Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Captivated by Your Love








CAPTIVATED BY YOUR LOVE 
Blue Hearts Series Book Two
by Kennedy Kelly

SYNOPSIS:

She’s fire and he’s Ice, both demanding and both used to getting their way. Put them together and there is one hell of a storm. Two souls drawn together by an unexplainable force, their chemistry is off the charts it sizzles. Some say what they do best is fight, but they know what they do best isn’t in the fight, but the makeup sex that comes after.

Jealousy and impulsive decisions find Abbee now answering to Mrs. Blue. Can the newlyweds find a way to tame themselves and each other long enough to truly allow love to flourish? Or will a jealous ex and pride be too much to handle? Will they be able to stop fighting with each other long enough to fight for each other? Follow along as Abbee Burkhart and Justice Blue find out why everyone says love is worth fighting for.



Captivated by Your Love (Book #2)




Right Kind of Love



Chapter One
Abbee

The sun streamed into my bedroom through my window and it felt like it was beating down on my nose and bronzing my skin. I would never get used to the Vegas heat. But this morning it felt so much hotter than just the sun. It was like the thermostat was turned up to 100 degrees. I was roasting hot but in a good way. I felt a thin sheen of sweat layered on the back of my neck and across my upper brow. Then I suddenly realized it was because I wasn’t alone. So not alone.

The thing is I didn’t remember being out with my boyfriend Jensen last night so I should be
alone. At least one would think. Keeping my eyes screwed shut, I tried to take in my surroundings. The room smelled of sex. Dirty, just like I liked it. But, again, my memory of Jensen from last night just didn’texist.

I didn’t want to open my eyes for the fear in my belly of what I might find. Oddly, I felt a
presence in my front and at my back. Which was a little alarming. Then it hit me. The air rushed out of me and my breathing grew unsteady. Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck. The memories flooded my head like a typhoon. Shit. What had I done? I was a bad girl and knew exactly what I had done. Although it was very wrong of me to cheat on Jensen, I couldn’t deny that I didn’t like it. Guilt overcame me and my lips turned down into a frown. Damn, I couldn’t be trusted.

It was time to quit playing hide-and-seek with myself. I needed to open my eyes and face what would lay ahead of me. It wouldn’t be a surprise that I would like what I would find. Memories of hot bodies and sweat clad skin sliding against each other filled my mind. I had never had a threesome before. Until last night, that is. I had always wanted to, it was actually written in bold red ink on my bucket list along with a million other wild and crazy things I wanted to do before I died. Guess I can check that one off. I felt a shift to my front and I slowly, ever so slightly, cracked one eye open and got a glimpse and then closed it quickly again. Justice. A smile begged to peek out while my brain screamed at me.

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

Putting on a brave face and fighting with the butterflies in my stomach, I opened the same eye again and then the other. What I found staring back at me were beautiful blue eyes the color of the clearest ocean or blue sky. He had the goofiest lopsided smile on his face. He took his hand and tenderly rubbed it along my jaw and then brought his lips to mine. I pulled away from him and shook my head with a big fat no. First, I had morning breath. Second, no matter what we did last night, I still had a boyfriend and I could no longer blame anything on the massive amounts of alcohol in my system. He backed off immediately and his lips turned down. I knew I had upset him but I couldn’t worry about that right now. I had to get out of there, out from under his spectacular gaze. Jenson hadn’t done anything to deserve this from me. Guilt racked my chest and it was all I could do to not look Justice in the eyes.

Then I felt hands slip around me from behind and they landed on my waist. Out of nowhere a deep growl rumbled from Justice’s chest and I looked at those blue eyes to see fury marred his face. My stomach dipped again because although I was an independent chick, I kinda liked the idea of someone being possessive over me. I really liked it a lot. I thought it was sexy as hell when a man was that crazy about his woman. I knew from being around him and what Damien and Sydney said that Justice was pure raw Alpha male. He was one of a kind. Bossy, just like I liked.

He shook his head slightly and took a deep breath in, and just like that, his eyes returned to the sexy lust filled depths they had been just moments before.

