Firebird by Jennifer Loring
Stephanie Hartwell is a journalist chasing the story of her career…
When superstar hockey player and notorious bad boy Aleksandr Volynsky is traded to the Seattle Earthquakes in a blockbuster deal, Stephanie demands the opportunity to prove herself by scoring an exclusive interview with a man with no love for the media…the same man she once thought, as a naïve teenager, she’d someday marry.
An Olympian and Stanley Cup Champion, Aleksandr has achieved every goal he’s ever set…
Now expected to carry a failing team on his shoulders, Aleksandr’s troubles deepen when he encounters Stephanie after a season-opening loss. His lifestyle of drinking and random hookups has been a futile attempt to forget the beautiful tomboy who stole his heart nine years ago. And worse, fame and fortune have made it impossible for him to trust anyone—especially Stephanie, who is engaged to another man.
Romance rekindles, but tragedy reveals Aleksandr’s dark side…
Being with Aleksandr in the first place jeopardizes Stephanie’s journalistic integrity and threatens her career, and when he spirals out of control, it reawakens fears from her own history, making her unable to commit to a future with him.
When Aleksandr discovers the truth behind his self-destructive behavior, will his newfound self-awareness be enough to convince Stephanie to give him one last chance…
Or will his revelation drive her away for good?
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/102028-77823.cloudwaysapps.com/jqxysxqutc/public_html/wp-content/themes/megashopNEW/inc/theme-functions.php on line 1233
Description
Find more from this author on:
About the author:
Jennifer Loring’s short fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, webzines, and anthologies. In 2013, she won Crystal Lake Publishing’s inaugural Tales from the Lake writing competition; in 2014, DarkFuse published her novella Conduits, and in May 2015, Omnium Gatherum released her debut novel, Those of My Kind. She recently signed a deal for a contemporary romance trilogy with Limitless Publishing; the first book, Firebird, is due out on October 20, 2015. Jennifer lives in Philadelphia, PA with her husband, their turtle, and two basset hounds. She is currently at work on the second book in the Firebird Trilogy as well as a paranormal romance.
What inspired you to write your book?
The original idea actually came to me in a dream, which I jotted down in case I ever decided to write a romance novel (I usually write horror and dark fantasy). I’m a huge hockey fan, and I couldn’t get the dream or the characters’ relationship out of my head. I was also ready to branch into new genres, so this was the perfect opportunity. I wrote the first draft as my 2014 NaNoWriMo project.
Here is a short sample from the book:
Stephanie Hartwell marched into her editor-in-chief’s office, flung the door shut, and slammed her stained coffee mug on his desk.
“No. Give me that story, Dave. Those assholes out there have had the chance to prove themselves. A million chances. I didn’t go to USC to write theater reviews.”
Dave failed to suppress a smile. “Nothing personal, Steph. The Volynsky trade is a big deal, and I need someone familiar with Seattle sports to cover it.”
The veins in her neck throbbed, and a flush burned her face. She’d never been good at controlling her emotions, especially anger. Especially when he was underestimating her because she had tits. “I’ve been here three years. You want ’familiar’? Volynsky has played all eighty-two games for the past four seasons. Eighty points or higher in each of those seasons. Leads the league in shots on goal and is top ten in assists. He’s a plus-three, plays at least twenty-one minutes a game, and averages forty-eight goals per season. Shall I go on?”
Dave’s eyebrows inched toward his receding hairline.
“You know what they call me behind my back, Dave? ‘Puck bunny.’ I played hockey most of my life. I know the game. You show me a puck bunny that does.” She stabbed her finger at him. “Give me the story.”
“All right, all right, Jesus.” Dave waved his palms at her like two white flags. He clacked out what she presumed was a follow-up email relieving Shawn of his Volynsky duties. Stephanie tensed in a preemptive, involuntary defensive posture for the verbal assault she expected as soon as she left Dave’s office.
“How do you know all this, anyway?”
“Would you ask any of the guys that?”
“Not everything is an attack on you, Steph. I’m on your side. I know you feel like you have to be better than everyone just to be considered average.”
Stephanie let her shoulders sink and her fingers uncurl. The muscles in her neck ached. She expelled a long breath and shifted her gaze to the view of Puget Sound out the window. The past had compromised her objectivity, but it would not compromise her job.
“Steph? You still with me?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Just thinking of the right lead.”
“That’s why you’re the best. Okay, the season opener is tomorrow night. You’re on it. Get him to agree to an exclusive story. I’ll see what I can do on my end. Rumor has it he’s difficult.”
She’d heard all the stories. Everyone had. The hard-drinking, womanizing bad boy. A modern-day Derek Sanderson and stereotypical star athlete, whose behavior fed rising public disgust with pro-sports salaries and Seattle’s own taxpayer-funded, three hundred fifty million-dollar Amazon Arena. The Seattle Earthquakes had struggled from day one two years ago in a market with an inexplicable lack of hockey fans, fewer than even Arizona or Florida. Giving away the farm for Volynsky—eight years, ninety-two million dollars, and two top prospects—volatile as he was, became a last-ditch effort to avoid the fates of the Predators, Coyotes, and Panthers, all relocated to Canada.
“I deal with bullshit from entitled man-children every day. I can handle him.” She’d done it before. In another life, when he’d been someone else.
Dave chuckled and shook his head. “I almost feel sorry for him. Now go. Do me proud.”
“You got it.” Stephanie plucked her mug from his desk and left the office. Her spine stiffened when she saw Shawn glaring at her over the long table, lined with computers on either side, at which the staff worked. She’d have no privacy unless she earned her coveted promotion and an office.
“We all know why you wanted that story.” His gaze landed on her chest, which wasn’t large, and she crossed her arms. The mug dangled from her fingertips. She stifled the urge to smash it over his head. But that would be all the ammo he’d need to prove he’d been right all along—that she was too irrational, too emotional, to handle the job.
Too female.
“Oh? Do tell me, Shawn. I mean, we’ve had so many deep, meaningful conversations. It couldn’t possibly be because I played hockey from age five until I graduated from college and still play adult league.” She lifted her chin and drilled her stare into him, hoping his head would explode Scanners style. “Why don’t you spend less time worrying about me and more time figuring out why you’re such a whiny, self-absorbed, spoiled little shit?”
A chorus of chuckles and “oohs” rose from the table. Shawn’s jaw muscles tightened, and his eyes were like an overcast day on the lake, reflecting her hatred back at her.
“Bitch,” he muttered as she walked away. With her back to him, she pretended to let the word roll off her like a raindrop, unimportant and unworthy of her attention. She slid into her chair, furious when tears pricked her eyes. She distracted herself with the mail left beside her monitor during her meeting. The latest People, their “One Hundred Most Beautiful” issue. Mindless eye candy. Just what she needed. She opened the magazine and skimmed the list.
Her heart stopped, skipped, restarted.
Number ninety-eight.
Aleksandr Volynsky: With his GQ looks and killer body, this twenty-five-year-old power forward has been setting the NHL on fire for seven seasons already. The six-foot-five Russian stud, as notorious for his off-ice antics as for his puck-handling skills, is surprisingly coy about his love life. “There is someone, yes,” he says. “We’re just not in the same place right now.”
He was naked from the waist up and clad in his hockey gear from the waist down, holding his stick in his right hand. They’d Photoshopped the scar on his right cheek, where four years ago an errant puck had split his face open, broken his jaw, and shattered several of his teeth.
God, he was beautiful.
Related products
-
Some Like it Geek by C. Jordan
Fall Quiet by Zoe York
To Score or Not to Score by Angela Quarles
One blind date. One case of mistaken identity. One Navy SEAL faced with his high school crush. What could go wrong?
The Adorkable Girl and the Geek (Gone Geek 5) by Sidney Bristol
The Girl Next Door by C. Jordan
Bath Bomb by Clara Leigh (Forbidden Bad Boys)
Recipe for a wild weekend: Take one geeky actor, a video game idol, and cinema’s best known towel model. Add a chocolate-box cottage, a liberal sprinkling of snow… make that lots of snow, and an oversized bathtub.
Result: THREESOME!
In the Spotlight by Ally Decker
Pretending to date a movie star definitely wasn’t on Sylvia Urban’s agenda but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. And after a paparazzo catches them in rather uncompromising position, this is exactly what this girl has to do.
