I’m excited to announce that I have a new book coming out in February. Hot Ride follows Counting On Your Love and stars two characters you may know from the first book: Deb Park and Pete Test.
Tada!
Aren’t they pretty? They really show the two ladies’ personalities, too. Libby would so wear pearls and overthink most things, including love, while Deb would rock a thong and be ready for just about anything. Funny that they’re friends, but honestly, they compliment each other. They are also, in a way, very much the angel and devil on a person’s shoulder. Libby would caution you while Deb urged you on, but both would have your best interests at heart.
Hot Ride starts off about a week or two after Counting ends, with Deb still being aggravated by her pesky neighbor Pete Test. Pete admits he’s rather annoying and I believe he enjoys being a thorn in people’s side. Why else would he be a bounty hunter, if not to drive lawbreakers nuts? He’s the oil to Deb’s water and when things get heated, explosions happen. Lucky for them both, they end up spending some not-so-voluntary time with each other and learn that, with a little bit of kitchen ingenuity, oil and water can emulsify.
Wait a minute. Did I just compare them to mayonnaise?
Forget that. Here’s the blurb:
She pulled a brush through her hair, slipped on a pair of pink high heels and left the room, with one last guilty look at Pete. He looked all male tangled up in the blue sheets that pooled like water around his body. Every inch a man. She sighed. Too bad he’s an asshole, she reminded herself as she left the room, shutting the door behind her and hurrying to intercept Libby before she poked her uptight accountant’s nose too far into her business.
Too late. Her friend was already standing in the kitchen looking wide-eyed and disapproving.
Deb’s eyes made a quick sweep of the room and she cringed. It looked like a hurricane had hit it.
Libby turned. “Are there butt prints on your table?”
Deb glanced down. Yes. Yes there were. She put a palm over the print and leaned casually on the table. “Why are you here?”
“I brought breakfast, but I don’t think I want to eat it here.” Libby’s eyes narrowed. “You have a guy here, don’t you?”
Deb grabbed the bag from her; the smells coming from it were heavenly. “I love McMuffins.”
“This isn’t healthy,” Libby said, following Deb into the living room.
“I know, but it tastes so good.” Deb surveyed the living room and decided to steer Libby to the door. She gave her friend a nudge as she dug through the bag for a sandwich.
“I was talking about one-night-stands, not the stupid food.” Libby stopped at the door. She took the sandwich Deb shoved at her. “It’s telling, isn’t it, that you don’t want me to meet him.”
Deb glanced down the hallway fearfully. That was the understatement of the century, she thought. “You’re right. I’m ashamed. Let’s go talk about it in your car.”
“You can’t just leave a strange man in your house. What if he robs you?”
“I kind of doubt he will.”
“Why not? You can’t tell what a man is like in twenty minutes of bar conversation.”
Deb smiled. “You’re right, you are so right. I want to change my ways.” She opened the front door and cursed under her breath when she heard the distinctive squeak of hinges down the hall. “Go,” she shouted at Libby, trying to force her outside.
“What are you doing? Ow, that hurts.” Libby’s eyes focused on a spot down the hallway. “Oh my lord.”
Deb dropped her hands and sighed. She heard the change in Libby’s voice. Saw her eyes turn slowly back to Deb in an expression of shock. Her mouth opened and shut like a beached fish.
“I know, I know.”
“You hate him,” Libby whispered furiously. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, he’s naked.” Libby turned her back. “What were you thinking?”
Pete looked just as dangerous and sexy as he did the night before. Deb let her eyes admire him in all his naked glory. She felt herself grow hot again. “Good morning.”
“You too.” His eyes flicked to the open door; she saw them widen imperceptibly when he spied Libby. “Hi, Libby.”
“Hello,” Libby said in her embarrassed voice—a little too high, a little too chipper. “I’ll be waiting in the car.” She shut the door behind her with a firm snick.
Deb grinned, and then her smile faded when she realized how close he’d gotten.
“I like this outfit.” He brushed a thumb over her nipple and it perked up in response.
“Thank you.”
“Not as slutty.”
“You’re talking again.”
“Sorry.” He kissed her, a slower, softer version of the kisses from the night before.
She stepped back, her butt bumping the door, which reminded her of the night before. Hotter and hotter. “I have to go to work.”
He nodded.
“Don’t forget to lock up.”
“Sure.”
Her eyes dipped down. Oh my, oh my. Sighing, she opened the door and slipped out before she could change her mind. He’d been so ready for another round.
She’d been ready for another round.
She bounced down the steps and got into Libby’s Prius. It was hot as Hades in her car because Libby refused to idle the car and run the AC. It didn’t matter if it was 105 degrees out; Libby believed in conservation.
“I forgot my deodorant,” Deb said, fanning herself. “Oh, and my purse.”
Libby cut her eyes to her friend before returning her attention to the road. “I’m not letting you go back in there. You wouldn’t come back out.”
Hot Ride is an erotic romance. It has its funny moments and its hot moments and, I hope, a pretty good story. Deb stems from one of the questions I’m always asking in my fiction: Can a woman who loves sex be the hero of a novel? I know what my answer is: YES! But I hear so-called slut shaming all the time and I feel compelled to say something about it. Yeah, even Pete is guilty of it, though I think he figures out he was being a dick in the course of the story. Neither Deb nor Pete are perfect. In fact, were I to hear about their story in real life, I might snarkily conclude that they would be divorced within a year were they to get married.
Lucky for me and Deb and Pete, Hot Ride is fiction, I’m the boss, and I say they get their happy ending. After a lot of drama and a lot of hot sex, of course.
I hope you enjoy it. It was a fun departure from the horror I normally write about and it made me very happy to get to those wonderful little words, “The End.”
Hot Ride, Book two of the Test Brothers Series, out in February 2016.
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