Then he spoke. “Good morning, Abbee.” His voice was deep and rich and I felt it all the way
down in my southern regions; my pussy grew a little wet and my nipples started to get hard. I also felt something very hard and oh so familiar poking my belly. Damn, I didn’t remember it being so big last night. But it was big. It felt delicious so close to me. What I wouldn’t give to get on him right now and ride him reverse cowgirl. Now that would be fucking hot. Last night was fun. He fucked me six ways from Sunday while I sucked off his brother. I got a little hand action from Reeve at one point too; man do those hands know how to work it. Those boys definitely inherited the big dick gene because neither were lacking. Not that I was taking measurements. Gah, who am I kidding, I was so doing an inspection of the
male variety.

“Seriously, the name is Bee. That is what I go by; please try to use it.” My tone was clipped and my eyes narrowed. The only people who called me Abbee were my parents and even that irritated me. I liked Bee. He cocked an eyebrow at me and I just stared at him, trying to punctuate my point. You didn’t mess with Bee Berkhart. Not in the slightest.

I felt the hands that were around my waist loosen a little bit and then felt a kiss being placed
behind my ear. I shivered from head to toe and the hair on my body stood up. It was soft and very sweet. Then there was that damn growl again and this time I had to laugh. He did sound sexy as hell when he growled and I couldn’t help but love it.

“You two are cracking me up. Justice, you need to chill the hell out. Reeve, enough of the kisses.” He just looked at me, trying to soften his features, but I saw the look in his eyes. It was a look of possession. Like he wanted to own me. And there was the tiniest little part of me that wanted to be owned by him. That is if I didn’t have a boyfriend. Fuck, fuck, shit, shit. I was the world’s worst girlfriend and clearly wasn’t as committed as I thought.

“But, baby, you are mine,” he said to me and then gave me a lopsided smile.

I had to laugh, like full on belly laugh. “Sorry, but first of all I have a boyfriend. Hate to break it to you boys and second, I’m not anyone’s. I’m my own person.” I wanted to remove their hands from me but it just felt so damn good being in our little sexual cocoon. I was lying to myself and them by saying I had a boyfriend. I wasn’t being true to him, not in the slightest, and I was enjoying the compromising position I was in. I was seriously going to hell.

“Last night when I had my cock deep inside of you, you said you were mine.” Damn it. Why did he have to remember that? Don’t you drink alcohol for a reason? I remember those damn shots going down so easily and all the cocktails we consumed. I was lucky I wasn’t bent over the toilet this morning.

“The hell she did Justice. I think you were hearing her say that she was mine. Come by the
hospital and I’ll check your ears for a blockage.” I had to laugh again. If anyone could see us and hear this conversation they would think they just stepped into an HBO comedy special.

“The hell she didn’t. You didn’t even have sex with her so I don’t know what you are even talking about.” Damn men, they were so clearly confused. Or were they? I think Reeve was just trying to get a rise out of Justice which was pretty great. I loved seeing him get his boxers in a twist.

“Dude, you’re the one that didn’t have sex with her. She and I did the deed all night long.” Justice growled again and then pushed Reeve’s hands away from me.

Justice wasn’t really wild about the idea of including Reeve, but it did happen. Thank goodness the alcohol had loosened him up because right now he was being a bear to deal with. I know I’m supposed to be moving in with Jenson but last night I flirted my ass off with both Justice and Reeve. And it ended better than I could have hoped for. With both brothers naked in my bed.

Justice was just so sexy and irresistible. It was the way he walked and carried himself with
confidence that was really a turn on. Not to mention I personally thought he was the best looking brother of the Blue bunch. Sure they were all gorgeous, but there was just something unique about Justice. Plus, I was always a sucker for a man in uniform. Every time he had come over to spend time with his brother Damien (my best friend Sydney’s now fiancé) my mouth went a little dry and my heart sped up a little faster and it might have skipped a beat. He was the full enchilada. So damn sexy. But last night at the bar when it was just the two of us talking I had seen a softer side to him that I really liked. It was evident that he wanted to know me better and had really focused on listening to me. Many times I would talk to
Jensen and feel like he wasn’t even listening to anything I had to say. It totally pissed me off but I swept it under the carpet trying not to acknowledge the obvious.

