Kidnapped before Christmas #MFRWhooks #Christmas #adventure #romance

Welcome to Marketing for Romance Writers weekly blog hop - Book Hooks
This week's extract is from my Heroes of Westhorpe Ridge e-book boxed set.The first storym Marriage, Mobsters, and the Marine revolves around a schoolteacher who yearns for an old fashioned Christmas and the hoops she has to jump through to claim her inheritance. 

The engine stopped, and she heard a car door slam. She needed out of the trunk, but no one came for her. What if they abandon the car and leave me? I don’t want to die trussed up in a car trunk. A fresh wave of fear washed through her, along with a spike of adrenaline. Her body trembled, but time slowed and her thoughts cleared. She needed to take things one step at a time.

Step one—get her arms free. She wriggled around, hoping the rough ride had dislodged something she could use to cut the rope. Bingo. Her fingers touched a metal box. Maybe it held tools or a knife. She almost wept when she couldn’t open it. The hinge stuck out from the box, so she twisted some more, running the rope against the hinge. Periodically, she stopped and tensed her wrists in an attempt to pull the nylon strands apart.

She’d no idea how long she worked at her bonds. It seemed like hours until the rope finally gave way. Relieved tears filled her eyes. Rather than rub her wrists, she tugged off the hood and pulled the gag from her mouth. She’d never been so thirsty. She’d give anything for a cold beer right now.

Step two—find the release mechanism the law said every car should have in the trunk. She felt claustrophobic, so scared she could barely move, but she forced herself to concentrate. There, in the corner, a glow-in-the-dark lever beckoned. Wriggling like a maggot in a fisherman’s box, she kicked it for all she was worth, and the trunk lid popped open.

The air smelled wonderful, if slightly musty, but silence and utter darkness surrounded her. She listened a while, decided her captors had left, and slipped out the trunk. No lights shone through the darkness. Using her hands rather than her eyes, she found a lug wrench and flashlight alongside the spare tire beneath the space she’d just escaped. She grabbed both, quietly shut the trunk, and headed into the darkness.

Buy links

Amazon UK              Amazon USA                Loose id       

           Kobo                   Barnes and Noble  

Blurbs

Marriage, Mobsters, and the Marine - a Christmas Story

Abigail Montgomery, a small town schoolteacher with zero self-confidence, dreams of the Dickensian Christmas her family never enjoyed. Each month she attends a masked BDSM club, but her next visit will be her last. If she doesn’t marry within the next year, her brother won’t inherit Montgomery Hall. Desperate, she advertises for a husband.

Jared Armstrong, a former Marine sharpshooter and occasional Dom needs $125,000 to get his family out of a hole. His solution--to marry Abigail Montgomery for her money. His only regret is his wife won’t accept his spanking lifestyle.

Gradually, Abigail comes to dream of making their marriage real, but she promised Jared a divorce two years after their wedding. Can they share some Christmas magic as their relationship faces extortion threats, a kidnapping, and an attempted murder? Or will Jared break her heart when he walks away?


Sex, Scandal, and the Sheriff - A New Years Eve themed Romance

Jasmine Stewart (Jazz to her friends) falls for the blond stranger when he spanks and seduces her at a Washington soiree. Later, when she discovers her flatmate is trying to draw her into a spy ring, she goes to the authorities. The ensuing publicity costs her her job, her security, and her future. Starting over in Westhorpe Ridge is her only option.

Sean Mathews, former SEAL and Westhorpe Ridge’s sheriff, can’t forget the woman he spanked when he visited Washington, but he thinks she’s a spy. When she turns up in Westhorpe Ridge, he tries everything to make her leave town. Despite their misunderstandings, though, they can’t keep their hands off each other.

As Year’s Eve looms, the spy ring resurfaces. Jazz will need all of Sean’s SEAL prowess to survive. But because his wounded leg cost him his speed in the water, will it be enough?


Desire, Deceit, and the Doctor - A second chance Valetines story

Twelve years ago, Mandy Devlin moved away from her friends and family--under threat. If she returned in the next ten years or told anyone who fathered her baby, her boyfriend’s great-aunt would bankrupt her family. She’s a single mom who dreams of her lost love and a good spanking. When she’s finally free to return to Westhorpe Ridge, the last person she expects to see is Adam--the man she loved and lost so long ago.

Dr. Adam Montgomery doesn’t know he has a son. Thanks to his great-aunt’s will, he has nine months to find a bride or he loses Montgomery Hall and the fifteen million dollars she left him. Although he seduces Mandy on his first night home, he still believes she betrayed him twelve years ago. No way would he marry a woman like her.

As Valentine’s Day looms, someone tries to kill Mandy. Is Adam trying to get rid of her? Or can Mandy trust him to protect them?

Note: All of the books in this set were previously released as single titles.