyone rushed to the dead woman, no one moved to the man who lay bleeding to death on the floor. Gurt had been an excellent shot. She’d gotten White twice in the throat and once in the cheek. There was no saving him after they realized that he wasn’t killed like they had assumed. Royce wondered after if anyone had really tried.  It had taken them four hours to get everyone’s statements. Royce had tried several times to get Kasey to take Lee home and wait for him, but she’d stood next to him, at his side when the reports had come, and then again when they were all questioned. She was eerily quiet on the drive home. “She had this planned for a long time, didn’t she?” Kasey finally asked when they were in bed together. “She knew what she was doing the moment she’d come to the courthouse.” “Yes. I think she had a plan to kill White even before we’d approached her to tell her side of what had happened.” Royce didn’t tell anyone that he thought that Gurt had done 
them all a favor by killing White. He thought it, but didn’t voice it. “She had had her little gun made when she’d still been in the recuperating stages after he’d shot her.” “I wish we could have talked more. I wish she could have… I was going to ask her to help me with the program. I thought she’d be an inspiration to everyone knowing that good things could come to you if you didn’t think of yourself as a victim. I guess I was wrong.” He pulled her tight in his arms and kissed her shoulder. “You weren’t wrong, love. You couldn’t see how badly she’d been affected by what he’d done to her. I’m not sure anyone had.” She lay there for several minutes before she spoke again. “Royce, do you think the others will be all right? Do you think any of them are thinking about killing themselves?” She turned to him then. “Is there anything we can do for them?” He nodded before he said anything. “We’ll give them anything they need, baby. Anything. You work your magic on them and see what we can do to help them and we will. I swear if it is in my power to do it, they can have it.”  He held her long after she’d gone to sleep and when Lee woke a few hours later, he went to the nursery to get him. He changed his diaper and took him to the big rocker just to hold him. Lee seemed to be all right with waiting on his food so Royce told him about his mom. “You should see her went she gets all fired up about something. I’m telling you, son, it’s a sight to behold. And boy, when she’s…well, that’s between mom and me. But she can light me up pretty good too.” Lee watched him as he spoke to him, never breaking eye contact. “You’re going to be such a ladies man, kid. You just wait and see. But you won’t be knocking any of them up before you say ‘I do.’ I did that and it turned out wonderful for me, but you can’t expect to be so lucky. Here are words my brothers say all the time, ‘don’t tap it if you don’t wrap it.’ Words to live by.” “What a thing to say to a baby.”  Royce looked up at Kasey standing in the doorway when she spoke.  “Are you seriously giving our ten day old son sexual advice?” “You’re never too young to be taught to respect the lady. Besides, you know you’ll be giving any daughters that we have the same advice.” She walked to him and started to kneel on the floor in front of the rocker. “Sit in my lap. I want to hold the two most important people in my life.” She slid into the chair and Royce handed her Lee. He cradled them both in his arms. He doubted there was a better feeling in the world than this. “I have a news conference tomorrow with your mom. Your brother, I think, set it up a long time ago. Then we have a meeting with a reporter from the Daily Broadcast. Some guy by the name of Kyle Washington.” “Kylie Washington. It’s a girl, woman. She and Jesse went to school together. She’s a real ball buster. She was the one that got the last mayor impeached. She uncovered a ring of prostitution that he’d been running with campaign money.” Royce stood when Kasey did. Lee had decided that he’d waited long enough. He watched her nurse him. He was such a greedy little thing and he made noises that made Royce smile. Lee held his mother’s finger while he ate his dinner. 
“Annamarie said that he…Kylie has been on the story for some time and that she is the one who’d found two of the women for the trial. Do you think she knew about Gurt?” Royce told her that he didn’t know. “I hope she didn’t. I think that would be hard for her to live with if she did.” Royce hadn’t had anything more to do with Gurt than to see her in the court room, and he was having a hard time with it. He could still see her blood on the wall behind her when she’d killed herself. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. She and Daniel meet on Monday morning. And from what I remember about her as a kid, she and Daniel didn’t get along all that well. Seems she’d take exception to everything that he said. ~~~ Kylie Washington put down her phone and looked at her notes. She was really going to go to the Hunter building to see Daniel Hunter. She closed her eyes, trying to wipe out the hurt and pain that was there every time she’d thought about him. The pisser had made her mad every time she’d seen him when she’d been a teenager. It had started in middle school, moved up through high school, and then into adulthood. Every time they saw one another, he would make her mad enough to make her want to kick him. But she’d remained the adult. And not only had she not put his nuts up around his eyes, she’d written a glowing article about him when he’d taken over the personal side of his brother’s firm. Cushy job that it was. She flushed then. She had walked into the same kind of job. Her daddy had owned the newspaper she worked for since before she was born. At least Royce had made himself into what he was; her dad had inherited it from his dad. She walked to her closet for the tenth time in the past three hours.  She didn’t have a thing to wear to this. She wanted to look professional yet hardnosed. She wanted him to see that she could be feminine, yet still be a pro. She threw the last dress in her closet on the floor. Damn it, she wanted him to see that she’d turned into this drop dead gorgeous woman who had a few more brain cells then the normal women he dated. Fat chance.  By the time she cleaned up her bedroom and put the first thing she touched with her eyes closed into the bathroom to put on in the morning, she went to bed. Tomorrow, she was going to see the only man who had made her feel things she’d never felt before.  Kylie Washington had been in love with Daniel Hunter since she’d been ten years old