Reeve was a bit more uppity for me. I worked in the hospital so I was familiar with how some of the doctor’s would treat us nurses. Now I hadn’t worked with Reeve. He actually had a reputation of being one of the nice doctor’s but he just wasn’t my taste. At least for more than a single sex filled night. I preferred more of the blue collared kind of guy and Justice was pure, raw, male, blue collar. I wish we had gotten out his cuffs and played last night. Now that would have been something else to check off my bucket list. The things I could do with this man were endless. Gah. What was I saying? I was in a relationship and supposed to be happy. But was I really happy? I had to ask myself that. If I allowed myself to have sex with another man, not just one, but two, was I really satisfied with the man I was with?

The answer was no. I was just happy with the idea of having someone in my life. Damien and
Sydney had one another and I saw how their faces would light up when one of them got home from work or just sometimes it was the simple silence of them snuggling on the couch. I wanted that kind of special for myself. But who was I fooling? Jensen wasn’t that guy. The bad part about it is that I had already agreed to move in with him. When I gave someone my word I always followed through with it. So like it or not, despite my curiosity and slight feelings for Justice, I would be spending my time with Jensen. My stomach sank at the thought. I had signed up for a life that I didn’t know I could live, especially after spending a night with Justice. He treated me like I wanted to be treated and we just clicked. Like really
clicked. We got along really well.

“What the fuck, dude? Not cool.” Reeve slid his hands back around my belly again and Justice removed them again.

“Seriously, you two need to knock it the hell off. It was fun, it was. But I’m not with anyone other than my boyfriend. Yes, that may make me sound like the biggest ho in the world and like a total tramp but last night was just fun.” I looked at Justice and then looked over at my shoulder at Reeve. I took a deep breath. “The thing is I didn’t tell either of you that I was yours. So you two need to get over it.” I was telling baldfaced lies to these men and I prayed that they didn’t see right through me. I had told Justice I was his. And in so many ways, even if I had only spent one night with him, I did want to be his.

“Get over it?” Justice’s eyes blazed with heat. He looked over my shoulder at Reeve. “Reeve, you know I don’t share. Last night was a rare one-time thing for me. Abbee is mine. So you better back the hell off.” Damn he was going all Alpha male on me.

I had had enough. I untangled myself from both of them and sat up. “Okay, boys, I think this little slumber party is over.” My room was in shambles. My bedding was all over the place and I was sure if I looked over the side of the bed I would see condom wrappers. And not just one. My body heated from the thought. What an amazing night. One that I would never forget. 

“It wouldn’t be over if Justice shared. You know, Justice, you never shared even as a child. What the hell is wrong with you?” Great, now the brothers were going to end up in a fight over me in my bedroom. Shit, in my bedroom. What was Sydney going to say? I knew Damien would more than likely pat his brothers on the back and give them a high five but Sydney couldn’t know about this–– or could she? She would probably beg me to leave Jensen and go for Justice. Which wasn’t a bad idea. Gah, what was I thinking, it was a horrible idea. I had already planned to live with Jensen. That would be my life. But there was something that kept on pulling me, like an unexplainable force, to Justice. Last night when we were at the bar I felt like he really paid attention to me and got me. He was very interested in what I had to say and treated me with kindness and respect. Sometimes I have to question whether Jensen respects me. He can flat out be mean when he wants to be.

I brought myself back to the situation and listened to them bickering at one another. I could see this going into a full on fight with them rolling on the ground wrestling and blood being spilled. Fuck my life. I had sure made a big mess out of things. The numbers on my clock glowed bright. 8:30. It was early…but not so early I could sneak the guys out. I placed my hands on my temples squeezing my eyes shut and rubbing them gently. I really needed to figure out a way to get the hell out of this situation.

“Fucker, I do share just not my women.” Justice growled again.

“For the last time, Justice, I’m not your woman.” It was my turn to growl back. I was getting
pissed. I wasn’t being a firecracker, I was a fucking stick of dynamite and I felt my face start to heat. When I got mad you better watch out. I would say I had a semi short fuse when it came to bullshit before I would just lose my shit on you. Sydney and I had gotten into it a few times over stupid nonsense but in the end we loved one another like sisters. Jensen hadn’t seen that side of me yet. I felt like I could never truly show the person I was to him. I usually always walked a fine line between what I wanted to be and what I needed to be. It was tough.

I heard my phone go off beside my bed on the night stand. It was the familiar beep I had set
especially for when Jensen would text. Fuck. Fuck. Shit. 

