Yep, it's time for another Eggcerpt Exchange. Today's guest has visited often so please welcome her back....One note of importance, Reader Friends, Kathleen writes hot, steamy, erotic romance so please be aware if you check out her books!
Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is
devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with an erotic
love story sure to melt their hearts.
Her latest release is One Night in
Havana, #34 in the City Nights erotic romance series.
Kathleen also has a steamy romantic suspense series
with Tirgearr Publishing, Deadly Alliance
is followed by Unholy Alliance. Keep
an icy drink handy while reading these sizzling stories.
Kathleen used to write computer programs but now
writes novels. She grew up in Iowa
where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake
Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and
sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were lightning
bugs in California.
Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband,
Gerry, in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores
time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy
neighbors. While proud of their five
children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to
write. If you’d enjoy news, sign up for
Kathleen’s newsletter at http://www.kathleenrowland.com/ or connect with her via one of her blogs (Wordpress or Blogger), on Amazon, Good Reads, Twitter, and/or Facebook
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| HAVANA BAY CUBA |
Author
Kathleen Rowland picked the setting of Cuba for a reason. She wanted to trap her proud Cuban professor
there. He survives because of his flamboyant personality and opportunistic
nature. Cuba is a fascinating mid-century time warp. The 1950s cars still run
due to amazing mechanics. No matter how hardworking, Cubans exist under
strict communistic rules such as the inability to move from one section of the
country to another. Without free-enterprise they can’t make much money. If they do leave, they can only bring ten
thousand dollars with them, but this would be a huge amount of money for most
Cubans. Big business such as cigar manufacture is government-run.
One
Night in Havana—blurb:
A desperate competition
and sizzling attraction leads to dangerous desire.
New York Marine biologist Veronica “Roni” Keane is attending the Havana Bay Conference in Cuba. Tomorrow only one grant will be awarded which will provide the winner with professional recognition, resources for a project, and living expenses for two years. She hopes to continue her deceased father’s work, but smooth operator, Carlos Montoya, has won many grants in the past.
Carlos, a freelancer for the Havana Port Authority, works to help protect Havana’s reputation as a bastion of safety. As international travelers flock to the island, attracted by its 1950’s time-warp and colonial architecture, the drug business is running rampant, particularly on Roni’s cruise ship. Something’s not right, and when her scuba tanks are tampered with, Carlos brings in the military police to investigate. For her safety, he keeps her close, but he craves her body.
Their attraction leads to a fun night with a bit of kink. But Roni finds herself in more trouble than she bargained for when the criminals blame her for alerting the military police and come looking for her. Can Roni trust Carlos to protect her? Will she stay in Havana if Carlos wins the coveted grant, or kiss her lover goodbye?
New York Marine biologist Veronica “Roni” Keane is attending the Havana Bay Conference in Cuba. Tomorrow only one grant will be awarded which will provide the winner with professional recognition, resources for a project, and living expenses for two years. She hopes to continue her deceased father’s work, but smooth operator, Carlos Montoya, has won many grants in the past.
Carlos, a freelancer for the Havana Port Authority, works to help protect Havana’s reputation as a bastion of safety. As international travelers flock to the island, attracted by its 1950’s time-warp and colonial architecture, the drug business is running rampant, particularly on Roni’s cruise ship. Something’s not right, and when her scuba tanks are tampered with, Carlos brings in the military police to investigate. For her safety, he keeps her close, but he craves her body.
Their attraction leads to a fun night with a bit of kink. But Roni finds herself in more trouble than she bargained for when the criminals blame her for alerting the military police and come looking for her. Can Roni trust Carlos to protect her? Will she stay in Havana if Carlos wins the coveted grant, or kiss her lover goodbye?
Excerpt--
Chapter One
“Why, Veronica Keane.” A voice
heavy with a Spanish accent drawled from behind her. “A dive bar?” A taunting tsk. “What do we have? A slumming New
Yorker?”
She stiffened and closed her
eyes. She knew that voice and its owner, Dr. Carlos Montoya, a finalist like
her, competing for the same damn grant at the biggest Cephalopoda conference of the decade. Her heart
pitter-pattered against her ribs. To turn toward him would intimate distress,
or worse yet, weakness. She wouldn’t fail to win this grant, not when she was a
final contender. “I like this funky little place.” Sia Macario Café, smack in
the center of Havana, allowed her to observe locals and their daily lives.
“You need to eat with all the
mojitos you’ve downed.” The big tease wasn’t counting. This was her first
drink, but his rumbling, sexy timbre hinted at all kinds of dark, hot promises.
She’d rubbed shoulders with the Cuban scientist all week. This splendid
specimen of Latin male brought on a physical ache that punched low.
A flare-up stirred fear. For her
own good, she needed to resist. “I ordered camarones
enchiladas.” By now she knew the menu on the chalkboard by heart. She
tipped her head back to whiff grilled shrimp soon to arrive in sofrito sauce
with fried sweet plantains.
“The flan is good. Just like my abuela makes.”
“I bet. Your grandmother would be
happy to hear that,” she said, knowing he brought out the best in most people.
Two days ago he'd invited her and a handful of others scuba diving. The chance
to ogle him had been one of the perks. He’d worn nothing but swim trunks, his
bare chest on display. Every glistening muscle was finely etched. Not a drop of
fat on him. Since he’d not given her the time of day, she’d checked him out
without him noticing.
The hard-bodied host had led the
way toward habitats of soft-bodied creatures. To find where invertebrates lived
was never an easy task. Octopuses squeezed into narrow passages of coral for
protection and gave females a place to keep their eggs. She’d discovered the
remains of a few meals nearby. Octopuses scattered rocks and shells to help
them hide.
This grant meant so much to her and no doubt
to him as well. Veronica mindlessly toyed with the gold necklace around her
neck, but anxiety crackled through her brain. Unlike this man of action, she
lacked the flamboyant personality necessary to talk people into things. Carlos
had that ability. He'd made friends with judges on board while she’d conversed
with an older woman about a box of scones made with Cuban vanilla cream.
That day the wind had picked up
to a gale force, and this woman named Bela with Lucille Ball red hair needed
help walking to her home. The half mile down the seaside promenade, The Malecón, had provided her with time to
practice her Spanish. Turned out Bela was Carlos’s grandmother. She’d worked as
a maid when the Castro government came to
power. When private homes were nationalized, titles were handed over to the
dwelling occupants. Bela owned a crumbling home in the respected Verdado
district and rented out rooms.
What Veronica detested about
Carlos was his abnormal level of talent for schmoozing. Not that he wasn't
charismatic; he drew her like a powerful magnet with emotions hard to untangle.
Why was a self-assured woman who ran her own life thinking about a man who
commanded everyone around him?
Get a copy of One Night in Havana at Amazon or from Tirgearr Publishing.
Once again folks, I hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back each week for Tuesday Treasures, Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT