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When Jared Stone goes undercover to investigate an employee of his father’s company he expects to find a man abusing his power and ignoring his responsibilities. 

Willow James in neither a man nor an incompetent site foreman. And soon Jared finds himself going undercover of a different sort. Together they must navigate a world of drugs, murder and intrigue. 

Can their passion see them through the dark nights and dangerous days? Or will they be pulled apart by the same forces that they are trying to conquer? 

 #darkfantasy #erotica #romance
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Dawn Whitfield is on the run, and if her uncle catches her this time she knows he won’t just beat her…he’ll kill her. Her best bet is to keep moving, and at all cost keep hidden. 

Addie Parker finds the shackled young woman and sets her up in an old house hidden from everything. And that’s where Dawn stays for eight lonely years. 

Ellis Emerson is in a rut. He can’t seem to do anything right. He thinks he’s found his mate, but can’t get close enough to her to be sure… And that’s a huge distraction that’s turned their construction job from a week ahead of schedule with a huge bonus, to barely three days ahead. And when Addie asks him to assemble a small crew to fix one of her houses, his foreman, Dan, is all for Ellis getting away for a while. 

Ellis finds his skittish mate hiding away in Addie’s home, but will she let her guard down long enough for him to convince her that their destiny is each other? Or will her Uncle Basil step in and finally take her prisoner again? Find out in the next installment of Emerson Wolves―Ellis. 


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Fated Destiny: Trapped
And just like that, it all come flooding back to her. Everything. The crash, the sex. Even the way he’d made her feel when he came inside of her. Andrea could hear him screaming at her now, his voice in her head telling her to calm down….
Trevor was a wolf on a mission. They had his mate and he wanted her back―now.…
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Recommended for 18+ Check out the first books in 6 separate series by Kathi S. Barton. Each of these full length novels can stand alone. 

Rembrandt – Blood Brotherhood Series 
Sapphire – Rare Gems Series 
Force of Nature – Force of Nature Series 
Nickolas – The Grant Brothers Series 
Cain – The Waite Family Series 
Royce – The Hunter Series 


Rembrandt 
Skylar Manning was just trying to be nice. The mysterious man dressed in black was hanging around after closing…again. It was the third time this week. Only this time he grabbed her arm. Her world changed forever. 
Suddenly she found herself hunted by shadowy figures with razor sharp teeth, and into the arms of a warrior who craved her as much as she did him… 
Sapphire 
Blair tries to convince himself that he’s chasing after Sapphire because he feels an overwhelming need to protect her and she just won’t follow orders. When he comes across as a complete jerk, Sapphire really wants no part of him. Of course, leaving him isn't going to work…she's his mate. Now, if only he can get his head out of his ass, learn to treat Sapphire the way she should be treated, maybe, just maybe, there is a chance for them…that is unless Jeffery Benetton finds her first… 
Force of Nature 

