It's Not Over Teaser: Madison's Favorite Dessert

Madison Stuart may live life by her own rules and intimidate most men. But she has a weakness and it's called chocolate cake.

Check out an excerpt from Chapter 2 of It's Not Over.

The crowd at the bar was thinning out, and dickface made the last call. I walked behind the bar and grabbed a couple of forks and napkins.

Bruce turned and glared at me. “This area is off-limits to you.”

He could go fuck off with the redhead he had been talking to—or with himself for all I cared. Asshole. I ignored him, considering my lack of response progress, and made my way down the corridor to Madison’s office. I pushed through the door that was cracked open, and her eyes shifted up from her computer monitor.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, sitting back in her chair.

“I come bearing a gift,” I said, lifting the bag and setting it on her desk.

Madison was all about clean eating and exercise. The woman ate the most disgusting shit known to man, but she loved fine cuisine and chocolate. She would take one bite, and it would look like she was about to come. It was the fucking sexiest thing I’d ever seen. She would open her mouth in an O-shape, close her eyes, tilt her head back, and smile. I could feel my dick hardening just by thinking about it.

Her lips curved to one side, and her eyes sparkled. “A gift? That might make up for the fact that you barged into my office without knocking or a greeting. Once again, I must remind you that manners go a very long way.”

I walked behind her desk, placed my hands on her shoulders, and rubbed them. Her head tilted to the side, elongating her neck.

I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Hello. How are you? Forgive me for my rudeness. I was so excited to see you and share my wonderful news that I behaved in an uncivilized manner. Will you please grace me with the honor of your company and let me spoil you with my little surprise?”

She sighed and laughed softly. “You’re so full of shit. Does this crap work on Daniela?”

“Aren’t you even slightly curious to know what’s in the bag?”

I ran my hands up her neck, kneading her tension away, as she rolled her head into my touch. I knew the answer to that question. She was like a little girl when it came to my surprises.

“You did apologize,” she said.

She sighed as I worked my hands back down her neck and along her shoulders.

“So, what did you bring me?”

“Come on, let’s get out of here, and I’ll show you.” I ran my hands down her arms and pulled out her chair.
She opened her bottom drawer and pulled out her purse, and we made our way out of her office. We walked out of the bar and down the stairs to the courtyard leading to the parking lot.

“Here—sit down,” I said, motioning to the bench.

I sat down next to her. Her eyes darted to the bag, and I debated on whether or not I should torture her by withholding her moment of pleasure, drawing it out, and building the anticipation.

“So, how was your meeting?” she asked, turning toward me.

I slowly opened up the bag and handed her a napkin and a fork. “My meeting? Well, you’re looking at the master of sales. I sold it. I closed the biggest fucking deal of my life. No one at my level has ever done anything this huge. I did it. I fucking kicked ass.”

I looked over at her. Fuck, I saw it. There it was. Her eyes lit up, and her mouth spread wide into a huge smile.

She reached over and hugged me. With her head buried in my neck, she said, “I’m proud of you. I knew you could do it.”

I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes, breathing in her scent. “I had to tell you first.” I held on to her, not wanting to let go, but I pulled back and smiled, looking in her eyes. I lowered my gaze to her mouth. I wanted to kiss her, to feel her lips against mine with my tongue in her mouth. Soon enough—not until I make things right.

I looked away and over at the bag. I opened it, changing up the mood between us. I couldn’t go there with her, especially not after what had happened on New Year’s. As I pulled out the container from the bag, her eyes widened, and she bit her lower lip.

“Well, well, well, Mr. Marin. I think you’ve done really well tonight. You’ve even made up for behaving like a savage when you first arrived.”

“I knew you’d approve.”

I handed the dessert to her, and I went to reach for my fork. She greedily tucked the box toward her chest.
“You’re not going to share with me?” I teased.

“Rick, this is chocolate pudding cake from Prime One Twelve. It’s my weakness.”

“I see that I’ve found your kryptonite, but since I don’t want you to have any regrets in the morning, I’ll help you eat it.”

I reached over and sliced a corner with my fork before lifting it to her mouth. I watched as her eyes followed the fork. She opened her mouth for me and slowly closed her eyes.