Greg Abrams really needs everything to go right if he wants his new project to get green-lighted, but when the cute Broadway geek almost literally falls into his life, things get complicated really fast.
As the pair grows closer, the ‘pretend’ part of pretend dating gets thrown out of the window, but after they started off as a lie, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s not.
Play by Olivia Devon
Aaron Eldridge’s passion for his latest virtual reality program skyrockets when he meets a woman who shares his obsession for all things geek. The premier launch of HyperLyfe at Lux, Manhattan’s hottest sex club, would be a perfect opportunity to get Katie Martinez to check out his new toy, and the kinky sex ideas he has in mind.
What if your deepest fantasies could come true?
New Adult Romance Boxed Set (5 Book Bundle) by Emme Rollins, Julia Kent, Anna Antonia, Aubrey Rose, Helena Newbury
Bad-boy CEOs. Naked lead singers. Soulful intellectuals. Dancers. Rock stars. Summer is hot, and so are these men…. The New Adult Romance Boxed Set has FIVE COMPLETE NOVELS for just $.99 — a special sale price (regular price $9.99).
All novels from top 100 New Adult Amazon authors, this collection includes USA Today Bestseller Julia Kent, Top 100 Amazon Bestseller Emme Rollins, top 10 UK Amazon bestseller Helena Newbury, and more…
Dear Rockstar by Emme Rollins — She’s obsessed with a rock star. He’s crazy enough to want to be one. Sometimes the best things in life are crazy. Amazon Top 100 Bestseller.
Random Acts of Crazy by Julia Kent — Darla isn’t the type to pick up hitchhikers — especially naked ones. But when she makes an exception for handsome Trevor, she finds herself caught between two delicious men in this fun-filled, steamy USA Today bestseller.
Mad for You by Anna Antonia – Loving Gabriel Gordon was like trying to love the sun…Emma Adams was destined to burn. Given their tumultuous natures and personal demons, there was only one way a relationship between them could survive: in madness.
Me, Cinderella? by Aubrey Rose — One kind deed can change your life forever…. Brynn Tomlin could never afford to follow her heart, but when she buys a cup of coffee for a stranger sitting in the cold, she sets into motion a course of events that can only lead to one kind of fairy-tale ending.
Dance For Me by Helena Newbury — When troubled ballet student Natasha agrees to be the muse of millionaire designer Darrell Carner, she doesn’t expect to fall for him…or to discover that his past is just as dark as hers. Can two broken souls heal each other…or will their secrets tear them apart?
FIVE New Adult novels filled with men with a passion for the women they can’t live without.
Tall, Dark & Alpha Boxed by Eve Langlais, Afton Locke, Paige Tyler, Sam Cheever, Randi Alexander, Koko Brown, Eve Vaughn, Farrah Rochon, Delaney Diamond, Dawn Montgomery
“~ Top 100 Amazon Bestseller~
~ USA Today Recommended Read in Romance~
These HOT alphas are ready to take charge.
Are you ready for the decadence and allure of an alpha’s dark charm? The bad boys in these 10 sizzling stories will make your heart pound. Against these dominant seducers, the heroines don’t stand a chance. Prepare to fall in lust–and love.
Delve into the sensual worlds of award-winning authors: Randi Alexander, Koko Brown, Sam Cheever, Delaney Diamond, Eve Langlais, Afton Locke, Dawn Montgomery, Farrah Rochon, Paige Tyler, and Eve Vaughn. Immerse yourself in the alpha male experience.
***
*New, Boxed Set Exclusive* Rock My Boat by Afton Locke: Rhonda Simms embarks on a cruise to create an ad campaign. Instead, she lands a shape shifter who will do anything to be human again. Will she let him rock her boat?
*New, Boxed Set Exclusive* Silver Tongued Devils by Dawn Montgomery: Captain Na’varr and his executive officer, Brom, know they have a good thing when they capture stowaway hacker, Raesa, with her hot temper and dangerous curves. They want her, body and soul just as she wants them. But such trust endangers them in ways none of them can anticipate. Dare they risk it all?
Fight for Love by Delaney Diamond: Rafael Lopez, former professional wrestler and “”Sexiest Athlete Alive,”” is back and determined to hold onto the woman he lost, but still loves, and the son he never knew existed.