Austin didn’t want to be impressed by her. He didn’t want to like her. He wanted her to obey him, whelp a few pups so she wouldn’t be bored and run his house for him. CJ wanted to do as she please which included maybe murdering the Alpha in his sleep. The two of them coming together is wonderfully steamy and sarcastic wit. Austin and CJ will make great alpha’s…or will they? 
Nickolas 

Nickolas Grant doesn’t know what to do when he finally realizes that he needs Morgan Becky for more than just his secretary. He doesn’t trust her… not with his love not even his friendship. 
Morgan has not had an easy life and finds it difficult to trust others. She needs to get her life in order, not fall for her handsome boss with a stiff spine and foul temper. 
When they come together in fiery passion and biting words, no one is safe, not even them. 
Cain 

The girl went by many names. Julie was the one the nurse called her, Shade and also Miss Rocky was just a few more. But it was her real name that she held to her. No one must know who she was or they’d try and kill her. And the good doctor was someone she decided that 
Royce 

Royce and Kasey have a love that extends over time and could make them very happy…if they don’t kill each other first. 






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Monday, October 5, 2015

Ellis: Emerson Wolves Release Day & Winner Announced 10/5/15

Dawn Whitfield is on the run, and if her uncle catches her this time she knows he won’t just beat her…he’ll kill her. Her best bet is to keep moving, and at all cost keep hidden. 

Addie Parker finds the shackled young woman and sets her up in an old house hidden from everything. And that’s where Dawn stays for eight lonely years. 

Ellis Emerson is in a rut. He can’t seem to do anything right. He thinks he’s found his mate, but can’t get close enough to her to be sure… And that’s a huge distraction that’s turned their construction job from a week ahead of schedule with a huge bonus, to barely three days ahead. And when Addie asks him to assemble a small crew to fix one of her houses, his foreman, Dan, is all for Ellis getting away for a while. 

Ellis finds his skittish mate hiding away in Addie’s home, but will she let her guard down long enough for him to convince her that their destiny is each other? Or will her Uncle Basil step in and finally take her prisoner again? Find out in the next installment of Emerson Wolves―Ellis. 

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 Winner Of A Mystery Paperback is  Kim Kushibab  Please check your email for info on how to claim 



Happy Reading 




Eight years ago “Where are you, girl? Girl? Where the heck have you gotten yourself to now?” Dawn curled tighter into the hole she’d found for herself and tried to control her breathing. It would not do to get caught when she’d gotten so far this time. “Girl? You’d better darn well answer me. It’s not gonna go well for you if you don’t come out now.” She had no intentions of ever going back. Dawn knew that if she was caught this time, not only would she be beaten again, but she’d more than likely die. Or she’d try her best to die this time. She was too tired to keep doing this. When her uncle moved by where she was, Dawn curled tighter into her ball and stopped breathing. He stood not two feet from her, and she knew that he’d only have to turn just a little to find her. As soon as he moved on she was tempted to bolt again, but that had been what got her caught before. He wasn’t faster than her, but she was weighted down with the chains still on her ankles, and there wasn’t any way for her to shift and outrun him either. Staying still, even with the need to run now beating at her, Dawn closed her eyes and tried to think of anything but him. She had been seven when she was brought to her uncle and aunt—brother and sister-in-law to her mom—and at first it had been nice. Her mother had been in prison for about three months before they’d figured out she had a kid, and the authorities had come looking for her. Stealing food had made her feel horrible, but she had a plan to pay everything back. That hadn’t worked out so well so far. About a year after she’d started living with Uncle Basil and Aunt Neva, he’d supposedly lost his job. She never really understood what it was he’d done, but just one day she was sat at the table and told that she was no longer going to have the luxuries that she’d had before. Not that she could remember having any, but Aunt Neva took great pride in the fact that Dawn was going to lose them. “And you’ll work around here too. Cooking one meal a day for us, and we’ll do the rest.” Again, something that she’d been doing anyway. “There will no longer be a ride to school. You’ll have to walk back and forth, and starting tomorrow, you’ll pack your lunch. No more free lunches for you.” “But I do that already.” The slap had knocked her off the chair and into the stove behind her. As she lay there, stunned and hurting, Aunt Neva stood over her screaming at her to get up. Dawn did finally get up and sit back in the chair, only to be knocked back again, by her uncle this time. She didn’t remember much of what happened that night after that. And it continued over the years, but mostly with her aunt giving out the hits and Uncle Basil just telling her what a disappointment she was, and how he wished he’d never said yes to taking her in. For many years her routine had rarely changed. Dawn did the laundry, another job that had been added to her list when she’d been caught sitting at the table reading the newspaper that had been wrongly delivered to their house. While the laundry was washing or drying, she’d make their meals and then clean up after them. The living room had to be cleaned after they went to bed, but no vacuuming. Their bedroom was cleaned daily, the bed made, and the bathroom had to be spotless by ten or there would be hell to pay. While it wasn’t the cleanest house in the world, it was all she’d really known. Dawn could recite every story they’d told her about her mom—every evil thing that they said she did—and what Dawn should and should not be doing to help them out, as they were so good to let her stay with them. Then she’d turned eighteen. Her birthdays were never acknowledged. The day would only be noticed by her, and for the most part, she was fine with that. At any given time up until that point she could have told anyone the days, hours, and even the minutes remaining until that particular time in her life came to her. She was leaving them then. It was her right as an adult. Her eighteenth birthday had started out just like any other Tuesday. She had gathered the wash up and was putting the first load in the machine when her belly began to churn. Not like she was hungry—she knew that feeling all too well—but like she was going to be sick. Going to the bathroom had produced nothing more than a bit of bile, but she didn’t feel any better. As the day wore on, she began to sweat. Her body felt strange, and she could swear that there was a monster inside of her…a monster that wanted out of her. By dinner she could hardly move, her muscles ached, and her skin felt as if it was going to peel away from her. As the dinner simmered on the stove, Dawn had gone into the yard to get some fresh air. Screaming with the pain, she fell to her knees, and just as the consuming pain took her breath away, it was gone. She knew that something was wrong…so terribly wrong. Dawn fell twice trying to walk, and then realized that she was no longer Dawn, but something with fur and paws. Dawn was able to move around after a few minutes, and had liked the way she felt. Her body was…she supposed it was stronger than her human body had been, and for some reason she’d not been scared or freaked out by the change. Just wonderfully happy. Then her uncle had come out of the house, and things went bad fast. Her uncle stomping by her again brought her out of her thoughts. She didn’t