We are so excited to announce the release of Adriana Locke’s new novella, 608 Alpha Ave. This is a total standalone story about a grumpy, small-town mechanic and a pocket-full-of-sunshine heroine that gets under his skin.
Basically—read this now!
Even better is that the novella (did we mention that it’s a standalone?) is available in Kindle Unlimited.
Things heat up (and take an unexpected turn) when a self-proclaimed romantic requests the help of a broody small-town mechanic.
Grayson Blake is a jackass.
There’s no other way to put it.
He comes into Fireside every day and orders a beer. It’s nearly impossible to get him to have a conversation while he drinks it. Smiles—or anything remotely close to it—are even more rare.
Despite his cantankerous personality, he’s so freaking gorgeous. His thick black hair, broad shoulders, and the tattoos that mark his calloused skin draw me in like a magnet. I don’t even care that he’s ten years older than me. I’m here for the age gap. And his broody, bad-boy persona is entirely more attractive than it should be.
I have a thing for the rough-around-the-edges mechanic. And I’ve heard through the grapevine that he has a thing for me too. But getting him to admit it will be as easy as catching lightning in a bottle.
Buy Now for $2.99 or Read Free in Kindle Unlimited. Want more?
“I don’t get it,” I mutter.
My hand stills against the countertop, a white bar rag clutched firmly in my grasp.
Natalia Barlow leans across the end of the bar, putting her ass and the top of her thong on full display for the table of bikers behind her. An unlit cigarette is perched between her cherry-red lips, threatening to topple to the floor as she catches me looking and smirks.
I roll my eyes and turn my back to her.
“I don’t get it,” I say again, louder this time.
My gaze fixes on the man—the only man—occupying a barstool on this side of the restaurant. Grayson Blake. Black hair, scruffy beard, tall, and oh-so muscular with tattoos etched into his tanned skin. Word has it that he has flames inked on his right hip, and when he moves, they dance as if they’re alive.
I’ve mentally filed that away because it’s something I’ll (sadly) never know for myself. Guys like Grayson Blake? They go for women like Natalia. Vixens. Women who give as good as they get. Women who understand them or, at the very least, the games they play.
I’m not one of those women. It will be both my personal and professional downfall.
Grayson lifts his beer bottle, and as if it pains him to do it, he slides his gaze to mine.
I swallow. Hard.
It doesn’t matter that I’ve worked at Fireside Bar and Grill for two years or that I’ve spent countless hours behind this very bar while Grayson sits on the other side, I can’t think straight when he looks at me. I also can’t look away. It’s quite the predicament.
“It just perplexes me,” I say, sinking my gaze into the steely depths of Grayson’s eyes. My voice isn’t quite as confident as it was a few seconds ago. It’ll come back around, though. It just takes a moment to get my bearings.
Grayson’s features are void of humor. Or emotion. Or curiosity. He watches me as if I’m a toddler and he’s in charge of making sure I don’t choke on a peanut or small coin.
I bite my lip. “I just … Natalia …” I shrug, my voice fading into the rock music playing overhead.
Grayson’s thick, engine grease-stained fingers grip the bottle. “Am I supposed to ask?”
The grit of his tone washes against my skin, leaving a flurry of goose bumps in its wake. It’s this way every time he talks to me. And whenever he talks to Corbin, the bartender who’s training me in the art of bartending so I don’t have to just waitress anymore. Come to think of it, I also have the same physical reaction to him when I’m in the Cherry Street Market Grocery Store buying bagels and I hear him talking from an aisle over.
Who am I kidding? I react this way every time I’m in Grayson’s proximity. Hell, I shivered in my flip-flops when I caught wind of his cologne outside of Pearl’s Pawnshop and Liquor Store last week.
“Are you supposed to ask what?” I ask him.
“About whatever you keep jawing about other there—about Natalia, I reckon.”
“Well, since you asked—”
“I didn’t.” He smiles a lopsided, amused smile that makes me wonder if he’s smiling with me or at me. “I asked if I was supposed to ask. I didn’t ask.”
I narrow my gaze. “You know what, Grayson Blake? You’re an asshole.”
He brings the beer bottle to his lips, hiding a satisfied grin, and pulls his gaze back to the hockey game on the television in the corner.
I loved reading Hayley and Grayson’s story. Hayley feels overlooked and is trying to fulfill her dreams of writing stories but she needs some help realizing her alpha character attitude. Grayson, the perfect grump, would be a perfect example of what Hayley is looking for if he’d only agree to it.
Grayson does not want to get involved with anything regarding Hayley, she isn’t a one-night stand girl and he is not a relationship guy. Except he does not want Hayley to get assistance from any other man but him. Of course.
I haven’t read any other books in this series but you don’t need to in order to understand the story. But I am going to read more about this town as I am even more curious about the other residents of Cherry Falls.
Reckless, an all new opposites attract standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke is coming April 8th, and we have the delicious cover!
“How did you get in here?”
That’s not what you want to hear when you’re staring into the sea-green eyes of the hottest man you’ve ever seen. Yet I suppose it’s a fair question, considering I’m an uninvited stranger standing in Boone Mason’s kitchen.
If you think that’s bad—just wait. It gets worse.
This charming and wealthy playboy, who can’t pay his bills on time or find his way to the grocery store (but we all have flaws, right?), is sweet. Confident. Playful. He’s almost perfect. And, to make matters worse …
He’s smitten with me.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re rolling your eyes. You’re assuming this is some opposites attract situation—or that maybe we can be friends who turn into something more.
How can this be a bad thing?
Well, it’s simple. I’m not the kind of girl you fall in love with. Just to be sure, the universe reminds me of that in an unforgettable, in-your-face kind of way.
I might have broken into Boone’s house, but I won’t let him break my heart. I won’t break his either. There’s too much on the line to be that reckless.
USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, four sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
“Locke (Restraint) populates her Honey Creek series launch with quirky and well-drawn town dwellers…” –Publishers Weekly
Like You Love Me, an all-new marriage of convenience standalone romance and first book in the Honey Creek series from USA Today bestselling byauthor Adriana Locke is available now!
Two childhood friends are playing house—and maybe playing for keeps—in USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke’s funny, sexy, and unpredictable marriage-of-convenience romance.
To save her Tennessee bed-and-breakfast, Sophie Bates needs a fast-cash miracle. Holden McKenzie, her childhood best friend, needs to prove to a prospective employer that he’s a committed man. Their fortunes on the line, Holden proposes…a solution.
He’ll take care of Sophie’s bills if she agrees to a temporary marriage of convenience. And why not? They’re comfortable together, they have fun, and they trust each other. It’s as simple as saying “I do.” But the off-the-cuff wedding has all of Honey Creek talking—and Sophie and Holden realizing that their perfect arrangement is working too well. If they’re not careful, this marriage could turn into a love story.
USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, four sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
This is one mistake Sienna Landry can’t buy her way out of.
As Walker Gibson looks at her, then at the damage to his precious truck (that
she may or may not have accidentally inflicted), she knows she’s in trouble.
It’s not the busted headlight and dented grill that’s sunk her though. It’s the
downright sinful man in front of her that’s the problem.
The small town mechanic is broody. Rough. Smells like engine grease and
gasoline and Sienna isn’t sure why that’s so sexy, but it is. It so is. She’s
ready to peel off her panties at the drop of his wrench.
He wants her too. She can feel it when he brushes against her. Experience it as
he presses her against the wall of the shop. It’s thinly veiled in his deep,
brown eyes when he looks at her like she’s everything he’s ever wanted. So why
won’t he give in?
The damage to Walker’s truck is the first of many mistakes between the two of
them, ending with truths that rock Sienna’s world. Nothing can fix her broken
heart except the love of a man that won’t, maybe even can’t, love her back.
Crank is a standalone romance in a new small town, blue-collar series from USA
Today bestselling author Adriana Locke. Join readers everywhere as they fall in
love with the delicious Gibson Boys.
USA Today and Amazon Top 10 Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys
created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
Camilla Landry rustles against me, the silky fabric of her overpriced lingerie
slipping along my bruised rib. The porcelain perfection of her skin is even
more innocent against the colorful ink dotting my own. It’s demure meets damage,
pampered meets punctured.
So, yeah, it’s obvious I’m that guy. Dominic Hughes. Her attempt at rebellion.
Her bid to see what the other side of the tracks feel like. I’m okay with being
used because, from where I’m sitting, the other side of the tracks have never
looked so good.
He’s standing in the doorway, one hand on the sweatpants that hang just below his chiseled hips and the other leans on the frame. The tattoos that mark his flesh are
vivid against his bare skin, making the blues of his eyes shine.
He flashes a lopsided smile my way. “Took you long enough.”
“I don’t drive like a bat out of hell,” I laugh, stepping past him. “Did you shower
already?”
“Yeah. I smelled like gym floors.”
“As long as you don’t smell like gym whores,” I say, setting the bags on the table in the kitchen.
His laugh is contagious and I feel myself smiling. A set of arms cage me in from behind, grasping the table on both sides of me. My skin breaks out in a shiver as his
lips find the sensitive spot behind my ear.
His face buries in the crook of my neck and he takes a long, leisurely breath. “You
smell so good.”
“Keep doing that,” I say, relaxing my head onto his chest.
“What?”
“Talking with your mouth against me.”
“You like this?” he asks all breathily so that each word whispers across my skin.
My eyes fall closed as I relish in this moment of nothing but him. “No, I love this.”
“Can I tell you a little secret?”
“As long as you keep talking, you can tell me whatever you want.”
