Promo Tour Excerpt and Giveaway!
Published Harper Impulse
20th February 2014
ROME AD 79 - The
one woman he ever loved was the one woman who betrayed him. And now, the Roman
will have his revenge… Marsallas and Justina were young, beautiful and
desperately in love once, until a tragic betrayal tore them apart. Six years have passed since that day and
Marsallas has since thrown himself into the deadly world of chariot racing,
gaining fortune, fame, and a salacious reputation throughout Rome. His bed could be kept warm by a different
woman each night if he chooses, but his heart remains iced over as the memory
of Justina’s betrayal continues to haunts him. The last thing he expects is to see her again,
but when she steps back into his life he sees a chance to avenge his broken
heart. But beneath the hurt, an
attraction so intense still burns between the two, and as their fates begin to
intertwine once more, their determination to resist one another starts to
falter…
Buy Links
Excerpt:
Then the shadow spoke.
“Justina.”
The
emotionless tone of the voice caused Justina to shiver, and her heart to beat
faster. There was no mistaking who had
said her name. His voice was indelibly
printed on her mind. But the tone was
deeper than it had once been, rough almost.
Yet it had a pleasing quality she couldn’t explain.
Uninvited, she walked further into the
room, his presence drawing her to him like an invisible bond, only stopping
when she approached the edge of a small table.
She glanced down at the remains of a meal, then back up to where the
shadow stood. Lifting her head towards
him, she said as calmly as she could, “Greetings, Marsallas.”
Then the
shadow stepped forward suddenly becoming human flesh, and Justina gasped, her
face losing all colour as she took in the man standing in front of her.
There
was no doubting it was Marsallas. But at
the same time she couldn’t believe how much he’d changed. Virtually unrecognisable from the carefree
youth she had once known. Now, in his
place stood a virtual stranger, one who looked at her with total indifference
on his face.
He
looked even taller than she remembered, if that were possible. Broad shoulders tapered down to bare arms,
tanned a golden brown. Arms that were
crossed over each other, showing off his powerfully bunched muscles. Of their own free will her eyes tracked down
his body. Over the impressive width of
his chest that couldn't be disguised by the short green tunic he wore, down
past the tautness of his flat stomach, to his long, tanned muscular legs.
Justina
felt a quiver of awareness slither down her spine, and like a starving woman
she feasted on him. The hard sculpted
face, the piercing blue eyes she remembered so well. She drank him in, absorbed him, and her
fingers actually itched to caress the hard planes of his face, to trace the
shape of his eyebrows and the angled hardness of his jaw.
She felt
his power. Not just his physical power,
but the sheer presence of him.
Although
he had only said one word, his bearing said it all, and it made her stomach
clench. Even now, after all these years,
he still had the power to affect her, and without warning a sudden surge of
longing, long suppressed, assailed her.
She saw
his eyes lower to her mouth. She hadn’t
been kissed in years, and she felt desire flare deep inside of her, rising to
such an intensity it fairly took her breath away. She ached for him to draw her nearer, to kiss
her, to stroke her body to life once more.
Then she
saw his eyes narrow, harden, and Justina felt a rush of panic hit her. She was stupid to have come here.
About the Author
I’ve always been a dreamer, thinking up plots for books ever since I was
a child. I actually started writing my
first book in 2007, when my husband “popped out for a bit” on New Year’s day
and returned home about three hours later with a laptop he’d bought for me in
the January sales. I remember him
plonking it down on my lap and saying, “Now you’ve got no excuse. Start writing that book you’ve been going on
about!”
I work part time as an Environmental Health Officer, and I live on the
beautiful (if slightly windy) island of Anglesey in North Wales. (Anglesey, you may recall was recently home
to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.) I
live in a small village near the sea with my very own AlphaHero husband –
Colin, and my AlphaDog – Bob.
Author Links
You can find me on my blog at - http://carolinestorer.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/CarolineStorer6
Giveaway - International!
For your
chance to enter to grab some of the swag in this tour giveaway, follow Caroline
on Twitter (@CarolineStorer6) and your answer in the comments to this question:
“Marsallas is a man who hides his
warmth under a cold and arrogant front.
Which actor do you think would be suitable to play him in The Roman
movie?”
Tell us what you think, and you’ll be
entered into the draw. Winners will be chosen
by the author after the giveaway closes on 16th May. Don’t forget to leave your Twitter name in
the comment too!
Thanks for having me on your blog, Samantha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for allowing me to participate!!
DeleteSam, thank you for supporting Caroline on tour today.
ReplyDeleteShaz
@bhaartic, I can see a very buff Channing Tatum or Daniel Craig playing this character on the big screen.
ReplyDeleteOhh yes, BhartiC, very good choices. ��
ReplyDelete