In just over a week, Unbreakable Hope, the 5th and final installment of my Wild Crush Series, goes on sale.
This is a little surreal for me. This series has either been on my mind, in the back of my mind or formulating so far in my back brain I didn’t even know it since 2012. That’s when Ty Butler first appeared in a novella called Moonlight Mirage. I didn’t know he was going to get his own story, let alone that that story would spark a 5 book series, but that’s what happened. Ty Butler was just that kind of character. He was irascible and funny and larger than life, and though he wasn’t the hero of that book (the super yummy control freak workaholic slayed by love Mitch Wood took centre stage), he certainly made an impression.
Here’s a little snippet from Moonlight Mirage as a bit of a trip down memory lane
Excerpt:
“You’re not telling me that was the guy, are you?”
Right now, Hayley heartily regretted that vodka-soaked night back in Bali when she’d told Ty about Mitch. When she’d practically begged him to come to Bilby Island as her date for Mack’s wedding so she wouldn’t have to face her ex-boss and one of his sophisticated girlfriends by herself. Turned out she needn’t have worried about that. Mitch had come alone.
Trying not to acknowledge the relief Mitch’s single status generated within her, Hayley narrowed her gaze at Ty’s dubious expression. “What’s so unbelievable?”
Ty let out a wry chuckle. “He’s not your type.”
“He was. Once.”
Still is, Hayley silently admitted. Her blood continued to buzz with the effects of the closeness they’d shared while dancing. She might be walking lazily along the shore with Ty, but Hayley’s mind was stuck back in Bar Evoke. She could see Mitch’s hard expression following her every move as she danced and laughed with Ty, perhaps a little more loudly than she needed to. She’d downed shots and followed them up with tequila sunrise chasers, chatted with all her old friends and generally tried to act like she could care a jot that Mitch was on the other side of the room, looking like he wanted to murder her plus one and dismember the body.
“I don’t see the two of you together. You and me, on the other hand…”
Ty’s gaze coasted over her short green dress. The balmy night had cooled as a breeze came in off the ocean. The slight temperature drop mixed with the male appreciation in Ty’s eyes sent hot chills racing over Hayley’s skin, raising goose bumps. The wind whipped the silky dress against her frame, and Ty’s gaze lingered on her chest meaningfully.
Hayley glanced down to see her pebbled nipples were clearly visible against the silk. She gave Ty’s shoulder a shove. “Perv.”
“Something wrong with perving on my hot date?”
“You’re not my date…exactly.”
Ty brought his hands up to his chest, cupping his heart as though it was broken. “You wound me, fair lady.”
Hayley laughed at such words forming on Ty’s broader-than-broad Australian accent. “You do have your qualities, Ty. I’m sure you’ll find some nice young girl to appreciate them, breed a few Butler babies in your image.”
“Stop it, you’ll jinx me.” The very idea of marriage was anathema to Ty, as Hayley well knew. “This is no way to speak to the friend who agreed to be your buffer for this week.”
“Yes, and a hard job it is too.” Hayley glanced around at the isolated stretch of beach, the softly lapping waves gilded by the moon and giving off the faint aroma of salt. To the right the lights of the resort twinkled, warm and inviting. “A trip to one of the most idyllic spots in the world, and you have to act like you like me. Must be torture.”
“Come on, Hales.” He wound his arm around her shoulders and brought her in close. His lips were warm, the stubble that always graced his jaw pleasantly rough against her temple. “I do like you.”
Hayley smiled, warmed by his statement. She liked him too. “You smell like rum.”
“You like rum. You got plastered on mai tais that night in Hawaii.”
And hadn’t that led her to do the craziest, wildest thing she’d ever done? “Precisely why I don’t like rum anymore.”
Ty’s chuckle vibrated against her ear as his lips became mobile. “You’re not going to let that deter you…right?”
Ty’s hand slid down her arm, moving up and down as he ran his tongue over the shape of her ear. Hayley shivered, responding to his familiar caresses and the enveloping heat of his body. “I haven’t decided,” she teased.
Ty pouted, letting her feel the movement of his lips against her cheek. “I was promised sex, Hales.”
“I don’t recall that conversation.”
“Five nights in the beautiful Australian tropics, sharing a room with my good buddy, a fox of a girl with whom I occasionally do the bump and grind. Sex was implied.”
if you’ve never read Moonlight Mirage, it is still available as a single novella or as part of the Tropical Haze anthology