AVENGING ANGEL: BAD MEDICINE, an all-new swoon-worthy, action-packed, suspenseful romantic comedy from New York Times Bestselling Author, Kristen Ashley, is out now!
Scroll down for an excerpt!
The bets are on… And luck favors a Stark.
Willow Knightley has just been through it with her ex-mooch of a boyfriend. But sadly, he’s just the latest in a long string of men (starting at birth) who didn’t treat her right.
She decides her only recourse is to give up on men forever.
The problem is, her friend/acquaintance/one-time bodyguard, member of the Nightingale Investigations & Security team, Gabriel Stark, has targeted her as His One.
Gabe’s been through it at the hands of women too, so he knows exactly what he wants.
And he wants Willow.
Willow states her case against them being an us, but she doesn’t count on the fact that not only does Gabe love a challenge, he lives for them.
Up against an onslaught from a man who rinses his own whiskers out of the sink, Willow might not stand a chance.
But then, while the Angels are trying to figure out what’s got one of their informants very jittery, she gets a hint that there are demons in Gabe’s history, and she has to know.
The bets are on…
And luck favors a Stark.
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“…a captivating, emotionally rich, irresistibly entertaining and unputdownable love story.” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads
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EXCERPT:
Chapter One
Eviscerated
Several months ago…
I didn’t know how it happened.
One second I was standing just inside my apartment door and Gabe—my hot guy acquaintance/friend who had recently turned into my bodyguard—was moving through my space to make sure it was secure, no bad guys lurking in the closet, no ex-boyfriends planning on doing something (else) that was immensely stupid.
The next second, he called out all was safe, I stepped in further and shut the door behind me.
The second after that, he appeared in the mouth of the hall.
And then, for some reason, I was staring at him. (Okay, I knew the reason, he was breathtakingly handsome in a scary, uber masculine way.)
He was also staring at me.
How we made it across the room to each other, that was the part I didn’t know.
How we collided in the middle of my drab living room, again, no clue.
Though, I didn’t miss how his mouth crashed down on mine. How his arms crushed me to his tall, hard body. How my fingers skated over his thick, close-cropped, coal-black hair. How his neatly trimmed beard deliciously abraded my skin. How I opened my mouth to him practically before our lips touched. How he didn’t hesitate to thrust his tongue inside like my mouth was his to claim.
Like it had always been his to claim.
Before we met.
Before we were born.
Before the universe even came into being.
Uh…no, I didn’t miss how good his kiss was.
And I didn’t miss how good he felt, strong and warm.
Further, I didn’t miss how good I felt: wanting him, him wanting me…
Belonging to him.
Already.
I belonged to him.
With…just…one…kiss.
One kiss that wasn’t even done yet!
And I didn’t miss how safe…
How safe…
Safe.
Safe.
With all the mental and physical strength it took—and mind you, it took a lot (straight up, all I had)—I yanked from his arms and retreated two very wide steps, only stopping because I ran into my secondhand (but not all that bad) armchair.
Gabe was staring at me, his broad, proud chest visibly rising and falling with his breaths.
He wasn’t the only one breathing heavy.
“Willow—” he started.
I shook my head, lifting a hand, palm aimed his way like I was holding him off, but I knew.
Man, did I know.
Those gestures were for me. I was holding myself back from making another really stupid, really damaging, really messed up decision.
“That wasn’t smart,” I said, my words shaky.
He nodded, and that movement, his agreement, should’ve set my mind at ease.
But it felt like a million needles piercing my skin.
Then he said, “You’re right. While I’m assigned to protect you, we shouldn’t go there.”
“Gabe—”
“But after this shit is done, babe—”
“No,” I stated firmly, surprised I had that in me, glad I did, but at the same time devastated.
His excruciatingly perfect, arched black eyebrows winged up. “What?”
“No,” I repeated.
“No…what?” he asked, appearing confused, which was kinda adorable.
Gabriel Stark had been in my sphere now for a good while.
He was buds with my buds’ boyfriends. We were firmly entrenched in the same posse.
He was also built like a brick shithouse—bulky, sturdy, no lean muscle there. Though he was all muscle and it was all in-your-face power.
He was further, all spread-legs-while-seated, arms flung over the backs of chairs and booths, taking up manly space like it was his due. His chuckle, which was hard to come by, was deep and rumbling, and each time he emitted it, it was clear he was bestowing a gift you should feel lucky you received.
And whenever I heard it, I felt lucky.
Whenever I caused it, I felt like the queen of the world.
He was intense.
He was edgy.
He was so sexy, it was almost scary.
So not once, not even close, had he ever looked remotely adorable.
And seriously, in this exact moment, I really did not need to know he could.
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God.
You’ve learned, my logical brain told me. The hard way. Like, a gazillion times. Starting at, oh, I don’t know…birth!
But this is Gabe, my starry-eyed, dreamer brain told me. He’s a member of the Hottie Squad. They’ve managed the impossible. They’ve succeeded in morphing the hot, sexy alpha bits with the thoughtful, sensitive enlightened bits of a human being with a dick.
Raye says Cap struggles with his inner caveman all the time, my logical brain reminded my dreamer. He bests it, my dreamer reminded my logic.
Barely, Logic pointed out.
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About Kristen Ashley:
Kristen Ashley is the New York Times bestselling author of over eighty romance novels. She’s a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she’s sold millions of books.
Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana and was a fourth-generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and she now resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She now writes full-time.
Although romance is her genre, the prevailing themes running through all of Kristen’s novels are friendship, family and a strong sisterhood. To this end, and as a way to thank her readers for their support, Kristen has created the Rock Chick Nation, a series of programs that are designed to give back to her readers and promote a strong female community. You can learn more about Kristen and the Rock Chick Nation on her website.
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USA Today Bestselling Author Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and three rowdy chickens.