“Um, Justice, sunshine, could you please hand me my phone?” He rolled over and reached for my phone handing it to me and then he sat up. I unlocked the screen with a manicured finger and read the message from Jenson. My stomach dropped and I felt light headed yet drowning in guilt.

Jensen: Hey baby missed you last night. I’ll be over to pick you up in twenty minutes we are going out to breakfast.

Fuck.

Shit.

Fuck.

What the hell was I going to do? Not only was I butt naked in my bed with two guys that were fighting, but Sydney and Damien would surely see them leave and then Jensen come over. They would think our house had turned into a brothel. With deft fingers I typed out a reply.

Me: This morning isn’t good for me. I’m actually not feeling very well. 

That would buy me some time. I would get them out of the house and then maybe I wouldn’t see Jensen until tonight when I could wash the smell of sex from my body and paint on a different face. And that was what I was doing when I was with him. I wore a mask to try and be the perfect girlfriend. The girlfriend that I knew he wanted.

My phone chimed again.

“For the love of God could someone just make this nightmare stop.” I looked at the text again. Yup, wasn’t getting out of this situation very easily.

Jensen: Be there in twenty better get your ass up and ready. You can be sick later.

He really wasn’t the nicest guy. I felt my stomach drop. How did I ever end up with him? The
thing was I knew there were better guys out there. The way Justice treated me was a good example of that. Reeve had been so sweet and gentle as well. It was obvious they were raised right. I had met their parents and they were good people. Sydney spoke highly of them. I knew in my heart I should be with someone more like them.

I felt a presence over my shoulder and then I heard a growl again.

“He’s coming over here now?” Justice asked.

“Damn you. Quit reading my texts will you? Nosey.” I shoved him with an elbow into his gut and I felt a whisper of breath hit my back. I had packed a little mustard into it.

I climbed off the bed and went around to Reeve’s side. He was still lying down just staring at
nothing; probably looking at the ceiling, if I had to guess. His eyes met mine and he smiled. I looked down at myself and realized why. I wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing. I was butt naked standing before Reeve while he assessed me.

I wasn’t shy about my body. Unlike most women who were modest and self-conscious, I loved my body. Justice and Reeve had been over so much to hang out at the house that I was used to them so there was a comfort there. But he didn’t have to gawk at me. I didn’t have time to worry about him looking at me like he wanted to devour me. I needed to get his ass up and out.

Rolling my eyes at him, I reached down, took his hand in mine and used all my strength to get him up. I wasn’t exactly big so I had to put all my muscles into it. “Alright, Reeve, time to get up and get out. Up you go.” But when I pulled on him he pulled harder, causing me to fall on top of him. My breasts hit his face and I felt him bite my nipple. I quickly jumped off of him but his hand lingered. I slapped it away.

“Stop, now up you go.” But I won’t lie, that little nipple bite made my pussy tingle a little and my nipples grow hard.

“Oh alright. I need to get to the hospital anyway.” Great, one down, one to go. Now I know it
won’t be this easy to get Justice out of here. I had a feeling I was in for the fight of my life.

I quickly made it to the other side of the bed and grabbed Justice by the hand, but when I pulled he did the same thing–– he pulled me down on top of him. Our faces were mere inches apart and my eyes flickered up to his, holding his gaze. I gasped. Being so close to him set my body on fire. I felt it deep in my belly. This man could be my complete and utter undoing. There were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him to stay and that I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted him to continue to be possessive with me. But most of all I wanted to slip under the covers with him and have my wicked way with him without Reeve. He had been amazing last night and I wanted to experience that again. But I
couldn’t. I was now in the biggest pickle of my life. I was post threesome with two naked men in my bedroom and my boyfriend was going to be here in less than twenty minutes.

I quickly broke eye contact with him. I looked over my shoulder to see Reeve was just slipping on his shirt and already had on his jeans. I thanked God. I turned back to Justice. “Alright you need to get your ass up and leave,” I said rather sternly. If I was going to have any luck I needed to give it to him straight and stay firm.

He just looked at me and then kissed me tenderly on the tip of my nose. I inhaled deeply and felt shivers course down my spine. What he did to me. He was like my own personal aphrodisiac. I was heady with his scent and feeling him all around me as our bodies pressed into one another. I looked to the clock and knew I had to get my shit together. I quickly rolled off of him and this time I grabbed him by the leg.