move, and for now that seemed to be working for her. He was getting madder by the second, and she nearly smiled at that. But him being pissed would only be harder on her if he caught her. “Darn you, girl, when I find you, I’m going to whip you with a stick. Where the heck are you?” She saw him twice more as he moved by her hiding place. Her legs were cramping up and she had to pee, but those were minor things compared to what he’d do if he caught her again. “Girl, you are starting to really make me mad at you, and you know how it hurts you when I lose my temper.” Dawn stayed where she was until the moon was high in the sky. She’d not heard her uncle in a long time, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t out there somewhere just waiting for her to get up and show him where she was. But she had to move. It was that or be so sore she’d not be able to get away if he was gone. Moving slowly to let the pins and needles move out of her muscles, Dawn picked up her bag of things and slowly moved her head above the hole where she’d been hiding. Nothing. Lifting her nose to the air, she could smell him, but it was faint now. His scent was faded, long gone from where she was. Pulling the bag and her chain with her, she moved out of the hole. Still cautious, she moved from tree to tree, hardly making a sound as she did so. It was the most delicious feeling she’d ever had. Walking with the moon in front of her, Dawn knew that she’d make it to a town soon. It had taken her four different failed escape attempts before she got to this point. And she had made better decisions on what to take with her too. Food was a necessity, but it was the compass she’d found one day when she’d been in the big shed, as well as all the money she’d been stashing away since her eighteenth birthday, that was going to be the most help. It had only been a few dollars here, some change there, that she’d found when doing the laundry. Lucky for her when she’d been caught all those times before, neither of them had found those two items. It was dawn when she stopped. The town was ahead of her; she could see the glow of the city lights. But Dawn knew that going into the little burg would be a mistake. She had on clothing that was filthy, and there was a shackle on both her ankles. The long chain was attached to another one that was around her neck. It would be hard to hide and even harder to explain. Dawn was sure she looked like a prison escapee. Instead of going to the town to beg for help, she made it to the big barn that was near the road. Spending the day there was preferable to anything that she might find in town. She hid in the top of it, where the sweet hay was the nicest bed she’d had in a long while, and fell asleep. The voices woke her. A man and a boy were talking about the sheep that had been stolen. Dawn knew who had stolen them. Her uncle took great pride in his ability to turn a buck at someone else’s expense. Listening to them talking, she knew what it was costing them to have so many of his herd taken. “We’ll have to cut corners, you know.” The boy said yes, and Dawn wondered what sort of punishment he’d put on the little boy because of her uncle. “Maybe we’ll only be able to get one popcorn instead of two when we go see that movie tonight.” “Oh, Dad. You don’t even like popcorn anyway.” The child and man laughed, and Dawn smiled at the sound of it. “Maybe we can use my savings to go tonight. I been saving and saving.” “No, that’s your money, son. You’re going to go to college with that, and can take care of your old dad when he’s too senile to take care of himself.” They laughed again and moved out of the barn. Dawn sat back, thinking about the conversation as she ate her banana. She was now twenty years old and no one had talked to her like that since she’d been a child. Not in the whole nearly fourteen years she’d been with her aunt and uncle. Even then her mom would yell at her for hours about an A on her report card and not an A-plus, and no matter how many times she’d tried to explain to her that they didn’t give that kind of grade, she expected her to have them. Dawn knew now why she’d done it. Her mom had wanted her to have a better life than she had right then. Fat lot of good it had done either of them. Lying back down, she decided that she’d stay one more night, then move on. There was no way she was going to get caught now. This was the furthest she’d ever gotten, and she was going to make the best of it somehow. Dawn stayed for three days. The first night, after the house had darkened, she searched the barn for anything to remove the shackles from her body. She finally found a long screwdriver, but ended up stabbing it into her foot and not removing the chains at all. It had hurt like hell but she did a good job of cleaning it up, and by the morning of the fourth day of her freedom, she was ready to move on. She hadn’t gotten far when an expensive looking car nearly ran her down. The lady had been really nice to her, talking to her calmly while Dawn had tried to clean most of the blood and dirt off her pants. These were her cleanest pair, and as she had no way of knowing when she’d be able to wash them, it frustrated her to no end that they were dirty. When the woman reached out and touched her fingers to her hand, Dawn felt a burn up her arm like she’d touched a hot burner. “He’ll find you tomorrow if you don’t let me help you.” Dawn fell back again, soaking her pants through as she stared at the woman. “My name is Addie Parker. I live up the road about three miles. But your uncle is going to find you tomorrow while you’re in a restaurant asking about a job.