Title: Hard As You Can ( Hard Ink #2)
Author: Laura Kaye
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Synopsis
Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.
Ever since hard-bodied, drop-dead-charming Shane McCallan strolled into the dance club where Crystal Dean works, he’s shown a knack for getting beneath her defenses. For her little sister’s sake, Crystal can’t get too close. Until her job and Shane’s mission intersect, and he reveals talents that go deeper than she could have guessed.
Shane would never turn his back on a friend in need, especially a former Special Forces teammate running a dangerous, off-the-books operation. Nor can he walk away from Crystal. The gorgeous waitress is hiding secrets she doesn't want him to uncover. Too bad. He’s exactly the man she needs to protect her sister, her life, and her heart. All he has to do is convince her that when something feels this good, you hold on as hard as you can—and never let go.
A message from Laura Kaye
It’s release day! And I’m so excited to share Hard As You Can, the second book in the
Hard Ink series, with all of you here today! Hard As You Can follows the surviving members of a disgraced Army
Special Forces team as they fight to regain their stolen honor, and finds their
investigation crossing paths with a waitress willing to do whatever it takes to
stay alive and protect her younger sister. For Shane McCallan, saving Crystal
Dean is a mission he refuses to turn down.
Today, I’ve got a scene filled with lots of sexual
tension and emotion to share with you, one that I absolutely adored writing! I
hope you enjoy this look into the growing attraction between Shane and Crystal
from Hard As You Can:
Excerpt
“I didn’t mean to criticize you, Crystal. I just
cannot abide violence against women. Period. Especially not someone I know.” A long
pause. “And definitely not someone I like.” After everything that had happened
to her, the words were a balm for her psyche.
Footsteps came up behind her, slowly, cautiously,
like she was a wild animal who would bolt in an instant. And she supposed there
was some truth to that analogy.
Torn between returning to the danger she knew or
staying with the one she didn’t, Crystal debated. Her heart told her Shane
might well be the most dangerous man she’d ever met because he made her want,
wish, maybe even dream.
Not at all sure it was a good idea, Crystal slowly
turned.
Shane was right in front of her. A rock in the
middle of a raging sea, a refuge she might claim if she had the strength and
the will and the nerve to fight for it. To believe she deserved it. She hugged
herself.
“Hey,” he said, cupping her face in his big hands.
His fingers slid behind her neck and gently massaged.
She shook her head and glanced toward the treetops
in an effort to pinch off the sting building behind her eyes. Why did she have
to meet him now? She’d had a plan, and all she’d needed to do was follow it for
a few more months. “You don’t even know me.”
“No. Not everything. But I know more than a little.
And that much I like enough to want to know more.” His fingers rubbed her neck,
gently, soothingly.
And his words, well, his words were perfect. Maybe even
too much so. Too good to be true, she thought. “I already told you I’d
share what I’d learned. You don’t have to play me.”
His eyes narrowed, and he frowned. “You listen hard and
you listen good, sweetness,” he said, the words firm but the tone urgent, almost
desperate, and laced with his southern accent. “I’m not perfect, and God knows
I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. But I would never play with a woman’s
emotions to get information out of her. That kind of manipulation doesn’t hold
with me. Ever.”
Sweetness. She’d heard everything
he’d said. The passion with which he’d said it. The sincerity that burned from
his gaze as the words had poured from his lips. But it was the term of
endearment that reached into her chest and gripped her heart. For a long
moment, they stood there, bodies touching, faces inches apart, his hands
holding her in that firm-but-gentle way he had.
Thunder rumbled again, closer this time, and her
heart was a drum beat double-timing
inside her chest. If his hands didn’t feel it racing,
he’d have to hear it, because the sound was a loud rush rush in her
ears. Beneath the sports bra and tank, her nipples went hard. If his gaze dropped,
she knew he’d see, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel self-conscious about
it. Not when he was looking at her like he wanted to devour her.
His gaze dropped to her lips.
She shuddered, everything inside her but the
smallest voice of reason crying out for him to do it. Just once.
“Tell me not to,” he said, his voice a raw scrape.
So that’s Shane
and Crystal for you! Did you have a favorite line? Thanks for reading!
~Laura
“Edgy, sexy, and
full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”
~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets
Simone's review
*I received an ARC via edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.*
I have a major book hangover, just having finished Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye at the weekend and jumping in commando style into Hard As You Can, I can't seem to get enough of these Hard Ink military sexy soldiers!! This is the second instalment of the Hard Ink series, so you will need to read the first as the story picks up right after Hard As It Gets leaves off.
