**CONGRATULATIONS CATHY M! You won Stephanie Adkin's eBook!**

Hello everyone! It's release day for my contemporary erotic romance suspense novella, RESISTING KANE, and I'm so happy to be celebrating it here at Hooked On Romance!

In honor of it's debut, I'll be giving away a free copy to one lucky person who leaves a comment on this post. To enter, all you have to do is answer this question: What's the hardest thing for YOU to resist? Is it chocolate? Jewelry? Your sexy next door neighbor? *wink* I'll be drawing a winner tonight, so get those comments rolling!

Now, here's a little peek at RESISTING KANE. I hope you enjoy it!


BLURB:

Past inequities are hard to forget … and harder still to forgive. After fifteen years, high school classmates Madison Carey and Terence Kane are forced to work together to stop a madman whose sole purpose is to seek revenge … with her life as the prize.


EXCERPT:

The weekend had dragged by in a monotonous way that had Madison almost excited to head back to work the next morning. At least she would be around other people. She’d had several calls from friends over the weekend to go out for drinks and such, but she turned them down, not wanting to risk anyone finding out the circumstances that surrounded her. She wasn’t used to being without her friends and having no one to pass the time with. Normally she was encompassed in a bustle of activity so the quietness made her two-story home feel even bigger … and emptier. Waking up early that morning, she had bounded out of bed, eager to get dressed and back to work just so she would have someone to talk to. Walking down the stairway, she rolled her eyes in distain the moment she saw Terry waiting for her in the foyer.

“Good morning, Madison.” He said cheerfully.

By placing her hands on her hips, she avoided the urge to slap the smugness off his face. It was bad enough for them to be thrown together against her wishes, but seeing how he was obviously enjoying her misery over the whole situation made it even worse.

“I really don’t see why it’s necessary for you to drive me. I have a chauffeur who can do the same thing with far less aggravation.” She said, walking past him and into the den.

As he followed her every move, she heard him chuckle under his breath. Choosing to ignore it rather than start a futile argument with him, she looked around the room for her purse. She vaguely remembered setting it down in the den when she returned from work Friday evening, but now it was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the housekeeper had moved it.

“Your chauffeur isn’t the one being paid to protect you.” He said, picking up her purse from a nearby table and handing it to her. “Look, Madison, I know you’re not thrilled with me being assigned to your case. That’s pretty obvious.”

Snatching it from his hand, she stormed past him and walked toward the kitchen.

“Good. Then I can stop pretending to be civil toward you.”

After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she fumbled with some paperwork on the countertop while Terry stood nearby and watched. In his black dress pants, long-sleeved blue shirt, and tie, she had to admit he looked quite handsome, but she immediately forced the thought from her mind as quickly as it had entered. She wouldn’t go there again if her life depended on it.

“Pretend all you want. I’m not going anywhere. It’s my job to watch over you and I’m going to do my job whether you like it or not.” He replied, arrogantly crossing his arms over his chest. “I see you haven’t changed any. You still want things done your way or no way.”

Swallowing hard, Madison glared at him, trying valiantly not to wail at him with her claws bared.

“You might have walked over me and everyone else you looked down upon in high school, but you won’t do it to me again, Terence Kane. I don’t need your protection. My Father hired you. I didn’t. I can take care of myself.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, he walked toward her and cornered her against the kitchen counter before she had time to escape. Undaunted, she looked up into his cold hazel eyes and never flinched. She had been up against far more intimidating men than him in her lifetime, and she wasn’t about to be bullied.

“You can stand here and act all high and mighty as long as you want to, Madison Carey. I can do this all day long.” He seethed. Placing his hands on either side of her against the counter, his glare was unwavering. “The fact that you’re rich and well-known in this shallow business you seem to love won’t stop Joseph Sinclair from killing you if he’s given the slightest opportunity.”

His breath was hot against her skin, and even though she knew she should try and step away from him, her feet felt permanently glued to the floor. She couldn’t remember a time she had ever been this close to him and it was unsettling to say the least. The scent of his cologne pervaded her senses and, as much as she tried, she couldn’t control her body from quivering.

“Terry, I know the thought of some helpless woman falling at your feet excites you, but I don’t need you. If he makes the mistake of getting near me, I’ll … I’ll just take care of it. I’ll kill him if I have to.”

“And how do you expect to do that?” He asked incredulously.

Shrugging her shoulders, Madison tore her gaze away from him and glanced out the window, refusing to look him in the eye. She had protected herself this long; she certainly didn’t need him to start doing it. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Jerking away from her, Terry inhaled sharply as if something had suddenly occurred to him. Then, before she had time to react, he grabbed her purse with both hands and poured all of its contents on the countertop. Bewildered, she tried to stop him, but he was much too strong.

“What the hell are you doing? You have no right going through my things! Stop it!” She yelled.

He opened every zipper and compartment as Madison looked on helplessly. With his jaws clenched tightly together, he franticly searched through her wallet, every lipstick case, and every other content scattered on top of the kitchen counter as if searching for buried treasure.

“What are you hiding, Madison? A knife? A gun? Where is it?” He demanded, turning to look at her. The severity behind his gaze was probably meant to alarm her, but instead she felt her knees weaken.

Grabbing her by the waist, he pushed her back against the counter. His lips were so close that she could feel each of his ragged breaths as they slid across her own. It was enough to make her heart race and her head spin.

Unsure of what to do next, she looked up at him and waited expectantly. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she desperately hoped he would kiss her, but instead he began frisking her. Confused and angry, she tried pushing him away as he patted her hips with both of his hands, making his way down her body.

“No! Stop it, Terry! I don’t have …”

Now on his knees in front of her, her pleading ended abruptly when she felt his hands grasp the pistol she had strapped to her right thigh. As he looked up at her, the shock was apparent in his gaze, and suddenly she was afraid to say anything else that might anger him even further.

“Madison …” He began, the disappointment evident in his tone of voice.

“I’ve been carrying it for protection. That’s all.” She said resolutely. “It’s mine, Terry. I own it legally. I have the documents to prove it.”

“It’s dangerous, Madison. You could hurt yourself or someone else accidentally.”

As he lifted her skirt to her thighs and his hands slipped beneath it, she closed her eyes and sighed deeply as his fingers grazed her skin.

“You forget who my Father is. I know how to use a gun.”

Deftly, he slid his fingers over her skin as he began removing the gun and holster while she clutched the side of the counter to keep from falling. It was maddening having him so close to where she wanted to be touched. Her defenses down, she relaxed against the kitchen counter and tried to keep her voice from shaking with emotion.

“I’m tired of looking over my shoulder all the time. I’m sick of worrying if today is going to be the day that Joseph gets his revenge. You don’t understand. I just wanted something to help me feel safe.”

After resting the gun and holster on the floor, he slid his hands up her legs once again where he clasped on to the hem of her skirt and pulled it back down, smoothing it into place. She expected him to let go, but instead he held on for several agonizing seconds. The warmth of his fingers made her dizzy. It was exhilarating almost to the point of being painful.

“That’s what I’m here for. You don’t need this anymore.”

The tenderness in his touch made her wince. She wanted to reach out and twine her fingers through his hair, but before she had the chance to, he abruptly picked up the gun and holster and stood up.

“I’ll keep these.” He said sharply, never once looking her in the eye. “We should go.”

As he turned and walked away, Madison held on to the counter and tried to catch her breath. Suddenly catapulted back to reality, she felt angry all over again. After all these years, she was still acting like a fool around him. She should have known he still had a heart of stone. Damn him! Throwing her belongings back into her purse, she cursed him under her breath and silently swore that it would never happen again. He wasn’t worth it. He never was.


ABOUT STEPHANIE:

Growing up in a household that consisted of four brothers and no sisters, Stephanie Adkins spent most of her childhood locked in her bedroom, escaping the testosterone by filling page after page of her diaries with short stories and poetry. Now, surrounded by even more men in her life – her husband of fifteen years and two sons – she still enjoys the “great escape” by turning her childhood dreams into reality … one story at a time.

Since August 2008, Stephanie has been published with Wild Child Publishing, Liquid Silver Books, Phaze Books, and Cobblestone Press.

You can visit her at:
http://www.stephanieadkins.com