“Justice, I’m serious, you need to get the hell up.” This time he rolled over and sat up on the edge of the bed. He just sat there staring at me.

“Quit looking at me like that.” Damn the way he was looking at me made my entire body spasm.

“How exactly am I looking at you, Abbee?” He smiled at me, still not removing his eyes from
me. It was like he was seeing inside my soul. Like he knew that I really didn’t want him to leave. It was like he had all of the answers to all of my problems, even the ones I didn’t know I had. 

“It’s Bee and you need to get up and get dressed like your brother is. Please and thank you.” I left him sitting there and walked over to my dresser and got a pair of panties out, and then leaned down and pulled open a drawer to get a pair of shorts out. But when I leaned down I felt him at my back his warm cock pressing firmly against me. It took everything in my power not to throw him back down on the bed. I tore myself away from him and went and stood on the other side of the room.

“This, you and me.” I pointed to him. “It’s over. It was one night full of fun. Now it is time for
you to leave.” I huffed out an exasperated breath.

“I’m not leaving. Reeve, suit yourself.”

Reeve walked to me, gave me a hug, and kissed me on the cheek.

“Thanks, Bee, I’ll see you soon.” He opened the door and exited and I prayed he would go
unnoticed by my roommates. I would have a lot of explaining to do. Oh, who was I fooling? The more I thought about it the more I couldn’t wait to tell Sydney. She was going to die, but in a good way. I admired Reeve in the way he was a nice guy and followed my instructions. This is the way things were supposed to go down and apparently he had gotten the memo, but Justice was another story. I took my hands and placed them on my hips and gave him a glare.

“Justice, you have 2.5 seconds to get your ass dressed and out of my room or I’m going to go get Damien and have him remove you.” That was totally an empty threat. I wasn’t going to go get Damien. Plus with the way Justice was built, all fine lines and hard muscles, he could clearly take Damien. He had the perfect body. One that I wanted to lick all over.

He just smirked at me. Fucker. “I’ll get dressed but I’m not going anywhere. I told you, you are mine. When your boyfriend gets here I’m telling him to get lost.”

I huffed out a breath again. I could feel my face heat up as I clenched my fingers into my palms and rolled my head around. I was tight. “Justice, get your shit on and get out.”

“Why the hell are you acting all bitchy to me?” He bent over and grabbed his shirt. Thank God he was finally getting the message.

“I’m not. I just can’t have you here when Jensen gets here.” Damn, I was running out of time and was really going to be cutting this one close. “And I’m not a bitch.”

“Then quit acting like one.” He bent down, picking up his jeans and shimmied them up his legs. 

I walked over to my dresser and grabbed a shirt out and threw it on over myself, sans bra. At this rate I was doing good just to get clothes on before Jensen got here. Granted, I smelled like sex. I grabbed a bottle of perfume of my dresser and spritzed myself with it hoping it would help, but all I felt was hopeless at the moment. “Fuck my life, I smell like sex, Justice.”

“You smell perfect, like me.” He walked over and sniffed me. The thing is, I kinda liked his smell on my body. I sniffed one last time and deeply inhaled his scent.

Looking over my shoulder, I noticed Justice went back to getting ready and was slipping on his shoes. I wanted to do a happy dance I was so excited. Hopefully I would get myself out of this sticky-ass situation. He stood up from the bed and walked over to me he slipped his arms around me and brought his mouth to mine. I didn’t stop him this time. Despite my morning breath I kissed him back. I didn’t know if this would be the last time I had the opportunity and I didn’t want to regret it for the rest of my life.

He fisted his hand in my hair and I grabbed him behind his neck, holding on to him for dear life while he deepened our kiss. It was sweet, wet and full of so much emotion. I didn’t want to let him go. I wanted to stay wrapped up in his arms and brave Jensen together. I wanted to tell Jensen that I wasn’t his and that I was Justice’s like I had clearly told him last night. I wanted to be his. To be owned and possessed by him. But I couldn’t.

I was getting so lost in our kiss and thoughts of a life with Justice that I didn’t hear the door crack open.

“Bee?”






