Jax's Artistic Journey...

It's Excerpt Monday again and feel free to learn more about it HERE! This idea was created by two members of Romance Divas, Bria Quinlan and Mel Berthier. "Excerpt Mondays" is the chance to showcase an author's work by making it available for readers. There are authors of all different genres and heat level ratings from G to NC-17. Be sure to check out the guidelines and calendar for future dates!

I am providing the excerpt of my current release to get new readers a chance to sample a snippet of RALEIGH IN RIO, the second novella in the SUNSWEPT anthology. Hope you enjoy it!

SUNSWEPT by Cassidy Kent
Release Date: June 2009
Publisher: Phaze Publishing
http://www.Phaze.com
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Heat Level: R

SUNSET KEY…

Freesia Daniels, personnel specialist and consummate planner, wasn't prepared to get the boot from her company for possessing a heart. When she decides to return home from Boston to the sunny beaches of Key West to lick her wounds, she discovers her heartbroken past has finally caught up with her in the form of Zachary Gray, her childhood sweetheart. He lures her to his island getaway and lands them smack in the middle of a raging hurricane. Lightning doesn't often strike twice, but this storm might give them both a second chance at love.

RALEIGH IN RIO…

Raleigh Campbell just learned that her five year marriage was a sham. To cheer her up, her friends take her to Rio during Carnivale to celebrate her 30th birthday and pending divorce. Little does she know, she’s not the only one her soon-to-be ex has cheated on.

Private investigator Cristo Santiago has been assigned to watch Raleigh's every move, in search of twelve million dollars of embezzled corporate money, and that's landed him in the hot waters of obsession. His love for Raleigh is sealed under the starry Rio sky, but can he find the missing money without losing her trust?

DOLCE & DIANA…

Diana Radford’s divorce settlement includes three million dollars and an island resort off the coast of Grenada. Although not classically educated in the culinary arts, she possesses a rare natural ability to create brilliant Italian/Caribbean fusion dishes. When she is selected by the reality cooking show, Fighting Chance, she can’t turn away the opportunity. Win or lose, this is much needed press for her restaurant, “Dolce”.

Culinary celebrity and reality show host, Chance Kohler possesses arrogance to rival his talent. After helming several 5-star restaurants in the States, he is disappointed to discover his opponent is an ex-waitress with no formal culinary training. From the moment they meet, this fashionista whets his appetite and leaves him craving for second helpings. If he loses, his career is on the line and he must survive the fierce but tasty competition…while the whole world watches.

EXCERPT of RALEIGH IN RIO...

There were two types of people Cristo could read like an open book.

One, a liar.

He spun her around and pulled her back into his arms.

Two, a woman oblivious to her own seductive power.

He brushed his knuckles across her cheek, caressing her soft skin as he memorized her face beneath the dim glow of the moon. Perfection.

Raleigh needn’t work too hard to seduce him anyway. All she needed to do was look at him and he could see the longing in her eyes. Could feel her need to be touched and be held, to fill the loneliness that she hid from the world. A flash of memories seized him. Images of her balled up on the floor in tears while he watched on helplessly through a damn monitor. He hated those days, hated not being able to console her, reach for her or wipe the tears away.

He felt the same way, too.

Cristo expelled a ragged breath as a familiar scent filled the air. Brunfelsia grandiflora, known as Kiss-me-quick. An ironic chuckle escaped his lips over the appropriate name of the purple and white plants. Even if he were to get what he wanted, it would have to be brief.

Sadness washed through him. How long must he push his wants and needs aside until he had nothing left to offer any woman? Hell, he had spent so many years devoting his life to his work that he hid from relationships when his lovers demanded more. Instead of a warm body lying next to him at night, he clung to cold case files, buried in the lives of others who sought to hurt and destroy one another. With his ability to uncover the truth, he had finally discovered what he had been missing through uncovering Raleigh.

As the sensual love song floated to a leisurely halt, Cristo grazed his lips across her brow. He had to end the night before he compromised his mission, or worse, allowed her further into his heart. His stomach knotted when she smiled up, licking her lips in anticipation of another kiss.