Crazy (Vampire Love) by Eve Langlais: Ella hears voices and they don’t like anyone. But not even poltergeists can stand in the way of a vampire in love.
*New, Boxed Set Exclusive* Sex with an Ex by Eve Vaughn: When these two divorcees reunite in the bedroom, the sex is hotter than ever. But can their hearts survive the second time around?
In Her Wildest Dreams by Farrah Rochon : When Erica Cole, owner of “”Your Wildest Dreams”” event planning, requests his help in creating a Valentine’s Day fantasy date for her clients, chocolatier Gavin Foster sees it as the perfect opportunity to show her just how sweet their reality could be.
*New, Boxed Set Exclusive* Player’s Challenge by Koko Brown: Sports agent Gemma Clarke must face the biggest challenge of her young career: represent her former lover and bad boy footballer, Devin Spencer. Their passionate love affair ended badly. Now he’s back to prove to Gemma he’s changed and convince her to give them one more chance.
Two Cops, a Girl, and a Pair of Handcuffs by Paige Tyler: Cilla Garner has it bad for hot cops Hayes Prescott and Reed Lockwood. If they both end up asking her out, she doesn’t know how she’ll choose. Having a threesome doesn’t even enter her mind until they hint at it, and then it’s all she can think about.
Chase and Seduction by Randi Alexander: Country music superstar/actor Chase Tanner has never wanted anything or anyone more than gorgeous screenplay writer Reno Linden. To Reno, Chase is larger than life, sinfully sexy and hell-bent on getting her into bed. Reno risks the plunge into Chase’s arms, but will their attraction survive the glitz and stress of fame?
Tall, Dark and Apocalyptic by Sam Cheever: He’s a hunter in a world turned upside down. She’s his prey, a creature of dark magic. But the passion burning within them may be their undoing.”
Curvy Girls Love it Hot by Marisa Michaels
My best friend since elementary school, Trevor Larrson, is a handsome professional football player who was just traded to our local team in our hometown. Trevor always dated skinny girls who looked like models, not girls like me. When he moved back and sparks started to fly between us, it was a dream come true. I had lusted after Trevor for a long time. I didn't think a curvy girl like me would fit into Trevor's world, but the way he looked at me said that wasn't true at all.
Killer Romances: 10 Dark, Deadly & Delicious Suspense Novels by Dana Delamar, Tallulah Grace, Sandy Loyd, Kristine Mason, Dale Mayer, Nina Pierce, Chantel Rhondeau, K.T. Roberts, H.D. Thomson, and Susan Vaughan
Ten of today’s hottest romantic suspense authors have joined forces to bring you an amazing boxed set of ten full-length novels–all for one low price! Romance, mystery, and thrills abound in these dark, deadly, and delicious tales of lethally sexy heroes and the women who bring them to their knees. Love bad boys? We’ve got ’em. Love good guys? We’ve got them too! There’s something for everyone who picks up this red-hot bundle. Ready to dive in?
Books included:
Dana Delamar ~ REVENGE (Blood and Honor, #1)
Amazon Bestselling Author Tallulah Grace ~ Cliffs of Starsdale
Bestselling Author Sandy Loyd ~ Deadly Misconceptions
Kristine Mason ~ Shadow of Perception (Book 2 CORE Shadow Trilogy)
USA Today Bestselling Author Dale Mayer ~ Haunted by Death (By Death Series Book 2)
USA Today Bestselling Author Nina Pierce ~ Blind Her With Bliss, Book 1 of the Dangerous Affairs Series
Chantel Rhondeau ~ Love & Deception (Agents in Love – Book 1)
Amazon Bestselling Author K.T. Roberts ~ The Last Witness
Award-winning Author H.D. Thomson ~ Shrouded in Darkness – Book 1
Award-winning Author Susan Vaughan ~ Primal Obsession
What Do Lesbians Do In Bed? 21 Sapphic Stories by Giselle Renarde
Have you ever wondered what lesbians do when they get together? Is it all fingers and scissors and lips between legs, or is there WAY more to the slippery story of lesbian sex?
