Jaded

June 2008

Pre-Order Jaded

It takes more than a red-hot body and stunning sex appeal to manage a club like Callahan's successfully. Jade Devereaux hides whip-sharp smarts and cold calculation behind her sleek façade, and she's come a long way from the frightened teenage girl who was once prey to a brutal man. Now, in the cat-and-mouse game of sexual escapades, Jade makes sure that the men are her prey.

When a wealthy businessman is viciously murdered mere yards from Callahan's, cynical cop Jase Vaughn turns to the exclusive private club for answers. Luscious Jade Devereaux sends his masculine desires into overdrive the moment he sees her, but he has plenty of experience with both women and crime suspects, and he can tell Jade has secrets to hide—secrets that are somehow connected to this twisted killing.

Jase is determined to strip away the pretense and expose the real Jade Devereaux, even if that means getting closer to her than the love-them-and-leave-them playboy has ever been to a woman. If she's guilty, Jase has sworn to see her behind bars. If she's innocent, then she could be the killer's next victim. But whether Jade is guilty or innocent, Jase realizes to his dismay that they are both falling victim to something neither has ever known—the power of love.

Excerpt

Jase turned back to the soft click of the other door handle.

The creature that emerged struck him dumb. Literally. He could not have formed a coherent word and spoken at that instant even if the fate of the free world hung in the balance. His body instantaneously warmed and his stomach did a slow, hard roll, then another.  Her sultry musky scent infiltrated his senses and attacked him like a lethal virus.  His mouth went dry.

Holy Mother.

Big jade-colored eyes that slanted upward at the corners reminded him of a feral cat. A sleek, black feral cat. Boldly, she stared unwaveringly at him.  Her cool indifference was unsettling.  Straight hair so black it almost looked blue hung like a veil around her heart-shaped face.  The delicate nostrils of her short aquiline nose flared, and her ruby red lips parted just enough to reveal brilliant white teeth.

Jase couldn't help it. His eyes traveled from her ethereal face down that long slender neck to breasts so full and creamy they reminded him of caramel apples.  He bet they were fake.  They had to be.  She wasn't wearing a bra, her nipples stiffened as he stared, and he knew for tits that perfect to sit up that firm and that high they had to have had some help. 

She extended a slender hand, the nails perfectly manicured and real, not those fake red claw jobs the hookers favored.

"Sergeant Vaughn?  Jade Devereaux, proprietress of Callahan's.  How may I help you?"

You can help me by relieving this boner.