by Allie Burton
“Sent you?” She licked her lips showing her nervousness.
Frowning, a blackness dimmed the twinkling lights around them. She was afraid of him, even now. A sharp pang ripped through his chest. For good reason. He always knew she was smart. And especially attractive tonight. “To give you a message.”
Her black eyebrows rose in skepticism. A variety of colorful, flowery scents circled around, with a touch of apples. Hers? Must be the rose garden. He wasn’t close enough to smell her. Leaning in a little closer, he couldn’t stop himself from taking a tantalizing sniff.
Apples, yes. And something more exotic.
“What’s the message?” Her stilted voice reminded him of the reason he was here.
It wasn’t to smell her or paint her or be tempted by her.
“Ryder’s not available tonight. Or ever.” Jackson used the guilt and the pain and the jealousy to deliver the harsh blow. He’d hurt people before, made grown men cry. Heck, he’d made his brother ill, yet he’d never experienced this gut-wrenching emotion the moment before he slashed an opponent down.
Her eyes shimmered and her chin quivered. She flattened her lips together as if trying to hold in a cry.
He didn’t want to hurt her, and yet, by her expression, she already hated him. Why not go for broke? She tempted him as he’d never been tempted before. He understood why his brother was interested. “But I am.”
“You are what?”
“Available.” With quick reflexes, he bent his head and locked his lips onto her soft and surprised ones.
Purchase The Billionaire’s Ploy on Amazon!
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* * *
COMING SOON IN THE CASTLE RIDGE SERIES!
The Marriage Merger
The Runaway Royal
If you love young adult romance with fantasy and adventure, try Allie Burton’s two young adult series FREE!
Excerpt from
Atlantis Riptide
Lost Daughters of Atlantis
Book 1
by Allie Burton
When a girl runs away from the circus…
For all her sixteen years, Pearl Poseidon has been a fish out of water. A freak on display for her adoptive parents’ profit. Running away from her horrible life, she craves one thing—anonymity. But when she saves a small boy from drowning she exposes herself and her mutant abilities to Chase, a budding investigative reporter.
Now, he has questions. And so do the police.
Once Pearl discovers her secret identity, she learns she’s part of a larger war between battling Atlanteans. A battle that will decide who rules the oceans. A battle raging between evil and her true family. Will she find a way to use her powers in time to save a kingdom she never knew existed?
This is the start of a young adult fantasy action adventure novel series. “Free sweet summer young adult paranormal with death-defying underwater rescues.” Reviewer
Excerpt:
The sea otter twirled around behind me. His cold snout bumped me on the back.
“Are you trying to tell me something?” The question sounded so stupid leaving my tongue. I’m mean, come on, talking to an animal?
He swam back in front and nodded his head up and down. Yes.
I reeled back and caught my breath. I was talking to a sea otter.
The otter ducked under and swam around me in a circle. Then, he lay on his back and used his paw in a “come here” motion.
I ducked under and swam in a circle around him. He circled again, and so did I. We were swimming in a constant figure-eight pattern under the water.
Unbelievable. I was playing with a sea otter. My spirits soared. My smile widened. Like being a five-year-old at a playground, I’d made my first real friend.
Not that the otter was a human friend, but it counted. Didn’t it?
Following for a bit, I stopped when I realized he headed to shore. “I don’t want to go back yet.” I wasn’t ready to leave the comfort of the water and return to my lonely tent.
The sea otter shook his head fast in an agitated motion. Even his furry face appeared upset.
“Can’t we play longer?” I remembered reading about sea otters and how they played. Slipping and sliding and diving. Turning and twisting underwater, kind of like I’d done earlier.
He did the “follow me” motion again. Then his eyes grew wide and his whiskers twitched.
I twisted around, but saw nothing. The fog had rolled closer to shore, but the stars and the moon still gave off a little light. A small motor boat sounded in the distance.
I faced him again. “What’s wrong?”
The sea otter was gone. My furry friend had left me.
Alone, again.
An ache tore through my chest and I sniffed. “That’s okay. I’m used to being by myself.”
The water around me swirled. Waves gathered in a big circle, expanding out in further and further concentric loops. The pattern repeated with more strength and velocity. Like a toilet being flushed, the water pooled into a vortex.
My body caught in the current. I couldn’t move out of the circle, surrounded by a ring of water. My tummy churned with the motion. My gaze glazed over watching the water go round and round like a hypnotist’s trick.
A strange sensation sucked at my toes. The feeling continued up my legs to my hips. I kicked and clawed but the water tugged like a ginormous vacuum at the bottom of the ocean.
Panic spurted through me, exploding in my flaying arms and legs. I kicked. I stroked. I screamed. Nothing helped. My super strength wasn’t helping at all. I couldn’t fight this weird force.
I knew about the dangers of swimming alone. Knew about dangerous ocean currents. Knew the rules.
But they didn’t apply to me. I was different.
And so was this force that had me in its grip.