MEDIA LINKS:


Authorkennedykelly.com







Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Get ready for summer’s most sinful indulgence: Bourbon Kings


 


A Thrilling New Series From THE #1 New York Times BestsELLER J.R WARD

Empire meets Downton Abbey, Set in Kentucky’s Bourbon Country

 

THE BOURBON KINGS

J.R. WARD

 

A transplanted Kentuckian, #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward found literary inspiration in the lush bluegrass state she now calls home.  Set in the land of Derby brunches, competitive horse breeding, and fine bourbon, THE BOURBON KINGS (New American Library; July 28, 2015; $27.95) is the first book in Ward’s new contemporary series that will appeal to readers of Danielle Steele and Penny Vincenzi, and fans of Empire, Scandal, and Downton Abbey.

THE BOURBON KINGS is an epic family saga centered on the Bradfords, an aristocratic family who made their fortune in the bourbon industry. Ward has created an indelible cast of characters whose lives intersect through a page-turning mix of dark family secrets, high stakes business deals and double crossings, and delicious bad behavior. 

The Bradford Bourbon Company has produced superior bourbon for generations, and the family’s vast wealth proves it.  One of Kentucky’s first families, the Bradfords are at the center of high society.  They indulge in every luxury—private jets, fleets of expensive cars, lavish Derby celebrations, priceless jewelry—and their every need is taken care of by an extensive household staff.  But there’s more to the life of luxury at Easterly than meets the eye, and the return of a prodigal son is about to bring everything to a tumultuous head.

Jonathan Tulane “Lane” Baldwine vowed he would never return to Easterly after he fled to New York City two years ago.  His hatred for his father and the loss of the love of his life has kept him away. But now he’s returning home to see the ailing Miss Aurora—the woman he considers his true mother—and he’s bringing the past with him.

For Lizzie King, Easterly’s head horticulturist, the news of Lane’s return is a stunning blow.  Two years ago, she and Lane fell madly in love in spite of their very different backgrounds.  She was devastated to learn of Lane’s engagement to society belle Chantal Stowe the morning after he told Lizzie he loved her. Believing that Lane was using his engagement and impending marriage to hide his relationship with her, Lizzie broke away.  Not long after, Lane left town…without saying a word. 

Edward Westfork Bradford Baldwine is a ruined shell of a man.  The oldest son of William and Virginia, he was once the golden boy destined to take over the family business. But after he was abducted, tortured, and held for ransom during a business trip to South America, he’s emotionally and physically broken.  His only comfort comes from a bottle and his memories of the beautiful and intelligent woman he loves—a woman who runs his family’s fiercest rival.

The youngest and only daughter, Virginia Elizabeth (aka Gin), is a wild child who, now in her early 30s, is trying to find herself.  She’s been in love with Samuel T. Lodge, an attorney and one of Lane’s best friends, since she was a teenager.  He’s the only man she’s ever truly loved and he’s the only man she can never truly have—Gin has kept a secret from him that would change their relationship forever. 

Over the course of Derby weekend, Lane reignites his relationship with Lizzie and discovers that the tightly-controlled Bradford image is showing cracks.  Patriarch William Baldwine is as ruthless and dishonest as ever—having exiled his troubled wife to her bedroom where she’s kept in a medically-induced fugue state, William has complete financial control.  Family, more than ever, can’t be trusted and rumors abound about a production stoppage on the company’s prized bourbon.  When Lane discovers someone is embezzling millions of dollars from the Bradford family, he’s determined to find the perpetrator and bring him down.

Filled with the complicated characters, juicy interconnected storylines, and wickedly sharp writing readers have come to expect from J.R. Ward, THE BOURBON KINGS is a can’t put it down ride that modernizes the family saga and transplants the soapy thrills of Empire and Scandal to the rolling hills of Kentucky.

#          #          #          #
 
 
Review by pearls
5 Stars across the board.  JR Ward takes an upclose look at a dysfunctional family that should have it all, but is rotting behind the façade of old money.  The characters are complex and the storyline reveals their history like a the slow burn of good bourbon.  I quickly became engrossed and could not put this novel down.  The human flaws found in this cosmetically perfect family make us all feel more secure in our average families.  Yet it is their flaws that make them approachable to the reader despite their vast wealth. 




