Let Me See by Carlene Love

Let Me See
These Three Words, 2

By

Carlene Love

Digital Release Date: January 29, 2016

Print Release Date: March 9, 2016

Genre: Contemporary, New Adult Romance

Tags: College, Male Stripper, Scars, Self-esteem

Blurb:

Are you sure you’re ready to see what’s inside?

Two hearts beating…   

S Club dancer and extrovert, Jay, has worked very hard for this eye-opening moment with his reluctant and shy friend, Kelley. Unfortunately, a humorous attempt to get her to open up serves to push her further away. Now it’s nearly impossible to convince her he’s not just out to play.

Hundreds of scars in need of hiding…    

For good reason, Kelley has yet to let Jay see all of her whereas he takes his clothes off nightly for a living. Her respect for him runs unmatched because she sees who he is inside. There’s just no way to ever reciprocate and that’s not fair to him. His interest in her has never made sense. The best option is convincing Jay there really is nothing to see.

One dark night to shine some light on their healing…

Sometimes, it just takes one very patient man, one dimly lit room and one safe set of arms.

Excerpt:

Chapter One

The middle of June, Boulder City, Nevada. Or you could also call it hell cuz it was so fricking hot.

Clothes are really overrated, ya know. Oh, sorry, I know this is just supposed to be that one line at the beginning of the book that tells you the time of year and setting. Let’s just get to my story. Yeah, so here we go. My name is Jay. I happen to be a stripper, which means you’re either blushing, giggling, checking your wallet for ones and imagining my giant smile—come on now, minds out of the gutter (insert that winky emoji girls are so good at)—or super curious about what I look like naked right about now. It’s okay. I totally get that last part. I’m curious about others in that way too.

You see, I’m just a guy who has no business being in love with this beautiful angel who has me turned upside down and inside out. She’s all kinds of innocent. At least she was. Before she met me. Hold on … I just need a second. Sorry. And now, well now she won’t even let me see her. Damn, I’m sorry. I’ve said way too much and this is a lot harder than I thought. I’m gonna do my best to piece this all together for you. Please bear with me. Can we just start this part again? Thank you. Sorry, I’m usually pretty funny but, I’m just not myself right now. I just want her to be okay. Ya know? If you’re heartbroken or hurting out there, reading this, I want you to be okay too. Let’s see if we can get through this together. So like I was saying, my name is Jay. I’m a stripper. And it’s really hot here …

Book Links (Digital):

Evernight / Amazon / AllRomance / Barnes&Noble

Book Link (Print):

CreateSpace

Author Bio:

Hi! I’m Carlene and I believe if you’re here reading this, you must be like me. You must feel as I do, that every love story deserves its telling, no matter where it begins or how it ends. Whether its elements are dark, light, common or unusual, and that above all else, love has the infinite ability to heal. I hope you enjoy my stories and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And now for something slightly more official, smile…

Carlene Love is a big fan of the stars (especially Orion), honest music (especially Depeche Mode), and the ocean (especially at sunset). These things have always inspired her to think up stories and continue to do so. Carlene feels honored to be a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), San Diego Romance Writers (RWASD), Washington DC Romance Writers (WRWDC), and The Waterworld Mermaids. She currently lives in the San Diego area where she can often be found listening to live music and looking up at the sky on clear nights. If she could touch someone’s heart with her writing the way others have done for her, she’d say truly there never lived a luckier girl. ♥

I can be shy, but I’d love if you took that first step and found me online to say hi. Here’s where you can do that…

Facebook Friend Page / Facebook Author Page / Website / Twitter / Instagram / Pinterest

A note from Tink!!!
I can tell you having hung out with this terrific author for a couple of days at a conference in San Antonio (what happens in San Antonio stays in San Antonio!) that besides being a terrific author, Carlene is truly one of the nicest people you could hope to meet!  Pearls and I are already looking forward to next year and a chance to see Carlene again...  In the meantime, I'll dive into the wonderful stories she creates.

LeTeisha Newton's One Hour Girl Blog Tour

One Hour Girl, The Lost Series Book #1

Genre: Comtemporary Romance

From International Bestselling Author, LeTeisha Newton, February 29th, 2016!

