Essence
by Mackenzie
Lucas
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
All
Haven Jameson ever wanted was to own a little piece of paradise. Now, she does,
having established a successful luxury spa in St. Augustine, Florida. But when
the property next door is sold to a mega developer and his pro-golf celebrity
brother who design trendy, bustling playgrounds for the rich and famous, she
fears her dream could slip away. Confronted by her late husband’s infidelity,
Haven learns everything she believed about her marriage was a lie; so she
finally sets aside her grief and opens her heart to loving the widowed
pro-golfer who is her biggest professional competition. In the end, Haven
discovers that living a safe, loveless life is far worse than embracing passion
and taking a chance on a man who’s vowed never to love again. And that,
sometimes, no matter how high the risk, the best paradise of all can be found
inside our own hearts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt
Three:
Pace Daniels lay on his belly on a massage table, naked
except for a thin sheet covering his backside. He rested his cheek on his hands
and closed his eyes, and breathed in the calming scent of the room.
Light music played from the overhead speakers, not too loud,
but nice. It sounded like a mix of music from India and the Southwest—Burma to
Santa Fe. Pan flutes and bowl singing. Interesting.
He breathed deep again, taking air deep into his lungs, and
pushed through the pain in his shoulder, the achiness that seemed to stick with
him no matter what he did.
It was time to retire. Leave the circuit.
He'd known for a while now. Hell, he was a fairly young man
for his profession. But one mistake. One stupid mistake had cost him
everything. And now at the age of almost forty, he was facing a blank future.
Filled with a lot of nothing if he didn't make some changes soon.
He had no idea what to expect when he'd come to Essence. A
pretty brunette had given him instructions today for the massage, showed him
the transition room—a fancy name for a locker room—and where to store his
clothes and belongings. Of course, he'd had massages before. Mostly by sports
medicine doctors.
Essence surprised him. Pleasantly. The atmosphere was
different than he’d imagined. He'd expected fru fru and had been bowled over at
every turn. The place wasn't just a female Mecca, as he’d feared. He'd
anticipated salon chairs and manicurists around every corner.
Instead, the spa resort was a posh hotel.
A serene place. A spot he could see himself settling into to
find some measure of peace in his own life.
He let out a deep sigh.
But, no. He wouldn't. He'd move on like he always did.
A knock sounded at the door and a moment later, the door
opened on silent hinges. He opened his eyes to see the massage therapist.
The woman who entered wasn't the petite, curvy brunette
who'd checked him in, but a tall, leggy blonde.
He stilled as he watched her.
Yes, she was beautiful. High cheekbones, wide, exotic pale
green eyes, lush body. But there was something else. Something indefinable.
Something more, he couldn’t explain. Maybe a sadness that clung to her that he
recognized because the same sloe-eyed desolation dogged him, day after day for
the past ten years.
He couldn’t be one-hundred percent certain to what extent,
but on some level, he identified with her.
Then she spoke, and every cell in his body awoke at the
husky tone of her voice. Sex liquefied. He'd die and go to Heaven if he could
just have her talk to him for the next hour in that sweet, sexy, soft voice.
“I'm sorry. I must be in the wrong room.” She turned to go.
He pushed up from the table. “No. Wait.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Mackenzie
Lucas is a lover of story in any form. She’s an avid reader of genre fiction,
she writes contemporary and paranormal romance, and she listens to an eclectic
mix of music that spans from pop/rock to country to gospel. She loves a good
story whether it’s an erotic short, a full-length romance novel, or the
narrative slice-of-life found in country music. In any story, emotional
integrity and authenticity are most important to her as well as a big dose of
romping hot sexual tension. She enjoys smart-mouthed, sexy heroines, hunky
alpha heroes who know how to take care of their women, and plot twists that
surprise her, but most of all, she just wants to experience a satisfying
emotional arc of a character falling in love and finding what he or she needs
most in life.
Mac is a
small-town country girl with a world-traveler’s soul. She grew up in the Allegheny
Mountains of Pennsylvania and she’s lived in Dublin, Ireland, within spitting
distance of New York City in Long Island, and now in the Washington, D.C. area.
She obtained her undergraduate degree in English Literature from Dickinson
College and received her M.F.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill
University. She’s currently an author, writing coach, a mother, and a wife.
With
Mackenzie Lucas--whether you’re reading her light paranormal romance, her
small-town-based contemporary romance, or her steamin’ hawt erotica--you’ll
always get a story about connectedness, community, and emotional authenticity,
and, at its core, love. No, and it doesn’t hurt that all her heroes are
panty-melting gorgeous alphas and all their sexy, sensually aware heroines know
how to stand up to them, give no quarter, and love them just as they are.
Links:
Website:
http://www.mackenzielucas.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MacLucas_writer
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MackenzieLucasAuthor
https://www.facebook.com/MackenzieLucasFanPage
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6915570.Mackenzie_Lucas
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting me today! I look forward to getting to know your readers better. ;0)
ReplyDeleteGreat excerpt, sounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteRita ~ Thanks for stopping by today! So appreciated. Good luck with the drawing.
ReplyDeleteErzabet ~ I love the graphics on your site! So cool and well done. Girl, I keep staring at the top graphic. And the background grapic is just funky and cool. In love! Nicely done! <3
ReplyDeleteThanks for the excerpt and the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read!!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com
Natasha ~ Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you get a chance to pick up a copy of Essence & that you enjoy it. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteErzabet ~ Thanks again for hosting me today! I've enjoyed the opportunity. Have a great weekend! ;0)
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