Fuck, my dick’s getting hard.

She wrapped her lips around the fork and slowly slid the morsel off, moaning softly. She opened her eyes after she swallowed that first piece of decadence and said, “Oh. My. God. That’s divine. Thank you.”

“Anything for you,” I said.

We began slowly eating the cake on the bench. When only one bite was left, I looked over at her, watching her savor that last piece.

“You were wrong about me,” I said.

“I highly doubt that,” she responded, using her finger to wipe a smudge of chocolate from the corner of her mouth.

I reached my hand over and took hold of her tantalizing chocolate-covered finger. I brought it to my lips as I glanced up and caught her storming eyes. My lip curled before I opened my mouth and licked the chocolate clean. I didn’t want to stop with just her finger, but I had to keep my focus, so I laid her hand back down onto her lap.

“You were. I’m not the same man who you first met. I’ve made some really shitty choices, but my intentions were in the right place. I’m going to prove to you and Daniela that I’m that man, the better one. You’ll see. Tomorrow, everything will be right—the way it’s supposed to be.”

Release date:  January 13th, 2014

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Merry Christmas!

Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

Here's an Excerpt from The Do Over...

Dani and Liam's first Christmas. Well, it was Noche Buena, Christmas Eve.

I opened the front door and flipped the switch to turn on the Christmas tree lights. I was momentarily blinded. It was something like Chevy Chase’s Christmas Vacation. Okay, I exaggerated. The tree was beautiful, and Dani had done an amazing job with decorating it and making it perfect. I breathed in deeply, taking in the refreshing scent. Our living room smelled like pine. Yes, this was our home, and I loved thinking of it like that. When the time was right, we’d make it official.  

 For now, I was letting her take the lead. I knew where we were headed. I’d always known, but Dani needed to do things in her own timing. When she was ready, I knew she would dive right in with no regrets and no looking back. Until then, she would just dip her toes in the water, contemplating every single obstacle—which was usually her fears and insecurities—standing between her and what she wanted.  

I tossed the keys on the counter. Laying my phone down, I saw the time. When I turned around, Dani wrapped her arms around my waist and put her head on my chest.  

Pulling her in tighter, I whispered in her ear, “Merry Christmas, baby.”  

She looked up at me with her eyes sparkling, and I could feel her heart racing. Her facebrightened. There it was, the smile that had stolen my heart and kept it captive.  

“Merry Christmas,” she said softly. “This is my favorite place in the world.” 

“The living room is your favorite place? And here I thought we could travel to exotic places,” I teased, stroking her hair. 

 “Well, actually, I do love this room with all its dude decor. Give me another month, and I’ll have it chickified.” She squeezed me. “Seriously, being with you is my favorite place. Anywhere. It doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters. Don’t take that as a discouragement to travel to exotic places. I’m up for that also as long as I’m with you.”  

She had me wrapped around her little finger. I looked at her with adoration. “That’s because this right here, wherever we are, is home.” I swayed with her in my arms, rocking to the melody in my heart. “I think you need to look up.” I pointed. “It seems a little bah-humbug elf strategically placed mistletoe right above your head.”  

She looked up, crinkling the cutest bunny nose. “The nerve of that little elf. I think you paid her off. This must be the only way you can get a kiss.”  

I could tell my playful girl felt safe. She ran her hands up my chest, wrapping them around my neck, as she pulled my mouth down over hers. Her tongue toyed with my lower lip. I brought my hands to her face, gently stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. Her lips parted, and I slipped my tongue in her mouth and kissed her with everything I had in me to give. She met me stroke for stroke. The heat between us was combustible, and the passion was intense. I needed to start shedding some of my clothes fast. As sappy as it sounded, the love between us was powerful. 

When I pulled back from her, my lips missed her. My dick was aching for her, and I wanted to make love to her. I was out of breath as my heart pounded in my chest. She owned me.  

“Best Christmas present ever,” I panted.  

“Wow, you’re cheap,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I should return the gifts I bought you.” She giggled as she weaved her fingers inside my shirt.  

At this rate, we would never exchange our gifts. I was about twenty seconds away from throwing her on the couch and having my way with her. 

