Release Weekend Party ~ Teresa Reasor ~ Giveaway #3

Kally Masters is one of the most generous writers I know. Sharing her limelight today is just one example of that. Thank you Kally for letting me be part of your release party!! 

I have a ebook copy of Breaking Through for the lucky winner who wins the draw. I’d love to hear from anyone who is interested in it. Be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter at the end of the post to be entered!!!

Introducing The Characters of 

Breaking Through

Breaking Through was released September 6, 2012. And I thought I’d give readers a taste of each story line explored in the book. Read on and find out about each of the characters in my new book.

Ensign Brett “Cutter” Weaver has just awakened from a month long coma to find he’s being investigated for the murder of a young Iraqi boy. NCIS approaches him about the protection detail. But he has no memory of his last days in Iraq and his SEAL team buddy Derrick Armstrong isn’t talking. And worse, the men in the two cover vehicles that accompanied them on the detail are dead. What can he do to prove his innocence?

Jackson stood at the window, his hands in his pockets.

“Crouch said you had some paperwork for me.”

He turned to face Brett.

“Yes, sir. Dr. Stewart has released me for duty, sir.”

Jackson accepted the manila folder with a frown and opened it. He flipped through the paperwork, studied the documents for a few moments, and set aside the packet.

“There’s a problem with sending you back to your team.”

Brett sucked in a breath. Fucking knew it. Saw it coming a mile off. The blow still hit as though he’d been sucker-punched in the nuts. He breathed through the anger, but betrayal clawed at his gut nearly choking him.

“What kind of —pro- problem?” This was not the time for this fucking speech thing to kick in.

Jackson’s eyes narrowed.

“Your position on NCIS’s radar for the shit about the missing boy was a catalyst. It’s brought scrutiny back to the team concerning Derrick’s take down. NCIS is trying to say the men acted in the capacity of police officers. I think they’re trying to put pressure on the whole team to give you and Armstrong up.”

“But we didn’t do anything.”

“How can you be sure if you can’t remember, Weaver?”

Where was the man’s belief? He’d voiced it the last time he’d stood here in this office.

He studied Jackson’s expression, and anger as hard and unbending as iron ate up the hurt.

“I have a good reputation in the teams. I’m a SEAL, and I’ve conducted myself as a SEAL should in all things. My record speaks for itself. The only way my enlistment will end is if I’m killed in combat.”

Jackson’s gaze shifted.

“You’ll have to wait until this is settled before returning to the team. I’ll have orders for you in a few days. Dismissed, Ensign.”

Brett forced his hand up in a salute he didn’t believe the fucker deserved. You could judge a man by how he treated his family. Captain Jackson had dismissed his wife and child the moment he’d slammed the door behind them. That told him Jackson would sacrifice whomever he had to, to bring this shit to an end.

He wasn’t going to be made into a sacrificial lamb to make Jackson’s life easier. Fuck that.

Tess Kelly is the only daughter of award winning journalist Ian Kelly. Tess works for the San Diego Tribune writing for the Life Styles page. Though she’s not interested in covering international stories like her father, she’s always wanted more. When Brett Weaver approaches her with the story of the lifetime, she can’t say no. But she soon learns the wounded warrior is a force to be reckoned with and she’s torn between her ambition and her feelings for him. Will she release the story and end Brett’s SEAL career?

The moment she placed her hand in his, her breathing grew unsteady. He tugged her to her feet and into his arms with an ease that had her breath catching altogether. At five foot five and a hundred and twenty pounds, she’d thought herself sturdy, but held against Brett’s six-foot frame with his broad shoulders and chest stretched before her, she felt delicate.

His hand splayed against her back, but he didn’t pull her in too close. He guided her just near enough for their bodies to brush as he led her into a slow, swaying rhythm, part seduction, part torture.

She couldn’t have sex with him. He was a source.

He was in trouble, but every time she looked into his baby blues, she just couldn’t believe him capable of cold-blooded murder.

And the more she got to know him, the more she was drawn to him.

But could she trust her instincts?

She gnawed her lower lip.

“Relax, I don’t bite,” he said, resting his cheek against her hair.

“It isn’t that. I’m more at ease in the professional realm than I am the personal one.” Oh, shit. Did I just admit that?

Dancing with this man was personal. She was sharing her space with him. But it didn’t feel like an invasion for him to hold her. It felt—amazing. She wanted to lean into him. He smelled like laundry soap and grill smoke, blended with the light fragrance of cologne and the underlying scent of him.

The pressure of his hand guided her closer, and she had no choice but to relax when every muscle turned to liquid. A rush of need set afire every nerve. Her hand slid from his shoulder to rest against his chest, the muscle there evident beneath her touch.

“This isn’t a good idea.” Her voice came out just above a whisper.

“We’re just dancing. What’s not good about it?” His husky voice wreaked havoc on the aching heat growing between her thighs.

What could she say when every inch of her was alive to every move he made? Had they been alone, she’d have been tempted to hook a knee around his hip and press against the growing bulge that brushed against her belly.