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The woman nodded. “I’m just out taking a walk.” Her voice had been scratchy from lack of use, and she was sure the woman thought she was nuts. Then she knelt down to her level, uncaring of the mud and mire that was getting on her nice clothing, and put her hand on the shackles. She touched the one around her neck and finally spoke. “He put this one on you when you first shifted. He said that it was the only way to keep you from killing them in their sleep. It was used to chain you to the wall in the bathroom.” Dawn nodded at her, terrified beyond anything she’d ever been before. “These he put on you after he read that if you shifted while wearing them that you’d sever your feet. He’s not a nice person, is he?” “No. Neither is my aunt.” The woman nodded. “How do you know these things? Is he…do you know him? Is he talking to you about me? I’m not going back there.” “No. You’re not. But he’s going to find you if you don’t trust me.” A car drove around them, and Addie shielded her from being seen by its occupants. Then Addie helped her into her car. She spoke as she drove, telling her about where she would be safe from now on. “I have a cottage on the property not far from where you lived before. It’ll be safer for you there. No one knows about it but a few, and it’s too close for him to think you’d go there. No one ever goes out there anymore. They used to use it for a hunting shed, but it’s been a long time since anyone hunted on the property. I’d take you to my home, but I’m afraid he’d figure it out. Not that I’m afraid of him, but people will talk and he’ll get to you.” “Why are you doing this?” Addie drove for a few minutes, and Dawn started to ask her again, but she finally answered. “No one should be abused. And you seem like a nice person.” She glanced at her. “You are a nice person. I want to help. And in turn, you can help me.” “I don’t have anything to help you with. I don’t have but a few dollars.” Addie grinned and told her how much she had to the penny. “How do you know that?” “I can read you…your mind and your body. You’re very malnourished. The wound on your foot is healing, but you need to rest for a while. You’ve been beaten up a great deal, starved when you pissed them off, and you don’t have nearly enough fluid in your body to keep you well.” As they turned down an overgrown drive, Addie continued. “I need someone to keep an eye on the place. Keep strays, including people, out of the house. I can pay you, in money or food, but I’d suggest food for now so that you won’t have to travel into town. There is still the chance that he’ll find you.” “I’m not going back.” Addie told her she didn’t want her to either. “His name is Basil Combs. My aunt is Neva. He lost his job when I was eight, and they’ve not had much in the way of income since.” “How long ago was that?” Dawn told her it had been fourteen years, give or take a few months. “I’m so sorry you had to live like that. It’s not right that anyone should live like an animal, the way they were treating you.” Dawn wanted to cry. She didn’t, but she wanted to. When they pulled up in front of the little house, she wanted to beg Addie to let her stay there forever. As they moved to the house, Dawn held her chains to her, wondering if this was all a scam and her uncle was going to be in there waiting for her. Addie turned to her before she opened the door. “No one is here. I swear to you, so long and you don’t leave this area, he won’t find you.” Dawn nodded. “I’m going to let you in, then go to the barn. There should be something in there we can use to get these off you. Go ahead and look the place over, and we’ll see what you need to keep you safe for a while.” The house was huge in comparison to the one she had lived in, with two bedrooms on the second floor and one on the bottom. The kitchen was outdated, but it had a big stove and oven and a nice refrigerator. There was a tall freezer in a sort of walk in room with no door, as well as a washer and dryer. It, too, was outdated and had a strange smell when she’d opened it, but it was nothing she couldn’t clean up. Everything needed a good scrubbing, but Dawn was used to hard work. When Addie came back in, she had some tools and what looked like a small saw. As Dawn was told to have a seat, Addie gave her some information about the house. “The linens are in a large plastic tote in each bedroom closet. I think there are some quilts there too, but I’m not sure. I’ll bring you heavier blankets if you need them the next time I come here. There are cleaning supplies, I think, under the sink, as well as pots and pans. There are other things you might need in boxes in the pantry over there.” Dawn looked in the direction she nodded to as the small saw was turned on. When Addie put it against the metal on the first shackle, Dawn nearly told her not to do it, but then the heavy weight hit the floor. “That was easy.” Cutting off the other shackle on her ankle was just as quick, but the one at her neck took a bit longer. Not that it was any thicker, but Addie was afraid of cutting