In this hot new anthology, enjoy twenty-one explicit tales of lesbian love. From shoe fetish to opera gloves, sex in public to quiet winter mornings, from a taste of taboo to strap-on DP to extremes that shan’t be mentioned here to full-on Sapphic bukakke, even connoisseurs of fine girl-on-girl action are likely to discover a new idea or two in this sexy new collection.
Whether you can appreciate this book’s title ironically or you’re authentically curious about what girls who love girls do in bed (or in parked cars or at the office or in a church basement or in a restaurant bathroom), grab a copy today and get in on the nitty-gritty secrets of lesbian sex.
Giselle Renarde’s erotic fiction has appeared in over 100 anthologies, including prestigious collections like Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Lesbian Romance, Best Women’s Erotica, Girl Fever, and the Lambda Award-winning collection Wild Girls, Wild Nights.
Three Happy Endings (Secrets, Surprises and Submission: Three Passionate Romances from New York Times Bestselling Author) by Opal Carew
“TOP 15 B&N BESTSELLER (THREE)
TOP 100 E ROMANCE ON AMAZON (THREE)
Three men are better than one…
Secrets, surprises, and submission – three torrid tales of triple passion!
THREE
Hot steamy dreams… a sexy stranger… and his two brothers… all add up to a sexy adventure she’ll never forget.
Lori’s steamy dreams about a hot hard stranger are hitting fever pitch. She needs way more than eye contact and a smile across a crowded subway station. An instant connection sizzled between them and now Lori, who’s never believed in love at first sight, is its helpless victim.
When Lori goes to her best friend’s cabin for the weekend to spend time with Marie, her new husband and his brothers, she’s surprised to wind up face-to-face with her fantasy stranger. But he’s Marie’s husband!
When she meets his brothers, however, she finds that there just might be a way to make her dream come true.
Now Lori is experiencing her wildest fantasy yet, three ultra-sexy men all focused on her. But she wants more than a steamy dream brought to life. Because she’s in love. But can her sexy stranger return her love?
Note: This intriguing short story is scorching hot, with more than one handsome hunk to bring your wildest fantasies to life. Consider yourself warned!
THREE MEN AND A BRIDE
What do you do when you can’t stop lusting after your new husband’s two gorgeous brothers?
Can Marie successfully suppress her fantasies of the three brothers making wild, luxuriant love to her, or will she have to endanger her happy marriage by admitting her feelings to her husband, Drake?
Although this is the second story in the erotic THREE series, this steamy read is the prequel to Three. You can enjoy Three Men and a Bride on it’s own, or after you have read THREE.
THREE SECRETS
Keeping one secret is intriguing. Two is naughty. Three… deserves to be punished.
Sharing secrets has never been so exhilarating…
When they met in Paris, Nicole and Abel enjoyed a sensual, romantic two month fling. The last thing Nicole wanted was to fall head over heels for this sweet, loving man, because she knew he would never accept the truth about her. Unfortunately, the heart wants what it wants, and hers wanted Abel. But Nicole was not one to be controlled by anyone or anything, so once they returned home, she walked away.
When the pain of losing Abel became too much, Nicole finally decided to share her secret with him. Little did she know he had a secret of his own.
Will Abel’s secret extinguish Nicole’s craving for him once and for all? Will Nicole’s revelation bring Abel to his knees?
This is a collection of super hot short stories.
Length: 25,500 words
Plus excerpts from The Office Slave (Volume 1 of The Office Slave Series) and His To Possess (about billionaires, bikers and bad boys all rolled into one).”
Fourteen Shades of F*cked Up: an Anthology by ML Rodriguez
Fourteen authors have brought you stories of pain and love.
Struggle and dissonance.
PETITION DENIED by Alyson Hale
DARKNESS CONSUMED by Ariel Marie
EXCITABLE by Brittney Coon
CONSENSUAL by Cristina Slough
F*CKING ADDICTED by J.A. Kerr
FOREVER PROMISES by J.L. Baldwin
A STRANGE AND DISTANT SAFETY by Jennifer Loring
WICKED GAMES by Lilly James
AFFLICTION by Marie Skye
STORY OF US by ML Rodriguez
HER MISTAKE by N. Mills
MISS X by Quinn
KILLER DOM by S. Valentine
ANOTHER LAST GLANCE by Zack Halford
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.