The Passion Series

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Nothing is ordinary in the small town of Passion, especially the love.

Wanting to start fresh, Cassie Evans relocates to the small town of Passion where she moves into the home of her dreams, complete with dreamy next door neighbor, artist, and handyman Thomas Healy. The only problem is, the house she bought just might be haunted.

Thomas Healy lives a life of solitude and that suits him just fine. Then Cassie Evans moves in next door and begins to turn his peaceful live upside down. He tries to ignore her, but ignoring a woman as beautiful as Cassie isn’t so easy, especially when she shows up at your door, naked, begging for you to paint her. Thomas’ first mistake was to agree to it, his second was to take Cassie to bed, now she’s all he can think about.

When their blossoming love is overshadowed by a ghostly haunting, the curious Cassie launches an investigation into the life and death of her home’s previous owner, uncovering a mystery and attracting the attention of a killer. Where will Cassie’s discovery lead her, to the love of her life or to death itself?
 Welcome to the town of Passion.

Excerpt:

“Mind if I position you?”
“Oh, baby, do with me what you will.”
Thomas hoped he could get this done without embarrassing himself. Her deep seductive voice definitely was doing a number on him. “Lie partially on your side.”
“Like this?”
“Not that much; tilt your upper body to the side a bit. Like this.” Oh, touching her had not been a smart move. Biting his lip, Thomas shifted her into position. “Now lift your right leg, bend at the knee and place your left hand across your belly. Perfect.”
“Thank you.”
He was going to lose it. Seeing the roses on the table, he picked them up and snapped off the blooms.
“Hey!”
“I’ll buy you more.” She’d brought over four, and he was going to use all four. Leaving one on the table, Thomas began plucking petals from the rest and dropped them onto her naked body. They fell lightly to land on her chest, belly and hands. The last bloom he took and carefully slid it into her hair just over her right ear. He took a step back, looking at her through a painter’s eyes and was satisfied with what he saw.
“Are we good to go?” Cassie inquired.
With a nod, Thomas walked to the easel. Lifting the charcoal pencil, he began to work.
“How many nudes have you really painted?” Cassie asked while Thomas worked busily behind the easel.
“Ten.”
“Wow. My nose is itchy.”
“Don’t move.”
“Easy for you to say.” She wiggled her nose, and he scowled at her. “Sorry.”
“You only think your nose is itchy because you can’t move. We haven’t been at this long. I’ll be done soon enough, then you can scratch your nose. Think of something else.”
“How long will this take?”
He paused, looked around the easel at her. “We can quit right now if you like?”
“No. I’ll deal with it. So, why did you move all the way out here?”
“Why did you?” His hand worked quickly, putting the lovely image before him on canvas.
“I pulled out a map, closed my eyes and pointed. When I opened my eyes, it had landed on Passion. Here I am.”
His eyes lifted from his work. “You pointed to a map and that’s how you chose where you’d live?”
“You betcha.”
She was an odd one. “Why didn’t you stay in Calgary?”
“I wanted to be on my own, and I knew if I stayed too close to home I would only end up relying on my parents. It was time I moved out on my own in any case.”
“You’re what…twenty-three-ish?” Thomas spoke while his hand drew the fine lines of her figure.
“Oh, you are a sweetheart. I’m twenty-eight.”
His eyes lifted now with a great deal of surprise. “You don’t look it.”
“You definitely know how to flatter a girl. What’s your story, Thomas Healy? Why did you choose to live in this small out of the way town?”
“It was quiet.” It was proving to be a little more difficult drawing her breasts than he thought it would be. Closing his eyes, he chastised himself for letting his mind wander, then returned to his art.
“It was quiet? What kind of answer is that?”
“A simple one. You moved your leg.”
“I did not.”
Thomas grunted, setting his pencil down before walking to her. “You’re leaning it against your other leg.” Taking her knee in his hand, he moved it back into place. His eyes drifted to the ripe pinkness between her legs, and he nearly drooled all over her. “Keep it there.”
“I know you want me, Thomas.”
Who wouldn’t want her? “We can’t always have everything we want.” He proceeded to draw the detail of her body.
“Certain things we can, and I wouldn’t mind one bit if you took me.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t, but I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
“Fine, I’ll hire someone else to fix up my house.”
“You signed a contract which is legally binding.”
She huffed. “Then I’ll break it and let my lawyer deal with the outcome.”
“It’ll be tied up in court for months, maybe longer, and you still wouldn’t get your way.”
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
“It’s ingrained. I said don’t move,” he chastised her when she sat up.
“I nearly had you on the stairs at my house, and trust me, you weren’t thinking of business or the damn contract at the time. I could have you begging me to take you. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“And you would only humiliate yourself. Lie back down,” Thomas insisted.
“The hell I will.” She stood up, rose petals floating to the floor.
“If you don’t lie back down, I won’t be able to finish the painting.” He lied; he could draw or paint her with his eyes closed. Every curve of her body was ingrained in his memory.
“Screw the painting. You’re trying to tell me that if I came to you now, wrapped my arms around you and rubbed my naked body against you, that you wouldn’t take me?”
Thomas laid his pencil down because he knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere until she was through with her snit. “Funny, you don’t strike me as a desperate woman.”
Her jaw dropped. “Desperate! How dare you.”
“I believe anything worth having is worth waiting for. Anything that is rushed is not. I’m not looking for a quick fuck, and if that’s all you’re looking for, go hang out at the local bar and wait for the oil riggers to come in.
They’re always looking for a quickie.” He mentally cursed himself for what he’d said.
“You bastard.” Grabbing her wrap, she threw it on and stomped from the house.
“That was nice, Thomas, really fucking nice,” he muttered after the door slammed with her exit.