“The drama never stops in this tale of family secrets, lost love found, rivalries, delightfully nasty villains and deliciously appealing heroes. The clothes, the whiskey, and the gorgeous Kentucky backdrop will sweep you away. The privileged and the downtrodden never had it so good. Put on your derby hat and join in the fun.” —*New York Times bestselling author SUSAN WIGGS


 
THE BOURBON KINGS
CAST OF CHARACTERS
 
UPSTAIRS
 
William Baldwine – Patriarch of the Bradford-Baldwine family and currently running the Bradford Bourbon Company. Married into the Bradford family and rose quickly to the top of the company. A powerful and ruthless man with many dark secrets.
 
Virginia Elizabeth Bradford “Baldwine” – Wife of William Baldwine.  Inherited from her father the Bradford Bourbon Company, family fortune, and all the Bradford properties, including Easterly and the Red & Black Stables. In a medicated fugue state for the last several years. William had her declared mentally incompetent, leaving him in charge of all of the family’s money.
 
Jonathan Tulane Baldwine – Nicknamed Lane. The prodigal son of William Baldwine and Virginia Bradford. Fled Easterly two years ago, leaving his estranged wife Chantal behind. Lizzie King is his soul mate and the love of his life.
 
Edward Westfork Bradford Baldwine – Oldest son of William Baldwine and Virginia Bradford, he was an increasing rarity in the Bradford family—a true distiller and a man who once valued the bourbon his family produced. The golden boy once destined to take over the family business before he was kidnapped, tortured, and held for ransom during a business trip in South America.  Now a physically and emotionally broken man who breeds champion racehorses. Only his thoughts of Sutton Smythe kept him alive during his abduction. 
 
Virginia Elizabeth Baldwine – Nicknamed Gin. Thirty-four-year-old daughter of William Baldwine and Virginia Bradford. Strong-willed and wild, she parties, spends money and bed-hops.
 
Maxwell Baldwine – Middle son of William Baldwine and Virginia Bradford. Left Easterly years ago, and no one knows where he lives or how to contact him.
 
Chantal Blair Stowe Baldwine – Lane’s estranged wife who lives at Easterly.  A tiger disguised as a kitty cat.  Scheming and dishonest but with the perfect modern southern belle surface.  Holds many Bradford family secrets.
 
Samuel Theodore “T” Lodge III – An attorney and one of Lane’s best friends.  Handsome, well-respected, and a bit of a ladies man. Has had a complicated relationship with Lane’s sister Gin for many years. 
 
Sutton Smythe – Heir to the Smythe Distillery fortune. Her family business is the chief competitor/rival of the Bradford Bourbon Company.  A smart, beautiful, and powerful woman in love with one of her family’s “enemies.”
 
Richard Pford IV – Sole heir to the Pford Liquor and Spirits Distributors. Desperate to marry Gin, he’s prepared to trade favors with the Bradford Bourbon Company for the privilege.
 
Jeff Stern – Lane’s good friend who lives in New York City.  A financial whiz, Lane calls upon his help when he begins to suspect someone is embezzling money from the company 
 
DOWNSTAIRS
 
Lizzie King – Head horticulturist at Easterly, the Bradford Family Estate.  An intense—and unexpectedly broken-off—affair with Lane two years ago has left her focused on work and determined to avoid love. 
 
Miss Aurora Toms – The family’s 65-year-old cook and the woman who essentially raised the Bradford children. Lane considers Miss Aurora his true mother and returns to Easterly only upon hearing of a decline in her health. 
 
Rosalinda Freeland – Easterly’s controller. Oversees all of Easterly’s bills and finances. Carries a terrible secret about William Baldwine.
 
Mr. Newark Harris – Easterly’s butler. Throwback to the centuries-old tradition of the proper English servant.  Born and trained in London, he served as a footman for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Place and then as a butler for Prince Edward. Officious, unyielding, and obsequious.
 
Beatrix Mollie – Head of housekeeping at Easterly.
 
Edwin “Mack” MacAllan – Master distiller for the Bradford Bourbon Company. His father had been the master distiller before him, and he’s currently the youngest master in the history of bourbon production in the state. Dedicated to his craft but troubled by recent company developments.
 
Jeb Landis – Recently deceased. Legend in the horseracing industry, and the trainer of more stakes winners than anyone.  An alcoholic and a gambler, he helped Edward come back to life after his abduction. 
 