Celeste Askew isn’t perfect. Not by far. Her childhood was dark and destructive, her family torn apart by greed and secrets. So she learned to cope. During her days she’s a paralegal in a prestigious firm. But by night, she’s an escort, addicted to dangerous situations, rough sex, and money. This is what she knows, what she craves, and what keeps her stable. Ms. Perfection is kept happy because Ms. Whore keeps the darkness at bay. Until she meets Royce Mattherson, L.A.’s most eligible bachelor, and billionaire. No that his life was much better. His past was just as dark, just as twisted, and they find that they can give each other those dirty moments. Love wasn’t supposed to be a part of it. It never was. Her heart is off limits, and he doesn’t have one to give. The found a way to break the rules anyway.

He thinks I’m his forever girl, I saw it in his eyes. I wished I could have slapped the look off his face and hit him with the same jarring finality I’d learned I didn’t mean shit.

I’m not a forever sort of girl.

I’m not even his for the night.

He’ll be lucky if I’m his for the next hour if he doesn’t pay me for it.

And then Royce Mattherson stormed my defenses. Took all the poison inside of me and pushed it out through my pores. He tasted the taint on my skin and still decided to love me. He terrifies me. Exhilarates me. Frustrates me.

And he always gets what he wants.

Always...

“No, I tried to give you something better than a simple fuck and you degraded yourself down to a lower level. If this is what you want, I’m more than willing to give it to you,” he said roughly and then slid a key card into the panel on the wall. The button with a P lit up and he pressed it. The glass misted so that we couldn’t see people on the other side. A neat trick. That hadn’t happened when I’d come before, although, I hadn’t been heading to the penthouse suite either. “So that’s your excuse? Because you had your hands between my thighs before dinner it’s a problem? You have got to be shitting me,” I told him. “You’ve got a dirty mouth, and I can think of much more nasty things you could be doing with it,” he snapped. “Yeah, and I’m really good at them too. Want to see how far I can swallow you down? No gag reflex, big boy. I promise you’ll enjoy it. What if I lick your balls at the same time? One of your sophisticated sticks ever do that for you?” “Shut up,” he roared at me, but I didn’t. He was a bastard, and I wanted him. I needed him, and he was making me feel cheap. So what if I was a whore, I was worth every fucking penny that I charged, but I was a woman. I knew who I was. I was strong, and I knew what I needed. He wasn’t going to scare me. Fuck him. “Oh, Pretty Boy, you didn’t like that? Come on, baby, live a little.” “Don’t call me that.” The words were harsh as he forced them out between his teeth. “What Pretty Boy? Baby?” When his gaze narrowed I laughed. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Hell, I didn’t even know where we’d gone wrong in the car. He’d enjoyed touching me. He liked the way I spiraled out of control. I’d loved it. And now he wanted to be a little shit. Fuck him! “How the hell did you survive long enough in you line of work to fucking get paid?” he asked me as the elevator stopped. “Test my mouth and find out, baby.” He roared. He stood in the middle of a room surrounded by glass, giving glimpses to the lit up city around them. In the center of the sophistication that only his type of money could buy, he roared. I stopped, staring at him. “Did that hurt?” I taunted. He shouldn’t be able to be mad. He shouldn’t be able to toss me off like I was nothing. He chased me. He’d offered me triple my rate just to take me on dates for five nights and screw my brains out. He’d reached out after his fundraiser. I hadn’t asked him for a fucking thing. “What the fuck is your problem? Huh? Who gives a fuck what I paid for tonight? Is it any different than taking you out to the restaurant, buying you gifts, parading your around before cameras to make you famous? Is paying you cash right in your hand for ass any different than me wanting to treat you like a woman that I want in my bed?” He took two swift steps forward, and I stumbled back. He caught me in his hard arms, lifting me off the ground until we were face to face. I gripped his shoulders to keep my balance. My hair swirled around us. The strands fluttered over his nose, lifting and falling as he breathed roughly. What was wrong with me? I didn’t know how to do normal. I didn’t understand it. What he wanted was impossible. “I can’t,” I said, not able to say the rest. I don’t know what he saw in my eyes as I fought the panic back. No, no, no, no. I couldn’t do this. He couldn’t touch my heart. That’s not where he was supposed to be. I refused. “Put me down,” I begged him. “You don’t want me to,” he said, and the wonder I saw cross his face had me fighting to get out of his arms. I couldn’t breathe. The walls were closing in. No. Not normal. I couldn’t be what he wanted. I couldn’t. I was filthy, used, tossed aside. I was better for nothing more than a fuck. He couldn’t see it, but he would. He had to see it. I knew it was right there on the surface. “Look at me,” he urged, but I turned my face away as far as I could, feeling the strain in my neck. I clawed at his shoulder. “Fuck me and get it over with,” I told him. “Listen to yourself. You fighting to get out my arms but you’re telling me to take you. Do you think I can do that? Look at me!” he yelled. I swung my head back to look at him. His face had softened, the anger gone. He lifted a hand and palmed my cheek. So tender. So soft. I couldn’t handle it. I shattered. Great sobs wracked me as he pulled me tighter into his arms, holding me close. My struggles meant nothing as he fell with me to the floor and rocked me. He slid off my shoes and curled me into his lap. Royce Mattherson, one of the richest men in America, sat on the floor and rocked L.A.’s greatest whore. He was clean, sweet, and normal. He was cocky, rough, and domineering, but he held me like I was priceless. I couldn’t fight the tears, and I didn’t try to.    