Nothing is ordinary in the small town of Passion, especially the love.

Victor Davis is a man trying to escape the tragedy of his past. Several months ago, a bullet that was meant for him killed his girlfriend by mistake. Now struggling to move on, Victor’s taken over as the chief of police of Passion. Vic knows everyone in Passion, so naturally he can’t help but notice when beautiful stranger Julia Wilson moves into the small town.

Mysterious and alluring, Julia came to Passion with one thing on her mind, avenging the death of her sister. Desperate to find the truth, and keeping her true identity a secret, Julia enters into an affair with the one man she thinks might be able to give her answers—Victor Davis.

Lust and love run rampant when Victor and Julia enter into a torrid romance. But Julia’s deception turns dangerous and secrets from Victor’s past soon threaten their fragile relationship. Murder, kidnapping, and an escape that you’ll never forget. Welcome to the town of Passion.

Nothing is ordinary in the small town of Passion, especially the love.

Wild, rebellious, and perpetually in trouble, Justin Davis was labeled the town troublemaker and an embarrassment to his father, the chief of police in the small town of Passion. When Justin was framed for a crime he didn’t commit, he impulsively left the town he’d called home, vowing never to return.

For six years Beth Healy pined after Justin, the boy next door who she’d come to think of as her friend, and had wanted for a lover. Now an officer of the law, Beth is shocked when her pursuit of a speeding car leads her to the one man she’s been longing to find—Justin Davis—and after all these years, he’s finally come home.

Despite the sizzling attraction, Beth’s feelings of hurt and betrayal linger and acceptance and forgiveness don’t come easy. Justin soon discovers that begging for mercy and allowing Beth time to grow to love him again might be the only way to win her back. Then an enemy of Justin’s begins to threaten his life, forcing Beth to make a choice. Will she be able to put the past behind her and trust in the man that Justin is now? Welcome to the town of Passion

Excerpt:

He wasn’t watching where he was going; he just walked, needing freedom, needing air. The wind was brisk but that too went unnoticed. He was mad and it showed in the way his feet ate up the concrete as he walked.
“Now that’s a familiar look.”
Justin stopped abruptly, lifting his head to the man that spoke. He was the last person he wanted to see right now. “What?”
“That look on your face.” Wes stepped out of the shadows of his yard. “I remember seeing it plenty of times on your face when your daddy pissed you off.”
That much at least hadn’t changed. He was once again pissed at his father. “Yeah, right.”
“Wanna come in for a beer?”
“I just want to be alone right now, Wes.” And nowhere near him.
“Just one, come on man. For old times sake.”
“Another time, maybe. Catch you around, Wes.” Pulling a cigarette from the package, Justin headed off. When he saw Beth step in front of him, he actually rolled his eyes and blew out a long breath. “Great, another person I don’t want to see.”
“If you’re planning on starting up where you left off, Justin, know that I’ll be watching your ass.”
“Jesus Christ, Beth. How about a trial before you execute me. I wasn’t doing anything.”
“Yet.”
He flicked the ashes into the air, snarling. “Fuck off, okay.”
“I’m in charge of protecting this town now, Justin, and I won’t tolerate you making a mockery out of it, or your parents.”
He dropped the cigarette and not so gently stomped it out with his foot.
Beth pulled the pad from her back pocket of her police uniform pants and began writing.
“What the hell are you writing?”
“A ticket.” She snapped it off and handed it to him.
“For what?”
“Littering.”
He took the ticket, glanced at it then back up to her. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“I never kid where my job is concerned.”
“Jesus, you really turned scary.” He crumpled the ticket into his pocket. “For the record, constable, I have no intentions of making a mockery out of anyone. All I want is to make amends and set the record straight.” No, what he really wanted was to go home and forget the town of Passion.
“What record would that be?” she asked with a snarl in her tone.
“I was not responsible for the B&E.”
“Right.” She chuckled sarcastically.
“You know, I’m really getting tired of being persecuted for something I didn’t do.”
“You were caught red-handed.”
“I was set up.”
Beth simply stared at him.
“Fine, don’t believe me. Why should you be any different than anyone else.” He pushed past her, bumping her lightly as he marched off. He didn’t need this shit anyway.
“Well it’s not like you gave anyone reason to believe you.”
He spun around, furious. “I thought you above anyone else would believe me.”
“What was I supposed to believe when you ran off without saying a word, no letters, no calls to say how you were doing.”
“I couldn’t call because I—”
“You’re a coward.”
He actually felt like his head might explode with rage. “I am not a coward.”
“No, then why did you run?”
“I ran because I had no other choice.”
“You could have stayed and faced it like a man.”
“I was only eighteen.”
“Old enough to knock off a gas station.”
“I didn’t rob it,” he shouted at her, getting right into her face.
“Then explain why you were there and the locks were broken and the cash gone.”
“I was framed.”
“Right.” She turned to leave and was quickly spun around.
“Where was the cash then, Beth? It wasn’t on me. Why wouldn’t I have it if I had just robbed the place?”
“You gave it to your buddies.”
“Right and I stayed to what…get caught? Think about it.”
“I have thought about it, for six years. Let me go, Justin.”
“You’re a cop; look at the evidence, Beth. Look at it through a cop’s eyes, not a friend’s eyes.”
“I don’t want to discuss this anymore. Let me go, Justin.”
“Just listen to me.”
“Let me go.”
“Damn it, Beth.” He was completely thrown back when she gabbed his head with her other hand and plastered her mouth over his. Her lips were hot, her mouth was sweet, and as she pulled away, he saw the wide eyed look on her face. Slowly he released his hold on her.
She spun around.
“Beth—”
She rushed off without saying a word.