A Hero's Heart - Steamy Romantic Suspense by Amber Daulton

This week’s guest author is Amber Daulton, spinner of steamy, swoony, suspenseful tales, here to present a tasty title on super sale. Take it away, Amber!

Rekindling the flames of love has never burned so hot.

Lies. Betrayal. A blown undercover mission.

After ten years away, DEA agent Jarrett Brandt heads home to pay his respects to his deceased brother and hide out from the cartel kingpin who wants him dead. The last thing he needs is Marissa, his high school sweetheart, tempting him with her sassy smile and showing him the life he gave up. Add on his judgmental parents, and he’s ready to hit the road.

Widowed mom Marissa Reinn never had much luck with the Brandt boys. First Jarrett broke her heart, then she lost his brother—her husband—to a bullet. Vowing to uncover Jarrett’s secrets, she succumbs to the passion still burning between them instead.

When a team of assassins find him, Jarrett and Marissa will have to work together to survive and protect her son. How will they seize their second chance at love with their lives on the line?

Excerpt:

When he made love to other women, he imagined Marissa beneath him or above him, panting his name. When the nightmares of blood and gore faded, he dreamed of her. Those bittersweet memories and what if scenarios were almost worse than the nightmares. “I’ve done things I’m not proud of.”

“I hated you after you left, but I’ve gotten over it. Everyone feels regret and guilt over something. It’s all about being human.” She dashed away her tears. “I told you mine last night. Will you please show me the same courtesy?”

“I can’t.”

“At least tell me what you did last Christmas. Jason made it crystal clear that he didn’t want you alone. He wants you to have a tree.” She pointed at the Douglas fir. “Well, there you go. What did you do last year?”

Jarrett licked his dry lips, heat swelling in his cheeks.

He’d joined the Consuelo gang last December and spent the holiday in a slummy apartment with five thugs who sold cocaine on the streets of Albuquerque. Living around his drug of choice had nearly destroyed him.

“What about your last birthday?” Marissa blocked his path and braced her hands on her hips. “Did you have cake or go out with a bunch of buddies and get drunk? Did something horrible happen? Why won’t you tell me anything?”

He shoved a hand through his hair. “Damn it, Marissa. Yeah, I got drunk. A few of us went to a strip club where I fucked two dancers in a backroom. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Her eyes widened as she stepped back.

Way to go, you fucking idiot. He brushed his shaky hands on his button-down shirt to steady them. “Marissa—”

She strode past him with a high head and left the room.

Her cold shoulder skewered him, but he didn’t deserve better.

Add to Goodreads – https://bit.ly/aherosheartgoodreads

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A Hero’s Heart is now on SALE for .99 cents. Deal lasts from May 1-31.

Amazon – https://bit.ly/aherosheartamazon

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Universal link – https://books2read.com/aherosheart

Meet the Author

Amber Daulton is the author of the romantic-suspense series Arresting Onyx and several standalone novellas. Her books are published through Daulton Publishing, The Wild Rose Press, and Books to Go Now, and are available in ebook, print on demand, audio, and foreign language formats.

She lives in North Carolina with her husband and demanding cats.

Some questions for the author:

What do you love about the genre you write in?

I love writing romantic suspense because it’s part love story and part action story. Even though I’m not a big romance movie fan (crazy, right?), I love action and adventure flicks. One of my all-time favorite movies is Die Hard, by the way.

It’s safe to say I’m not happy if I’m not writing something that has lots of danger and intrigue within the pages. And then there’s love. Oh, love—what’s more vital than that?

The fine line between happily ever after and a couple being torn apart really gets to me. Maybe it’s the “will they, won’t they” factor? I just know I love it.

Do you write in other genres?

Yes, all under the romance umbrella. I have a few contemporary, time-travel, historical, and even a cowboy/western romance. All of these books feature a little bit of mystery and adventure, but not so much to be classified as romantic suspense.

What’s your favorite part of the writing life?

Creating new worlds and characters. I’m in total control (when my characters allow it), and it’s fun twisting an old plot into something new.

What do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

Not writing? What’s that like?

Haha. Seriously, though, I like reading (big surprise there), binge-watching my favorite TV shows (Supernatural and Star Trek: The Next Generation), playing with my cats, and hiking. I’m not much of a gardener, but I planted an herb bed this year, and I’ve enjoyed taking care of it. The oregano, garlic, and cilantro is already coming in strong.

Authors always seem to have a teetering To Be Read pile. What’s in yours?

Whew! I have a couple of hundred print books in my office and over 1000 ebooks on my kindle. What I want to read next is some Marie Harte books, but I don’t know when I’ll find the time.

What makes you put down a book without finishing?

Not much. I’m a completest, so I usually torture myself by reading the whole book even if I don’t like it. I’m trying, though, to stop doing that. I have so many books waiting to be read that I shouldn’t waste my time reading something I’m not enjoying.

So to answer your question, I can’t stand certain writing style issues like head-hopping, passive voice, telling, and poor editing. I love arrogant heroes, but when the line is crossed from sexy arrogance to toxic masculinity, I’m done. Same with weak, doormat heroines. This isn’t the 1980s anymore. Heroines should be strong, three-dimensional characters, not the half-dressed, willowy girls clinging to Fabio wannabes (though, admittedly, Fabio could make most women drool back in the day).