Oliver Shaker spoke before either of them was aware of his approach.

“Call me if you need anything, Cutter.” The baby lay nestled against his shoulder asleep, her little form so relaxed her limbs looked boneless.

“Thanks, Greenback,” Brett said.

“Good night,” Selena offered, her soft voice almost carried away by the stiffening breeze.

Though Brett continued to hold Tess for several moments, the interruption had broken the spell. She pulled away and slumped back into her chair, feeling like a teenager caught necking in the back seat of a car.

This was the first time she’d gotten so twisted up over a man she’d actually wanted to throw caution to the wind. Brett Weaver was dangerous.

Lieutenant Adam “Hawk” Yazzie is Brett’s SEAL team CO. He knows Brett is innocent, but when he comes head-to-head with the people investigating his teammate, Hawk finds his own career and freedom hanging in the balance. Can he fight free of the allegations threatening him so he can have a life with the woman he loves?

And now he was going to see his girl, even if it was just for a minute between patients. He lengthened his stride and excitement brought a surge in his heart rate and his temperature. He’d missed her every day and every night of the three weeks he’d been gone.

A woman passed him the hall and paused.

“May I help you?” she asked.

“I’m looking for Zoe Weaver. She’s a physical therapist here.”

The woman’s eyes ran down over his brown t-shirt and desert cammies, all the way to his boots. The come-on registered only long enough for him to frown. Not interested.

“And you are?” she asked

Her boyfriend. Her partner. Her lover. Her man. It was growing more awkward for him each time someone asked. Zoe deserved to be a wife. He wanted to be a husband. So, why wasn’t he remedying that situation?

“I’m Adam Yazzie, her boyfriend. I’ve been gone three weeks on a training op and just wanted to see her.”

The woman’s attitude changed from scoping him out to being helpful.

“She’s with a patient, but I’ll slip into the room and tell her you’re here. You can go down to the lounge and get a cup of coffee while you wait. It’s just three doors down and to the right.”

“Thanks.” A patient with an artificial arm fitted at the elbow walked by and saluted him with his hook. Their eyes met for a moment and Hawk returned the salute. By the grace of God.

Hawk was reminded every day how lucky he was. He wandered down the hall to a room with a kitchen, a small table and chairs, and a television mounted high on the wall in one corner. The smell of fresh coffee permeated the room. He leaned against the counter uninterested. All he wanted was to see Zoe and hold her.

Five minutes passed and he was reading the same poster about the stages of grief for the tenth time when Zoe rushed in. For a split second they just looked at one another, and then they were in each other’s arms. Zoe’s head pressed against his chest and her arms clung tight around his waist, her breasts pushing into his ribs. He breathed in her vanilla scent. Vanilla and her. God knew what he smelled like after riding from Miramar to the base in the back of a truck. Maybe he should have stopped to shower. He ran his hand down her back to her waist with one hand while he cupped her head with the other and tangled his fingers in her ponytail.

When she finally leaned back to look up at him and smiled, his mouth found hers. Her lips parted and their tongues tangled. The kiss went on and on as they tried to make up for three weeks of separation.

When he finally raised his head her voice came wispy with emotion.

“I’ve missed you so much.”

Hawk cupped her face with both of his hands and just studied each feature. He’d never known he was capable of loving anyone as completely as he loved her.

“The words me too don’t even scratch the surface.”

Her dark blue eyes looked even darker since the kiss. He took her lips again, this time with all the tenderness that rose inside him.

“You can’t keep looking at me like that, kissing me like that. You’re either going to make me cry or we’re going to have to find a storage closet somewhere,” she said, her laugh shaky.

“There’s an idea. What time do you get off?”

A grin curved her lips. “As soon as I get home, I hope.”

Zoe Weaver is Brett’s sister and Hawk’s girlfriend. When Zoe learns both her brother and Hawk are under investigation she’s outraged.  How can anyone threaten them with prison when all they’ve done is put their life in jeopardy to save hers? She’s determined to do everything she can to support them. But Zoe has a secret she fears might distract Hawk and put his life at risk. Will she tell him before he deploys to Iraq, or after?

Zoe slid out of her seat and into his lap. She ran her hands over his close-cropped hair.

“Why are they doing this now?”

“Because I pissed somebody off, because I was pissed off. They were giving me the runaround, and they weren’t doing their damn jobs. They didn’t like having that pointed out. I’m hoping it’s a warning just to stay the hell out of their business. But if it’s not … ”

Could her stomach possibly get any more knotted?

He focused on her, his gaze steady while his hands moved up and down her back restlessly.

“When you came back to me after our breakup, I made a promise to myself. I’d held things back from you and it caused problems between us. I’m not making that mistake again.”

His words grabbed her by the throat and made her own reticence about the baby seem more a lie than an attempt to keep him safe. The words were there on the tip of her tongue, begging to be spoken. But how could she drop the news on him when he was twisted up about this? He was turning to her for comfort, not something more to worry about.

She cupped his face and kissed him.