He chuckles, dotting kisses up and down my neck. “I love this too, feeling your
body give up the fight of the day and let me take over.” He turns me in his
arms so I’m facing him. “I love that you trust me enough to let your shoulders
sink out of that perfect posture you walk around with.”
As he reaches up and undoes the elastic in my hair, I watch his features soften. He
moves carefully, unwrapping the tie from the twisted mess in my locks, careful
not to pull.
“There,” he says, cupping the back of my head through my long tresses, “that’s better.”
“You don’t like my hair up?”
“Not like you had it. You look to lunching-y,” he says, wrinkling his nose.
“Lunching-y?”
“Yes,” he grins.
“You are too cute.”
“You are too fucking sexy.”
Reaching up, I swipe the pad of my thumb over the cut above his eye. He flinches, but just for a second. “What happened?”
“Bond’s right hand.”
“I hate him.”
“So do I,”he snickers.
“Let’s get some ice for it.”
He leans in, his brows tugging together. “Let’s not.” His eyes hood as he takes me in,
his tongue darting out and wetting his lips. My knees weaken, my body humming
with delight at his reaction.
“I want to take care of you,” I whisper, although that’s really on the backburner now.
“Let me baby you.”
Instead, he lifts me up and places me on the table. My stomach clenches as he positions himself between my thighs, my sundress curling at my waist. I ring my legs
around him, pulling him so close that the soft cotton of his sweatpants rubs
against my opening.
I haven’t read any of the Landry series before this – yes I know I’m crazy and now need to go back and read books 1-4. This is the exact type of story/series I love! Where there’s a big family and they’re all in each other’s business and tease each other mercilessly but are at their side when they need it.
Dom is sure that Cam is only with him because he’s the bad boy and she’s the town princess. He tries to keep Cam in a little corner and out of certain aspects of his life that he deems could ruin her. Cam just wants Dom and wants him to start sharing his life with her and not just the parts he wants to.
These two are both hard-headed and determined that they’re going to win but they have such a need for each other that keeps them coming back for more.
Definitely keeping my eye out for Sienna’s series/book!
5 stars!
Author Bio
USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
There is no greater burden than a secret, and Kari Stanley has been carrying one alone for a long time. But fate intervenes in the form of a broken down car and the kind offer of assistance from a handsome stranger with a sweet, southern drawl. In exchange, all she has to do is go to dinner with him. Temptation was never so sweet.
Max Quinn has secrets of his own. His good deeds aren’t just a product of his southern upbringing; they’re his atonement. As one dinner turns into two, he realizes that Kari just might be his salvation.
As they struggle to find their path together, their secrets weigh heavier on them. Will they be able to trust one another with the truth, or will their secrets keep them apart forever?
I spotted a woman standing in front of her car a few spots from mine in the parking lot. Her head in her hands, she stared at the front of her vehicle. I just finished my meeting and really wanted to go back home, but I couldn’t leave a woman stranded in the heat.
Not with a clear conscience.
And not with an ass like that.
“Somethin’ wrong?” I asked, shutting my truck door behind me and walking slowly towards the brunette.
She turned her head and a smile slowly spread across her pretty face. She stood, wiping her hands down the sides of her green workout shorts. Her body was lean and tight and I wanted to run my hands all over it.
She was little as hell, probably a good foot shorter than my 6’2” frame. Her tight white tank top showcased her breasts in the best way possible. Her hair was piled on top of her head, strands sticking to the back of her neck.
Her smile grew wider as I made my way across the parking lot. Sweat dotted her smooth, tanned skin and she wiped her brow with the back of one hand.
The beauty raised her eyebrows, her green eyes lighting up. “My car won’t start.” She ran her gaze down my body, making little effort to conceal the fact that she liked what she saw.
That makes two of us.
I flashed her a smile and cleared my throat. I needed to focus, but that was easier said than done. The last thing I wanted to do was come across like Cane, my friend with no couth.
“What seems to be the problem?” I unlatched the hood and raised it open.
“I turned the key and got nothing but a buzzing sound,” she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.
I looked up, the movement catching my attention, and my gaze landed right on her chest.
“What are you looking at?” she asked cheekily.
“Nothin’ you shouldn’t be proud of.”
Hi!
I’m Adriana Locke, author of The Exception Series and two standalone novels, Sacrifice and Wherever It Leads. My next story is set to be released in September 2016.
Living in Indiana, I’m a true Midwestern. Life, for me, is about family, faith, and food. I spend a large amount of time playing with my four unruly sons, three cats, two dogs, and a bird that chirps constantly.
I run on lots of coffee and sticky kisses. I love sunshine, candy, random quotes, and steamy bad boys in fantastic books.
I’m on nearly every social media platform. Please find me on the ones you frequent – I love chatting with readers!
Thank you for visiting! I look forward to hearing from you!
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