https://play.spotify.com/user/12125092495/playlist/3Xwm2Z9OnJ9tv9ZjNpxbhF

Add the book to your TBR Pile on Goodreads HERE!

https://youtu.be/FHNceu0k6nQ   Writing professionally since 2008, LeTeisha has spanned from Fantasy to Interracial Romance on her road to getting the jumping characters out of her head. Most days she’s pretty color blind, unless it’s a great shade of red (then she can’t ignore it). Other times she’s plotting her next twenty books and then remembering that the computer can’t read her thoughts and doesn’t type at lightning speed. Either way, she just can’t seem to get enough of quill to paper…or eh…keyboard strokes, apparently.  

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Love in all it's flavors: Get a taste of Cardeno C.'s Novellas

Cardeno C. Standalone Novellas

Love comes in all flavors:

Paranormal Romance

Contemporary Romance

Sports Romance

All of Me

To bond with his destined mate, an Alpha wolf must look past what he sees and trust what he feels.

Bonded by their parents before they were conceived, wolf shifters Abel and Kai adored each other since they were children. As teens, the two future Alphas took the next step in their bonding process and vowed to remain true to one another until Kai came of age. But when tragedy struck, Abel felt betrayed and ran from Kai instead of completing their mating.

Abel never stops yearning for the man who was supposed to lead by his side and after years without contact, Kai returns, broken and on death's door. If Abel wants to fulfill their destiny and merge their packs, he'll need to look past what he saw and trust his heart.

Word Count: 18,207

 

    

smashwords coupon code : XB55D

Places in Time

A relationship-challenged actor unexpectedly finds love in the arms of his childhood best friend.

“Sexiest Man Alive” and Golden Globe winning actor Ethan Baker lights up the screen but fizzles in his personal life. When his latest girlfriend breaks up with him, Ethan turns to his one “forever” person—Jude Harrison. But as Ethan makes the familiar drive to his best friend’s house, an unexpected detour and a bewildering passenger take him through places in time he’d long forgotten. Suddenly Ethan sees Jude’s actions over the years from a different perspective, but it’s his own reaction that’s the biggest surprise.

Word count: 15,659

 

     

smashwords coupon code : UM38Y

A Shot at Forgiveness

Sometimes to find love, you must first learn forgiveness.

A dozen years, two thousand miles, and a law degree after high school, Rafi Steiner continues to harbor resentment toward Isaac Jones, his childhood bully turned NBA star. When Isaac appears at Rafi's favorite restaurant acting like a long-lost friend, Rafi bluntly dismisses him.

But Isaac is tenacious and he has his heart set on the grown-up version of the boy he always wanted and never forgot. The way Isaac sees it, he and Rafi are perfect for each other, if only he could sink the most important shot of his life: his one shot at forgiveness.

Word Count: 17,536

 

     

smashwords coupon code : VH57R

 

Author Bio & Links

Cardeno C. - CC to friends - is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a lot of happiness and a few "awwws" into a reader's day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno's stories range from sweet to intense, contemporary to paranormal, long to short, but they always include strong relationships and walks into the happily-ever-after sunset.

Cardeno's Home, Family, and Mates series have received awards from Love Romances and More Golden Roses, Rainbow Awards, the Goodreads M/M Romance Group, and various reviewers. But even more special to CC are heartfelt reactions from readers, like, "You bring joy and love and make it part of the every day."

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