Winter's Heat Review~spotlight~excerpts

Winter’s Heat
by Cristin Harber

• Series: Titan
• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Mill Creek Press (September 22, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0989776018
• ISBN-13: 978-0989776011

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A WOMAN ON A MISSION
After putting her life on the line to protect classified intelligence, military psychologist Mia Kensington is on a cross-country road trip from hell with an intrusive save-the-day hero. Uninterested in his white knight act, she’d rather take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who boasts an alpha complex and too many guns.

AND THE MAN SENT TO STOP HER
Colby Winters, an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can’t leave behind.

MUST PARTNER TO SURVIVE
When Titan’s safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing his secret—he’s the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can’t live without.

BLURB:

After putting her life on the line to protect classified intelligence, military psychologist Mia Kensington is on a cross-country road trip from hell with an intrusive save-the-day hero. Uninterested in his white knight act, she’d rather take her chances without the ruggedly handsome, cold-blooded operative who boasts an alpha complex and too many guns.

Colby Winters, an elite member of The Titan Group, has a single objective on his black ops mission: recover a document important to national security. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out operation. But now, by any means necessary becomes a survival mantra when he faces off with a stunning woman he can’t leave behind.

When Titan’s safe houses are compromised, Colby stashes Mia at his home, exposing his secret—he’s the adoptive father of an orphaned baby girl. Too soon, danger arrives and Mia lands in the hands of a sadistic cartel king with a taste for torture. As hours bleed into fear-drenched days, Colby races across the globe and through a firestorm of bullets to save the woman he can’t live without.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

Excerpt: First Kiss Between Colby Winters and Mia Kensington. They’re in a truck, driving down a deserted highway after a gunfight.

She smelled like vanilla and sugar, even after the hell she’d been through that day. Her soft hair brushed up against his bare bicep. Unsettled need prickled down his neck. His throat tightened, and fire ran to his groin.

“Mia…” Distraction and anticipation stole words from his lips.

His heart pounded loud in his chest, fighting for his attention. With each flutter of her eyelashes and innocent movement against his skin, his tension spiked. It was shocking. He was on the job. There was no time for distraction. Losing control was unheard of. Unacceptable.

His arm was cemented around her shoulder, and it wasn’t moving. He stared as the broken white lines on the highway passed in quick revolutions, one right after another. The hum of the truck’s engine poked at his concentration.

He needed to get out of this truck. He needed cool, fresh air to cover him. Right now. Deep, mind-clearing breaths were in order as soon as possible. Anything to get his disciplined mind back to what it did best—analyze, act, accomplish.

Winters made a sharp exit off the highway onto an unlit ramp. He jammed on the brakes. Gravel spit from under the truck. The back end skidded and fishtailed before it came to a stop. His heart thumped. His throat tightened. The faint scent of burned rubber filtered into the pickup cab.

Oh, what the hell. No way was he getting out of this truck.

As fast as he pulled off the road, he brought her close to his face, and without even a second to hover over her, he crushed his lips onto hers. Her tense mouth gasped a breath, then melted. The hot caress of her tongue sent explosions from his chest to the palms of his hands. The pounding in his heart didn’t get any better. It only pushed his racing pulse faster, making it gallop wild, as intoxicating rockets flamed inside him.

Insanity. She was delicious insanity.

In between breathless pants, wicked want fired. Her lips were full. Her kiss was better than he expected, and hell, he expected a whole lot. She stoked him faster than he could ever remember. A kiss unlike any other kiss. There was no denying that.

He knotted a hand in her hair, held her to him, and devoured her. The press of her silken flesh made him hunger for more. His breathing deteriorated into a desperate rasp of torture. With each inhalation, he smelled, tasted, and consumed feminine beauty. This angel was a vixen in disguise, and God help him, he wanted her.

Her small hands wrapped into his T-shirt, then she stroked his stomach, flexing her fingertips against the fabric and straining against him. He dropped his lips to her neck, and she moaned. That perfect purr fanned his desperation. Her goose bumps flashed under his tongue’s caress, and she shuddered with each whipping kiss.

She tasted of sweat and tear gas, of soft woman, and carnal ambition. There wasn’t a timid thing about Mia. Who was he to assume what she wanted? To think she needed soothing and caring? It seemed all she needed was him. Hard. Tough. Possessive.

AUTHOR 

Cristin Harber

Romantic Suspense Author: Higher Stakes. Hotter Action.

Bio:

MOM. WIFE. AUTHOR.

Lover of all things sexy and happily ever after.

I live outside Washington, DC with my family: my husband (who doesn’t mind my collection of book boyfriends), an independent toddler, and an English bulldog named Britta who loves to be a conversation piece. Oh, we have a baby on the way—arriving about the same time as WINTERS HEAT debuts!