Shelby Landis – Jeb’s 22-year-old daughter. Seeks Edward out after her father dies, looking for a job working horses. 
 
Deputy Sheriff Mitchell Ramsey – Charlemont lawman, friend of Lane’s, and the person who brought Edward back to the States after his abduction.
 
Gary McAdams – Head groundsman at Easterly. He’s sixty-two-years-old and protective of Lizzie.
 
Greta von Schlieber – Lizzie’s older counterpart in the gardens at Easterly. Wealthy woman who loves the work.  Protective of Lizzie, and doesn’t want to see her hurt by Lane again.
 
Moe Brown – Stable manager at Red & Black Stables. Can tell a horse’s future from the moment the animal stands after it’s born.
 
 


DID YOU KNOW?

 

Kentucky Facts & Trivia

 

v  The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously held horse race in the country. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville on the first Saturday in May.

 

v  Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony for the Kentucky Derby Festival and is the world's largest fireworks display.

 

v  The Bluegrass Country around Lexington is home to some of the world's finest racehorses.

 

v  The great Man o' War won all of his horse races except one which he lost to a horse named Upset.

 

v  Bluegrass is not really blue—it’s green—but in the spring bluegrass produces bluish purple buds that when seen in large fields give a blue cast to the grass. Today Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State.

                               

v  Legend has it that the inspiration for Stephen Foster's hymn-like song "My Old Kentucky Home" was written in 1852 after an unverified trip to visit relatives in Kentucky.

 

v  Kentucky was the 15th state to join the Union and the first on the western frontier.

 

v  Kentucky is the state where both Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union, and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, were born. They were born less than one hundred miles and one year apart.

 

v  More than 100 native Kentuckians have been elected governors of other states.

 

v  More than $6 billion worth of gold is held in the underground vaults of Fort Knox. This is the largest amount of gold stored anywhere in the world.

               

v  Mammoth Cave is the world's longest cave and was first promoted in 1816, making it the second oldest tourist attraction in the United States. Niagara Falls, New York is first.

 

v  Christian County is wet while Bourbon County is dry. Barren County has the most fertile land in the state.


v  Daniel Boone and his wife Rebecca are buried in the Frankfort Cemetery. Their son Isaac is buried at Blue Licks Battlefield near Carlisle, where he was killed in the last battle of the Revolutionary War fought in Kentucky.
                                                                                                                   

v  The song "Happy Birthday to You" was the creation of two Louisville sisters in 1893.                      



 

Thanks to: Kentucky Department of Travel, John D. Dowd, Mandy Paige, DeLores Wiggins, Wayne Shelton, David Grossman, Cleamon Inman, Jody Odonnell


 
 
J.R. WARD
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
 
J.R. Ward is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with more than 15 million novels in print published in 25 different countries around the world.  A graduate of Smith College, she currently lives in Kentucky where she has learned to enjoy and appreciate all things Southern.  Prior to becoming an expat Yankee, she worked as a lawyer in Boston and spent many years as the Chief of Staff of one of Harvard’s world-renowned academic medical centers. 
 
Ward has always had a passion for writing.  After a decade of drafting stories in her spare time, she became a full-time novelist, and her first published novel, Leaping Hearts, was released in 2002.  Under the name Jessica Bird she wrote nine contemporary romances, and then got the idea for a darker, sexier series with paranormal elements, featuring a group of warrior vampires.  The Black Dagger Brotherhood was born.
 
The reader reaction to the series was immediate, spectacular and obsessive.  The fourth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Revealed, hit the New York Times mass market fiction bestseller list and since then, Ward’s novels have held the #1 spot on the New York Times hardcover, mass market, eBook, and combined print/eBook fiction bestseller lists and have debuted in the top 5 on the USA Today bestseller list.
 
This summer Ward introduces a new contemporary series set in her adopted home state of Kentucky with the novel The Bourbon Kings.  The series will follow the intertwined and scandalous fortunes of several ultrawealthy Kentucky families who have made their fortunes from bourbon.
 
J.R. Ward lives with her husband, daughter and their beloved golden retriever, as well as many other dogs, in Kentucky.  Visit her popular website and fan community at www.jrward.com and facebook.com/JRWardBooks.