So the Hard Inks mission continues in this next instalment, but this time we have Shane take centre stage, if you swooned and fanned yourself with Nicholas in the first book get ready to go grab Shane 'As Hard As You Can' in this story!! His sexy one-liners mixed with that deliciously hot accent alone left me a quivering mess on the floor. I just fell for Shane hard, he has all the right combination I look for in a BBF - strong, sexy, alpha male on the outside but hiding underneath a tender loving man with a huge heart.
“You bring out the best in me, sweetness.”
We also briefly met Crystal in the first book, who's real name is Sara as she was known before her mix up in the seedy world of the Churchmen, and dating Bruno, who makes her work at Confessions to pay off her debt that her father left to her and her sister who is unwell. Chrystal is trying desperately to protect her from this life of crime, prostitution and trafficking, she believes that if she survives a few more months then her and Jenna could be free to get out and start a fresh. This all seems like a far away dream until she meets Shane McCallan.
"Once, there'd been a girl named Sara, and her life had been good. One day, Sara would live again. . . Until then, she'd wait. And act. And survive."
I loved Shane and Crystal's romance. They had very different but tragic pasts, but I loved the way they fixed each others hearts so that they could both move on and heal, to have a happy future that they both so deserved. There was many a time through their story my heart broke for them both, just wishing things would go in their favour.
"Crystal-no, Sara-was very likely falling for Shane McCallan."
"You don't have to show me, Crystal. But you do need to know there's nothing on your body I won't love and respect. Because it's you."
I am also a sucker for a good bro-mance and was happy to see that Shane and Nick sorted their shit out and mended their friendship, even though they had to go through ignoring each other for a while followed by a punch up, finishing with a heart-found make up.
"God, what he wouldn’t give for five more minutes with his kid sister. Just five. Did she know how sorry he was? How much he loved her? That he’d devoted his life to making things right for others as a penance for getting so much wrong with her?"
Having said at the beginning of my review I have a major book hangover, I'm starting to have withdrawals from these Hot Ex- military men, so I'm now craving Easy's story which is up next, and wanting answers to Becca's fathers involvement in this story, and why there are people after Becca and Charlie. I have loved the story line so far it has gripped me from the beginning and left me still wanting more of the plot to unfold. So if your looking for an action packed, thrilling, hot ride get your hands on The Hard Ink Series now!!
Simone gives this a rating of...
Q&A WITH LAURA KAYE
HARD AS YOU CAN is your
second book in the “Hard Ink” series (after USA Today bestseller, HARD AS IT
GETS). What can readers look forward to?
Readers can look forward to tons of sexy
alpha male goodness, awesome bromance between the Hard Ink men, more antics
from the Hard Ink puppy, and another great love story between Shane and
Crystal. But readers should also be ready for a book that is darker, more
intense, and more emotional. This book pushed me to emotional places that were
tough as a writer, and might be tough for readers, too. But I think that just
makes the payoff at the end so much sweeter!
Describe Shane and Crystal.
What are their best traits? What are their weaknesses?
Shane and Crystal are such an amazing couple
to me. They’re each exactly what the
other needs. Shane’s best traits are his protectiveness, his fundamental
kindness, and his soul-deep loyalty (his southern accent and humor are also
right up there!). His biggest weakness for sure is a tragedy from the past for
which he blames himself—and it’s something that continues to motivate him in Hard As You Can. Crystal’s best traits
are her courage, protectiveness, and selflessness—she’s willing to do anything
to keep her younger sister safe. Her biggest weakness is also that
selflessness, because the sacrifices she’s required to make are getting bigger
and bigger and bigger.
If you could describe your
book in a 140 character tweet, what would it be?
When a woman in trouble assists an ex-soldier's
covert mission to regain his team's stolen honor, he finds a new mission to
save her, too
What are you most excited
about with this second book release?
I’m really excited to take readers
deeper into these awesome characters and into the mystery behind the Hard Ink
team’s ambush and discharge!
What books are you reading
right now?
I’m almost done with Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander (yes, I’m very late to the
party but OMG JAMIE FRASER!!!). And I’ve recently devoured and loved Juliana
Stone’s Offsides and Shelly Thacker’s
time-travel historical romance, Forever
His.
What can fans of your “Hard
Ink” series look forward to next?
There will be two more Hard Ink books in
2014!
Hard
to Hold on To – August 2014
Hard
to Come By – November 2014
Read an Extended Excerpt of
Book 1, Hard As It Gets
About the Author
Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.
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