“Cheap? Not even close. That kiss was priceless. The passion, the heart, the woman. I’d give my life for you.” Now, I was about fifteen seconds away from putting her up on the counter. It was the closest surface.  

I was waiting for the moment when she would look at me with those eyes that said, “Fuck me,” or “I love you, so make mad passionate love to me.” All I knew was that my dick was on high alert. The alarms were sounding, and I needed her.  

I kissed her like a man starved for his next meal. My hands were in her hair while hers were in my shirt. All my blood went south. 

She pulled back and led me to the Christmas tree. “This way, Romeo.”  

I had no problem making love to her on the floor in front of the tree. I pictured her naked with the tiny lights reflecting off of her body. I’d lick every spot that flickered.  

She grabbed the remote and quickly turned on Christmas mood music. It was nice but unnecessary. I was already in the mood. I wrapped my arm around her waist and dragged her back into me. She fell into my chest, giggling, as she tossed her head to the side.  

I was like one of those vampires, zeroing in on my source of life. I licked, sucked, and nipped her neck. She whimpered, and her body trembled. My pants were about to tear apart like the Incredible Hulk.  

She turned around, hooking her hand on my neck.  

I cradled her in my arms. “I love you, baby.” I leaned my forehead against hers. “We’re going to open gifts later, right?”  

She drove me insane. It wasn’t the way Mr. Hurst had explained it in sixth-grade health class. Well, it was, but it was more than that. My dick and heart would collide, and my desire for her would become more than just a physical ache and throb. When I would look into her eyes, she’d reach in and grab hold of me. I would crave her lips like someone would need a tall glass of water in the desert. But the most out-of-this-world amazing moment would be when I was inside of her. We literally would become one. I didn’t know that I wasn’t a whole person until I was with her.  

She placed a feather-light kiss on my lips. “Nope. Opening gifts now.”  

My brain failed to compute. My hands reached down and played with the hem of her dress as I caressed her thigh. My lips grazed her jaw while her trembling hands held my face.  

Breathing heavily, she said, “Liam, look at me.” Her eyes were wild. “Presents now.”  

Holding her in a tight embrace, I kissed the top of her head. I wanted to kiss other parts of her body, mainly between her legs, but I loved my girl more than I loved my dick. My dick was taking one for the team. I closed my eyes and slowed my own breathing. I willed myself to think of other things. ESPN. Her eyes on fire. NFL playoffs. Her panting. SportsCenter. I love her more than my dick.  

“Okay, we’ll do gifts now, but I don’t guarantee your safety after gifts.”  

“Who said I wanted to be safe?” Her eyes danced playfully. “Danger’s my middle name,” she sassed. “But first, I do want to give you my gifts, so sit down.”  

As the music played softly in the background, the glimmer from the Christmas lights almost made her look angelic. Pulling her hair to one side, Dani kneeled by the tree and picked up a large box.  

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so beautiful before.”  

“More beautiful than I was in CPR class?” she asked, coyly.  

I smiled, nodding. She was breathtaking. Her eyes caught my gaze.  

“Love ya,” she said as a sweet smile touched her eyes.  

In that instant, I fell in love with her all over again.  

***

Read The Do Over: One-Click here

Teaser Time:

TEASER

His eyes widened, and he slowly shook his head. With his brow furrowed, he said, “Thirty seconds ago, your body was screaming ‘fuck me, Rick,’ with your category-five hurricane storming eyes. You had enough heat coming off you to melt the polar ice caps. Now, you’re in the get-the-fuck-away-from-me deep freeze from the Ice Age. You redefine mood swings.”

“And you define asshole. The way I see it, all is right with the universe.” 

It's Not Over

Add to your Goodreads TBR:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17937669-it-s-not-over

Release Date:  January 13th, 2014

Only Three More Weeks...

I bet you didn't know that I have another blog. Yes, I originally started blogging back in 2010.  It was a mommy blog.  I wanted to chronicle a day in the life of a boy and his mom.  My goal was to make fun, quirky posts on a daily basis that were though provoking and insightful.  So that lasted about a month.  My daily posts became weekly posts, monthly posts, quarterly and then...oh that's right I forgot I even had a blog.

