Title: Dangerous Curves (release date: July 11th)
A 32k word novella in the Fiery Billionaire Nights short story series.
Enter the world of the Locatelli’s – One of the Fashion Moguls of Milan
Blurb:
Sometimes the person you’re looking for is the one you least expect.
In supermodel Catalina Locatelli’s fury with her father, she finds herself lost in Vegas somewhere off the Strip with no idea how to get back to her hotel. Yes, in the height of her pique, she’s forgotten her cell phone. At first glance, her rescuer-motorcycle-maniac seems like your typical bad boy. He’s got the duds, the bike, and the attitude.
Survivalist Persus Phuckzer is stymied by the beauty he stops to assist. Unfortunately, she isn’t the only one in need of help.
Excerpt:
“Damn.” Cat stood at the corner of the busy intersection and looked wildly about. She had no idea how to get back to the Strip. There wasn’t a bus in sight. And even had there been, how was she to know which direction she was supposed to go?
She pushed the hair from her face and breathed in the suffocating heat to stave off the panic. She shoved her sunglasses to the top of her head, fumbled with her purse and looked inside for her phone. “Damn,” she said again, despair slamming atop the panic. A vision popped in her mind of exactly where she’d left it. Plugged into its charger on the bedside table in her suite.
A rumble brought her head up and, out of habit, she lowered her sunshades into place.
“You need help?” The voice was gravelly as if he didn’t speak all that often.
Her stomach took an instant dive for the pavement. His cheap black T-shirt was torn in a couple of places and a tattoo peeked from one short sleeve—not enough to tell what the image was—leaving her avidly curious. The faded denim jeans and black boots finished out the bad boy, motorcyclist stigma he had going on. He reeked of sweat but it mingled with a fragrance so masculine, so primal, her stomach took another dive. A dark mark was forming on the side of one very attractive face.
She turned a bright smile on him with a desperate hope it hid the attack of nerves. “I, um, seem to have left my cellphone at the hotel.”
His eyes fell to her mouth, and he blinked. Just once. He lifted his gaze to hers and stared as if he could see through to her soul. There might have been a slight, minute, shake of his head. “Your cell?”
“Yes, do you have one? I could call a car…” her voice trailed off and she noted how pale he appeared. Even through her sunglasses the contrast was quite stark. In this heat, his face should have been flush. She reached over and touched his arm. It felt clammy, not sweaty. “Are you all right?”
His lips turned up, but it was grim. “I’m fine. I do have a cell, but it’s at my house.”
That made no sense to her. “You don’t carry it with you? What if there’s an emergency?”
“Too much hassle. Look, I live about twenty minutes from here. You can call from there.”
Her nerves shot up like a rocket. “Go? To your h-house?” Her stammer came out a high squeak. But the more she studied him, the more her concern grew, for him rather than herself. “Can you manage this—” She fluttered her hand out in the direction of the massive bike he was on. “—for twenty minutes?”
“Unless you can handle a hog…” There was a smirky quirk to his lips.
“A hog?”
“Look, I’m sure someone in Walgreens will let you borrow their phone. I, um, have just enough strength to get home.”
She glanced down at the torn place on his shirt. It was stuck to his abdomen with a dark indiscernible spot, that left her a little queasy.
He revved the engine to an annoying level. “But I have to leave. Now.”
She lifted the shopping bag in a helpless gesture.
“Hop on, we’ll get it figured out.”
As the oldest of four sisters, Cat was known for her caution and common sense. In an instant, she shoved away her usual trepidation and moved behind him, telling herself she would ponder the reasons later. It was wildly freeing.
My Review
In this Fiery Billionaire Nights series novella, model Catarina Locatelli longs for her father’s respect and wants to work behind the scenes in the family’s fashion business, so she finally stands up to the overbearing man. Doing so leaves her lost and alone in the outskirts of Las Vegas.
Perse Phuckzer is a loner and survivalist, but then he gets terribly injured in a bar fight and needs help. Giving Cat a ride turns out to be the best thing he could’ve done.
WOW! What a wonderful story. Cat and Perse are such an unlikely couple, but they fit so well together. She wants a simple life, and he needs acceptance. They both need love. Their friendship and romance bloomed fast amid a beautiful desert backdrop and the glittery lights of the Vegas strip.
This fun, sexy contemporary novella is the perfect read for a lazy afternoon. Ms. Augustine is a new-to-me author, and I’ll be sure to check out more of her books.
5 Stars
Buy Links
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1FDPWS4
https://www.bookbub.com/books/dangerous-curves-fiery-billionaire-nights-book-6-by-mia-augustine
Free in KU
Author Biography:
Mia Augustine (aka Kathy L Wheeler) loves rainy days, hot chocolate, her dog, and movies with happy endings. Her contemporary stories are edgy, passionate, sometimes dark, but always compelling.
Social Media Links:
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Website: https://kathylwheeler.com