I love southern food, listen to country music, am always too hot or too cold, and spend hours reading and writing. I cheer on my University of Louisville Cardinals-GO CARDS! When I’m not pregnant (or nursing), I like a little bourbon or sweet wine. Pregnant or not, I love a lot of chocolate.

I can’t save the world, so instead, I write about those that do. There’s a special place in my heart for those who keep us safe. My Titan series debuts this fall with five titles available in 2013: WINTERS HEAT, GARRISON’S CREED, WESTIN’S CHASE, CHASED, and GAMBLED.

Links:

NEWSLETTER signup for series info: http://bit.ly/11aWFzM

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/7192034.Cristin_Harber

WEBSITE: http://cristinharber.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/cristinharberauthor

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/CristinHarber

 Favorite Quotes.

“I scanned the parking lot footage. They put that girl in the trunk. And none too carefully. I

don’t think we’re looking at two teams. No intel on a friendly or a female op. I’d tread with

care.”

He found some candy stuck at the bottom of a box and chomped down on it. The trunk, huh?

That’s overkill. “Got it.”

“I’m serious, Winters. If this is a case of wrong place, wrong time, you dust off your kid

gloves and use them.”

were awkward and uncoordinated. Her butt stuck in the air longer than she thought it would as

she pulled herself over, legs fluttering behind her. It took several seconds to move from her

unintentional downward dog yoga position and sit upright on her bottom.

Why did she do that? Her face flushed again, and her stomach re-tied its knot. She pressed

her knees together and hoped to lasso her unease. She needed to be clearheaded to survive him

and work something out with the package.

He looked into the mirror and slapped the truck into gear. “Comfy back there?”

“You’ve got serious walls built around you, doll. You know that?”

Oh yeah, she knew. Years studying psychology had clued her in. But all the money spent on

higher education didn’t matter. She’d known since grade school that parents screwed up kids,

and that a bad home life was a serious detriment for normal emotional health.

Walls were a concession for never finding a magical cure. But that was okay. She’d done just

fine with her closely guarded psyche.

Well, that was the truth until Colby kissed through all her barriers. She needed to build those

up again. Fast.

“I’m a realist. A pragmatist. You’re a one-night-stand man. I can tell. And I got carried away

with the moment.”

“You’ve got it all wrong, and you don’t even know it. It’s simple: You’re the deceptive one.”

He hung his head back down, facing into the sink. “You look one way. You act another. You say

one thing, but I see the wheels turning in that clever head of yours. What you say isn’t what you

think. Hell, honey. I know the deceptive deal. But that’s cool if that’s how you want to play it.”

“I’m not even going to dignify your accusations.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” His half-smile made her stomach rocket into her throat. The

man dripped testosterone. It was the freakin’ grand rapid of pheromones in this room. Mia

flushed, remembering their bedroom showdown. Her palms itched to run down his strong back.

Still carried away in the moment, it seems.

“I saw it in your eyes. You’re just as triggered up as I am. You want the same thing I want.

But you don’t know it.” He paused, studying her. “Nah. You know what you want. Don’t you? I

admire that. It’s sexy as all hell.”

“You don’t know Mia. She’s not the broken-hearted type.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Judith looked like she had more to say, but left it at that, and went

about tidying the empty counter, picking at non-existent crumbs. “You have to man up and deal

with your mess.”

There she was with a stick, poking him in the eye. “Man up? Come on.”

“Whatever you guys call it. Man up. Get your panties out of a wad. Put on your big boy

shorts. Grow a set.”

This book was given to me for an honest review.

When I first looked at the cove I was oh man this is going to be hot.  Sure enough it was hot. Butts in the air, bullets flying. Hot steamy sex.  Yeap it was hot alright. This was a well written fast pace book.  It also had moments were you laughed and moments where you just wanted to slap both the hero and heroine.  There is a lot of action, sarcasm, laughter and most important of all hot men.    

Colby Winters is a man of action, very hot and is determined to get what he is after.  In this case it is a package. This said package is in the hands of psychologist Mia Kensington.

Colby is an ex-marine who works for the Titan group and is sent to retrieve this package.  The only problem is it comes with a hard headed, scared, psychologist who is also after the package.  Now that Colby has the package he has a new problem, Mia.  The Cartel is now after Mia and will stop at nothing to get her and the package.  As Colby tries hard to protect Mia and keep them both alive the attraction between them grows.  Mia has had a difficult life and Colby must break through the walls she has built.  When he does he also realizes that the life he live could get her killed to so he decides he is not worthy of her and tells her to leave once everything is taken care of.  Will Mia show Colby that their two different worlds can work together or will she just do as he says?  Will Colby and Mia find true happiness and love or has he destroyed their chance to be together? 

This was a great book and one that I really didn’t want to put down.  Cannot wait for the next in the series. 

5 WARRIOR ANGELS