It was easy to forget with the ease of FaceBook.  I could post something every day. It didn't require me to proofread and question whether anyone actually wanted to read what I had to say. And it certainly didn't require me to go through my pictures to try to make my post look cool and appealing.  

So what's the point?  Ah yes, blogging requires there to be a point. Otherwise, it's really a run-on, Twitter rant that I can't do on Twitter because I'm limited to a certain number of characters.  And let's face it, I don't know how to use Twitter. I'm there. I try.  Clueless.  

Oh yes, I need to focus. The point.  The point is that in a little over three weeks, I'm going to be publishing my second book, It's Not Over. 

I'm really excited about this book. The story and characters are complex. I love it. I really do.  However, writing this story presented this little problem....Rick and Maddy had so much story to tell. I finally made the decision in October to break their story up into 2 books.  I knew exactly how each book would end. 

So how do I let you know when It's Not Over goes live?  FaceBook now has a new algorithm --whatever that means -- and wants to make sure that your time on their site is meaningful. Translation:  They want me to pay for you to see my posts.  

In a rebellious response to Facebook's new action, I decided to look into Google+.  It's actually pretty cool. The only problem...well, you're not there.  You're probably not even here.  You're probably on Facebook.  

This reminds me of the time that I got really pissed off at Target.  I vowed NEVER to shop there again. In fact, I was convinced that my act of protest was going to somehow cause the collapse of the Target empire because I wouldn't grace their aisles ever again. Instead, I'd shop at Wal-mart. Take that Target.  

My resolve lasted a week.  

Back to what I was saying.  I'm all over the place and probably driving you insane.  That's pretty much how I feel -- I'm totally crazy.  I've spent so much time editing that my brain is mush. I'm exhausted and let's not even talk about how fat I've gotten while writing. 

It's Not Over is an awesome novel and I'm so proud of it.  You met Rick Marin and Madison Stuart in The Do Over.  A friend of mine, Morgan Parker, argued with me one day telling me that I was so wrong thinking that The Do Over was Dani's story. In his opinion, it was Rick's story.  I won't argue with him. It's like trying to get my son to do anything without a power struggle.  But because I'm mature and open minded, I revamped my thinking.

Rick and Madison's story began in The Do Over.  It continues in It's Not Over and will conclude in Let It go. Morgan forbids me to title it Get Over It. 

This is how I see Rick and Madison.  

All of that ranting and rambling to say....I am rebelling against FaceBook and will use other sources of social media to proclaim from the internet super highway the latest updates and news about the books that I'm writing, share teasers, run contests, and hope that you hear me. 

Maybe, it will last longer than my Target Strike.  =)  Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go troll FaceBook.  But just to make it clear, I'm not selling out that quickly.  I'm just cross marketing.  This is the first public display of my character muses for It's Not over.  =)  You saw it first. 

~Happy Reading!

Ana

Cover Do-Over for The Do Over

The cover of The Do Over had a do-over, make over, or maybe we can just call it a re-do. And I love it. What do you think?  

The Do Over is the anthem for women who have had their hearts broken. It's a reminder that life does go on, even if it's found in the pages of your Kindle.  Read The Do Over and find out what happens when Dani Ruiz steps out of her comfort zone.  

Synopsis:

Life doesn’t look like it’s supposed to for Dani Ruiz, a hopeless romantic. After a painful and sudden break-up with Rick Marin, Dani hides away from reality, retreating to a world of fiction where she prefers book boyfriends over the hassles of a relationship.

Almost two years later, Dani’s friends are tired of watching her in a holding pattern, so they stage an intervention, forcing her back into the real world of dating.

Unexpectedly, Dani meets Liam Lucas, a down-to-earth firefighter. He might be the person to show her she’s still worth something. Dani’s hesitant to trust her heart with another man, but their instant and electric chemistry is something she can’t deny.

As Dani starts to believe that she’s found her real-life book boyfriend, Rick decides that he’ll go to any lengths to get her back. Seeing Rick as a changed man makes Dani question everything. 

Can Dani trust her patched-up heart with Liam? 
Or has Rick transformed into the man she’s always wanted? 

Written from various points of views, The Do Over is a story of second chances and new beginnings.

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