About The Book:
Title: Hard As You Can
Series: Hard Ink #2
Author: Laura Kaye
“Edgy, sexy, and full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”
~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets
Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he’s shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister’s sake, Crystal can’t get too close. Until her job and Shane’s mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed.
Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn’t want him to uncover. Which is too bad—he’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can and hope to never let go.
Excerpt:
It’s release day! And I’m so excited to share Hard As You Can, the second book in the Hard Ink series, with all of you here today! Hard As You Can follows the surviving members of a disgraced Army Special Forces team as they fight to regain their stolen honor, and finds their investigation crossing paths with a waitress willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive and protect her younger sister. For Shane McCallan, saving Crystal Dean is a mission he refuses to turn down.
Today, I’ve got a scene filled with lots of sexual tension and emotion to share with you, one that I absolutely adored writing! I hope you enjoy this look into the growing attraction between Shane and Crystal from Hard As You Can:
“I didn’t mean to criticize you, Crystal. I just cannot abide violence against women. Period. Especially not someone I know.” A long pause. “And definitely not someone I like.” After everything that had happened to her, the words were a balm for her psyche.
Footsteps came up behind her, slowly, cautiously, like she was a wild animal who would bolt in an instant. And she supposed there was some truth to that analogy.
Torn between returning to the danger she knew or staying with the one she didn’t, Crystal debated. Her heart told her Shane might well be the most dangerous man she’d ever met because he made her want, wish, maybe even dream.
Not at all sure it was a good idea, Crystal slowly turned.
Shane was right in front of her. A rock in the middle of a raging sea, a refuge she might claim if she had the strength and the will and the nerve to fight for it. To believe she deserved it. She hugged herself.
“Hey,” he said, cupping her face in his big hands. His fingers slid behind her neck and gently massaged.
She shook her head and glanced toward the treetops in an effort to pinch off the sting building behind her eyes. Why did she have to meet him now? She’d had a plan, and all she’d needed to do was follow it for a few more months. “You don’t even know me.”
“No. Not everything. But I know more than a little. And that much I like enough to want to know more.” His fingers rubbed her neck, gently, soothingly.
And his words, well, his words were perfect. Maybe even too much so. Too good to be true, she thought. “I already told you I’d share what I’d learned. You don’t have to play me.”
His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “You listen hard and you listen good, sweetness,” he said, the words firm but the tone urgent, almost desperate, and laced with his southern accent. “I’m not perfect, and God knows I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. But I would never play with a woman’s emotions to get information out of her. That kind of manipulation doesn’t hold with me. Ever.”
Footsteps came up behind her, slowly, cautiously, like she was a wild animal who would bolt in an instant. And she supposed there was some truth to that analogy.
Torn between returning to the danger she knew or staying with the one she didn’t, Crystal debated. Her heart told her Shane might well be the most dangerous man she’d ever met because he made her want, wish, maybe even dream.
Not at all sure it was a good idea, Crystal slowly turned.
Shane was right in front of her. A rock in the middle of a raging sea, a refuge she might claim if she had the strength and the will and the nerve to fight for it. To believe she deserved it. She hugged herself.
“Hey,” he said, cupping her face in his big hands. His fingers slid behind her neck and gently massaged.
She shook her head and glanced toward the treetops in an effort to pinch off the sting building behind her eyes. Why did she have to meet him now? She’d had a plan, and all she’d needed to do was follow it for a few more months. “You don’t even know me.”
“No. Not everything. But I know more than a little. And that much I like enough to want to know more.” His fingers rubbed her neck, gently, soothingly.
And his words, well, his words were perfect. Maybe even too much so. Too good to be true, she thought. “I already told you I’d share what I’d learned. You don’t have to play me.”
His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “You listen hard and you listen good, sweetness,” he said, the words firm but the tone urgent, almost desperate, and laced with his southern accent. “I’m not perfect, and God knows I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. But I would never play with a woman’s emotions to get information out of her. That kind of manipulation doesn’t hold with me. Ever.”
Sweetness. She’d heard everything he’d said. The passion with which he’d said it. The sincerity that burned from his gaze as the words had poured from his lips. But it was the term of endearment that reached into her chest and gripped her heart. For a long moment, they stood there, bodies touching, faces inches apart, his hands holding her in that firm-but-gentle way he had.
Thunder rumbled again, closer this time, and her heart was a drum beat double-timing inside her chest. If his hands didn’t feel it racing, he’d have to hear it, because the sound was a loud rush rush in her ears. Beneath the sports bra and tank, her nipples went hard. If his gaze dropped, she knew he’d see, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel self-conscious about it. Not when he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her.
His gaze dropped to her lips.
She shuddered, everything inside her but the smallest voice of reason crying out for him to do it. Just once.
“Tell me not to,” he said, his voice a raw scrape.
So that’s Shane and Crystal for you! Did you have a favorite line? Thanks for reading!
~Laura
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Hard as You Can by Laura Kaye is the second book in her Hard Ink series. This book focuses on the story of Shane and Crystal. We briefly met Crystal in book one and saw the encounter from Shane's POV, but we open book two from Crystal's POV. We get the emotions (fear) behind her motives and see just how brave her actions to help Shane and his team mates were.
Shane is still reeling the next day. Crystal really got under his skin. She reminded him of his sister that was taken years ago and never found and he can't help worrying about the safety of someone so small and gentle who ASKED him to hit her so she wouldn't end up with worse from whoever she is truly afraid of.
Crystal is paying off her father's debt by working for Jimmy Church, the very mob boss/crime ring leader that Shane and his team are working to take out. Her father, who died in prison, left her in a world of debt and she is doing EVERYTHING she can to keep her little sister out of this world and away from the Church's scum.
This group of ex-military special forces will warm your heart with their camaraderie, friendship, loyalty and bravery. And although the relationship between Crystal and Shane moves fast ONCE they are together, it is a believable type of insta-love not the ridiculous kind. We get to learn more about the rest of the team and I am so excited for the next installment of these HAWT heroes. They're all a little alpha but honestly, when it comes to book boyfriends, who doesn't love it when they go all caveman?
View all my reviews
My Review:
My rating: 5 of 5 starsHard as You Can by Laura Kaye is the second book in her Hard Ink series. This book focuses on the story of Shane and Crystal. We briefly met Crystal in book one and saw the encounter from Shane's POV, but we open book two from Crystal's POV. We get the emotions (fear) behind her motives and see just how brave her actions to help Shane and his team mates were.
Shane is still reeling the next day. Crystal really got under his skin. She reminded him of his sister that was taken years ago and never found and he can't help worrying about the safety of someone so small and gentle who ASKED him to hit her so she wouldn't end up with worse from whoever she is truly afraid of.
Crystal is paying off her father's debt by working for Jimmy Church, the very mob boss/crime ring leader that Shane and his team are working to take out. Her father, who died in prison, left her in a world of debt and she is doing EVERYTHING she can to keep her little sister out of this world and away from the Church's scum.
This group of ex-military special forces will warm your heart with their camaraderie, friendship, loyalty and bravery. And although the relationship between Crystal and Shane moves fast ONCE they are together, it is a believable type of insta-love not the ridiculous kind. We get to learn more about the rest of the team and I am so excited for the next installment of these HAWT heroes. They're all a little alpha but honestly, when it comes to book boyfriends, who doesn't love it when they go all caveman?
View all my reviews
About Laura Kaye:
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
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