her. Dawn told her she’d gladly leave it on herself just to be able to walk around without tripping over the chain, but an hour after starting, Dawn was free. She wanted to shift and run free. Do something that she’d not been able to do for over two years. Her other self seemed to know that she was free as well, and moved along her skin like it was ready to be out. Dawn calmed her by saying that they would run as much as they wanted soon. Addie told her she’d be back in the morning, but for Dawn to hide when she saw her car until she saw Addie. Her car was sometimes used by other people, and she didn’t want her seen. “There’s a man that works for me—he and his wife really. They are Bill and Carrie Price. He might bring you things when I can’t, all right?” Dawn nodded. “Only them. And here’s what they look like so you know to trust them.” After showing her the picture of the couple, Addie moved around the house with her, pointing out things that might need a once over and where to find things that were not readily available. Then when they were in the living room again, the furniture now uncovered of the heavy plastic, Dawn turned to her again. “Why are you doing this? You don’t have to, and I’m pretty sure that you have better things to do than to help a runaway, even one as old as I.” Addie nodded and looked around the house before she answered her. “My dad is sick. Dying. He has cancer, and he’s been told he only has a few years left at most. I might…would it be all right if I come out here and just unload on you once in a while? Not often, but sometimes?” Dawn nodded. “Then that’s why I’m doing it…along with the fact that no one should have to be treated as you’ve been without someone helping them out.” “I don’t know what to say. I mean, thank you seems so little for what you’ve given me.” Addie nodded and turned to the door again. “This thing you can do with my mind…can you do it to everyone?” Yes. I’ll check on you once in a while this way too. You won’t know it, but I’ll do it. Her voice echoed in her mind, and Dawn thought it wonderful. You should be able to do it as well. Just think of me and we can talk. You can tell me when you’re having troubles this way as well. I’ve never done this before. Addie laughed, and so did Dawn. It was strange to hear the sound coming from her mouth too. You’ll be safe now, right? I mean, I don’t want anyone to hurt you now that you’ve been so kind to me. I will, and you will too. Don’t come out of the house, or wherever you decide to hide, unless you see that it’s me. Dawn asked her how long she could stay there. For as long as you desire. Forever if you want. Dawn nodded, not sure if she could believe her or not. After Addie made her way out to the car, she pulled things from her trunk and handed them to Dawn. What Dawn couldn’t carry, Addie sat on the porch. Not even looking into the bags, Dawn had gone into the house to put the first load on the table when she heard the engine roar to life, then gravel crunch in the drive. By the time she came back out to tell her good-bye, Addie was gone. Unpacking the bags, Dawn was surprised to see all the food. There were things that had to be put in the freezer, and even though she’d not had time to clean it, Dawn put them inside with the plastic bags still around them. Milk and eggs, too, had to be put into the fridge, but she knew that it was going to be the first thing she cleaned. Pulling out the cleaning supplies that had been in the large pantry, Dawn got to work. While she did this, she thought of all the things she’d have to do before going to bed. It wasn’t as daunting as it would have been had she been at her relatives’ place, but exciting. Almost fun. It took her nearly five hours to get the place clean, and that was only the kitchen and the bedroom she was going to use. Crawling into the bed, bathed and with a pretty night gown on, Dawn decided that she’d have to figure out a way to pay Addie back. For the next few days, she cleaned and aired the house out. There wasn’t any television, but she didn’t care. Dawn hadn’t watched much before and doubted she’d miss it now. Mr. Bill came by twice…once with his wife just to meet Dawn, then the second time to bring her more food. She had so much that she spread it out on the counter and just looked at it. And he’d brought her a loaf of homemade bread, as well as some scones. Dawn cried for an hour after he left, not believing that someone could be so nice to her. Dawn started making lists of things she needed to pay Addie back for. First was food and clothing. Then there was the cell phone she had for emergencies. Bill told her he’d call her when he was coming out so she’d know to watch for him. He’d brought her a radio, too, and some music to listen to. All in all, Dawn had it better than she’d ever had in her entire life. And all thanks to a perfect stranger. Dawn was happy…happier than she’d ever thought she’d be. As she sat down to her meal, the first in her wonderfully clean house, she dined on the bread and some soup while classical music played softly in the background. After that she went into the yard, stripped down, and turned into her wolf. As she ran deep into the woods, ever careful of her surroundings, Dawn knew that if she had to go back now after her taste of freedom, she surely would die.


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