My heart began a pointless race against disaster. None of my other limbs could move. I couldn’t get free.
As I went down, I remembered dreams of being dragged under the ocean. The people in my dreams looked normal, nice. Not a faceless, evil suction. Terror froze every one of my muscles. I couldn’t struggle, couldn’t swim, couldn’t even think.
Could this be a deadly riptide, or something even more ominous? Irony struck. How could I drown when I could breathe underwater?
Atlantis Riptide — Free at Amazon!
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Excerpt from
Soul Slam
Soul Warriors
Book 1
by Allie Burton
An ancient Egyptian amulet.
A pharaoh’s soul inside demanding she obey.
A double cross that ends with a curse.
On her first heist to steal an ancient Egyptian amulet, sixteen-year-old Olivia inadvertently receives the soul of King Tut…and the deadly curse that comes with it. And Olivia’s not alone at the museum.
A member of a secret society, Xander believes it’s his place to inherit King Tut’s soul and justly rule. He knows nothing about the society’s evil plan to control the world or the curse. Now, he must deal with the female thief who stole the amulet.
When the two teens find themselves up against the secret society, they reluctantly join forces and must figure out how to end the curse before it turns deadly. On the run and unable to touch because of the curse, Olivia and Xander develop a connection during their quest.
As the mystery surrounding the amulet unfolds, Olivia and Xander fall for each other. But is love enough to save them and the world from destruction?
“If you are a fan of Rick Riordan books about a quest with love and history thrown in…this is for you!” – Hooked In A Book Review
Excerpt:
Crawling ninja-style out of the sarcophagus, my black gym shoes hit the ground without a sound. But inside, a screech built up in my lungs and released on a heavy exhale, the scream so loud it sounded like an alarm. “Aiyeeeeee!”
Xander and the old man froze.
I lunged at the case, swooped in, and grabbed the amulet.
A jolt rocked my body. Pain rocketed up my spine, but I held tight to the prize. Clutching the piece in both hands, I hit the concrete floor like a football player making a catch, and kept rolling.
“A girl.” Xander’s surprised voice rose on a high note. “What the…Tut.”
“Grab her!” The old man spoke in English.
“Touch her?” Xander sounded horrified like I was the slime of the world. “I can’t.”
“She’s got the amulet.”
I tried to get to my feet, but the pulsing inside threw me off balance. I crashed back onto the floor. Pain seared my fingers and heat rushed my veins.
My body jerked. My head spun.
Something slammed into me from the inside, like it was in my body trying to get out. Back and forth I jerked. A powerful energy thumped from my ribcage to my stomach and back again.
I trembled from head to foot. My vision blurred. Images swam before my eyes—a blue river, golden statues, Egyptian pyramids, deceit, and death.
“What’s going on?” The sound coming out of my mouth warbled. “Am I dying?”
This felt worse than the time I had pneumonia with no medicine, or the time I broke my arm and Fitch duct taped it…
Fogginess seeped into my consciousness. If I blacked-out they’d steal the amulet, leave me to be caught, to go to prison, to face Fitch’s wrath.
Whatever was inside me ignited like a nuclear bomb. My skin could no longer contain my insides. I’d explode into tiny pieces and scatter across the museum floor.
“It’s happening… To. Her.” Jeb’s voice was faint as if coming from a distance, but I saw his shoes through squinted eyelids.
“But it’s my right. My inheritance.” Xander stomped his sandaled foot near my head. “My destiny.”
“It’s too late.” Jeb’s voice curled like a sneer with extra hatred. “The transfer has occurred. This stupid girl is now in possession of King Tutankhamun’s soul.”
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Other Books by
Allie Burton
A Castle Ridge Small Town Romance Series
The Romance Dance
The Christmas Match
The Flirtation Game
The Playboy Switch
The Billionaire’s Ploy
The Heartbreak Contract
The Marriage Merger – Coming soon!
The Runaway Royal – Coming soon!
Soul Warriors Series
Soul Slam
Tut’s Trumpet
Peace Piper
Cleo’s Curse
Lost Daughters of Atlantis Series
Atlantis Riptide
Atlantis Red Tide
Atlantis Rising Tide
Atlantis Tide Breaker
Atlantis Dark Tides
Atlantis Twisting Tides
Atlantis Glacial Tides
Find all of Allie’s books on Amazon or her website.
About the Author
Allie Burton has always been a reader and writer. She wrote her first novel at the age of twelve when she was stranded at a hospital by a snowstorm. Receiving her first romance from her grandmother, she fell in love with the genre. As an adult, she read young adult books with her own teens and was excited to find something fresh and new. Now, she writes both.
Having so many jobs as a teen and adult became great research material for the stories she writes. She has been everything from a bike police officer to a professional mascot escort to an advertising executive. She has lived on three continents and in four states and has studied art, fashion design, and marine biology.
Allie is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Romance Writers of America. She loves to ski, golf, and run. Currently, she lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.
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