“I love you, Adam Yazzie. No matter what happens, I’ll never stop loving you.” She kissed him again and felt the familiar heat of his response in the way his arms tightened around her, the way his lips and tongue moved against hers.

The growing intensity of his kisses, his touch as he unbuttoned her blouse, set in motion a languorous spiral of need. She wanted to spread her legs and take him inside right here on the chair. But her leg wouldn’t allow it.

Hawk rose with her in his arms and dodged through the kitchen door in the direction of the bedroom.

“It’s going to be okay,” he murmured against her lips. “We’re going to be okay.”

Not if you keep lying to him, her conscience whispered. I’ll tell him later, after we’ve held each other. After he’s less upset.

He lowered her to the bed. She shut out the nagging voice and drew him down to her.

Clara Weaver is Brett and Zoe’s mother. Clara just retired from her teaching position and is thinking about relocating so she can be closer to her two youngest children. She runs into Dr. Russell Connelly, the physician who cared for Brett during his coma, and is caught unaware when she feels an overwhelming attraction to him. She’s been a widow for over twenty years and though she’s had a date here and there she’s never felt that special spark with anyone but her husband. Until now. Will she be brave enough to set aside her age related insecurities and open her heart to another man?

She’d been looking for more. She’d been looking for what she’d had with Joe. But she’d never found even a hint of that special something with the four men she’d gone out with.

Then on her fiftieth birthday—She cringed at the memory. Charlie Cooper was a nice guy. But she’d felt self-conscious and uncomfortable afterwards. Guilty, too. Though he’d called and tried to ask her out several times, she’d never seen him again.

Her gaze rose to her reflection in the microwave door above the stove. She touched the fine lines around her eyes and mouth. What was it Russell Connelly saw when he looked at her?

She turned away from her reflection. Fifty-five was worse than fifty. Five years worse. Pathetically worse. If Russell were interested, how would she feel if he wanted more? The panicked beating of her heart was her only answer.

Dr. Russell Connelly is stunned by the connection he feels for Clara but his estranged son has just arrived to visit and brought with him tragic news.  Evan is ill and has come to mend their differences, if he can. It isn’t the best time to start a new relationship with Clara. And how can Russell ask this woman who’s already lost so much, to open her heart to the both of them when one of them may die?

She smiled again. “Clara. Surely you can call me Clara now.”

Why hadn’t he noticed this beautiful, vibrant woman two months ago?

Because she’d been the mother of his patient, and he’d been keeping his professional distance.But also, because she’d been under tremendous stress. Her son had lain in a coma. Her older daughter had had an emergency C-section, a baby girl, if he remembered correctly. And the same team member rumored to have injured Brett and caused his coma had nearly killed her youngest daughter.

“Dad.” 

Evan’s voice just behind him caught his attention. He tore his gaze away from Clara Weaver to face his son.

Time stopped. His heart plunged. My God. What the hell happened? He barely bit back the exclamation. What’s wrong?

Yassin al-Yussef is a humble Iraqi businessman who has acted as a liaison between business people in Iraq and the American military to bring prosperity to his fellow countrymen. His son Sanjay was delivered home from the base by a protection detail of Navy SEALs and Marines. Or was he?

    

Four long months had passed since he had seen his son. Four months filled with an unrelenting fear and grief that he could no longer bear.

He had watched Levla change from a vibrant, joyful woman to a shadow. She disappeared into her grief more and more each day. Though she never spoke the words, he knew she blamed him for trusting to strangers to deliver their only child home. He blamed himself. He had allowed his work to devour his life, and now his son was gone.

Anger and grief twisted together, clawing at his insides, burrowing into his brain. The men who were supposed to keep him safe and see him home safely must have killed him. They had to pay.

Blurb: 

What happens when a Navy SEAL wakes from a month-long coma to discover he’s being investigated for murder?

When Ensign Brett Weaver is accused of murder, he knows he’s innocent, but how can he prove it with Naval Investigators breathing down his neck? A chance meeting with reporter Tess Kelly offers him an opportunity to get the press on his side. But can he trust her to keep his other secrets off the record?

Tess works hard to live up to her father's expectations. When Brett offers her information about SEAL training in exchange for an introduction to her award-winning journalist father, she jumps at the chance. The situation Brett lobs into her father's lap is a major scoop.  But the secret she discovers about Brett is just as newsworthy. Will her feelings for this wounded warrior win out, or will she release a story guaranteed to destroy Brett’s SEAL career?

When Tess’s father is kidnapped, Brett’s team is deployed to find him. At the same time, a leak in the investigation puts Tess and Brett’s lives in danger. Will Brett be able to break through the lasting effects of his injuries and prove he’s once again a battle-ready SEAL? Or will he and Tess lose everything at the whim of a vengeful killer?

Breaking Through is available at:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Smashword

And will be available at Apple, Kobo, and other distributers in a few weeks.

It will also be available in print at Amazon in a week or so.

Thanks to Kally and all her fans for having me. I’ve loved being here.

Teresa Reasor

Again, be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter below to be entered for the giveaway. 

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