That settled it. Time for him to walk the guileless seductress to her hotel room, kiss her chastely on the cheek and finish his evening in his boxers, curled up next to a case of Brahma and the remote control. The thought of spending another night alone definitely didn’t appeal to him as much as seizing a few extra minutes in the company of his midnight fantasy.

Dinner had been polished off eons ago and he couldn’t recall a time when he had a more refreshing conversation with a woman. The more he learned about Raleigh, the more he wanted his fill of her, to learn a lifetime of details about her in the span of a night. He had to take something of her with him for those long, chilly nights. Yes, he wanted to know if her reality truly compared to the profile he had memorized from her files.

Cristo tightened his hold on Raleigh. His only regret was finding the woman of his dreams now, under these circumstances. He wished they had come together during any of the dozens of times in his life when he could have committed to someone and hadn’t.

How would Raleigh react when she found out the truth about him? Would she give him a chance to show her another life outside of the prison of her failed marriage? Or would she walk away more wounded and broken than when she started? Could he risk it all and gamble on one night?

Like two teenagers at a forbidden prom, they continued dancing skin-to-skin and a sudden wave of warmth spread through him as Raleigh threw her arms around his neck.
Not wanting the night to end, he grasped for any reason to be with her. “Care for a walk along the beach?”

Raleigh slipped out of his arms to gift him with a smile that made his chest constrict. “Excellent idea. However, I’d rather prop up my feet after walking in these heels for ten hours. A nightcap at my place, instead?” She ended the question in a smoky voice that lured him like a siren.

Staring at him through the thick lashes of her hooded eyes, she waited expectantly. Had it been a figment of his imagination, or had he seen a flash of slow mounting fire within the ocean depths?

Cristo’s head gave him a hundred and one reasons to say no, but his heart urged him to take what she offered. He’d be a fool to walk away from her, for he might never have the opportunity again and regret was a bitter road he didn’t want to revisit. Time to take action before he lost the nerve.

He took a step forward and reached out for her, cradling her head with his palm as he drew her to him for a kiss brewing with fervent desire. When he finally tore his lips away from hers, he was anxious to finish where they had left off in more comfortable surroundings.

“What was that for?” she asked in a husky, satisfied voice.

“I wanted to make sure this wasn’t a dream.”

She slid her arms around his neck. “Let me show you that you are fully awake.”


If you liked the excerpt above and want more, please visit the participants of Excerpt Monday this month. Just remember, you'll get to choose which excerpts you want to read by checking the genres and ratings that you're interested in. Enjoy!


**All links have been updated as some were incorrect. :)


Mel/Alexia Reed Urban Fantasy (R)
Bria Quinlan, Rom Com (PG)
AJ O'Donovan, Poetry (PG13)
Stephanie Draven, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)
Heather S.Ingemar, Dark Fantasy/Poetry (PG13)
Babette James, Fantasy Romance (PG 13)
Cynthia Justlin, Romantic Suspense (PG 13)
Kaige, Historical Romance (PG 13)
Julia Knight, Fantasy Romance (PG13)
Ansha Kotyk, Middle Grade Adventure (PG13)
Adelle Laudan, Contemporary Romance (PG 13)
Jeannie Lin, Historical Romance (PG 13)
RF Long, YA Paranormal (PG13)
Caitlynn Lowe, Epic Fantasy (PG13)
Shawntelle Madison, Paranormal Romance (PG 13)
Crista McHugh, Contemporary Erotic Romance (PG 13)
Bria Quinlan, Rom Com (PG)
Leigh Royals, Historical Romance (PG 13)
Megan S., Paranormal (PG13)
Dara Sorensen, Historical Paranormal (PG 13)
Bethanne Strasser, Historical Romance (PG13)
Melissa Aires, Futuristic Romance (R)
Melissa Blue, Contemporary Romance (R)
Jax Cassidy, Contemporary (R)
Christina DeLorenzo, Furturistic Sci-Fi (R)
Maya Doyle, Parnormal Romance (R)
Ginny Glass, Paranormal (R)
Amber Green, Romantic Suspense (R)
Cate Hart, Paranormal YA (R)
Kinsey W. Holley, Erotic Romance (R)
Ali Katz, Erotic Paranormal Romance (R)
Aislinn Kerry, Fantasy (R)
Inez Kelly, Fantasy Romance (R)
Cherrie Lynn, Contemporary Erotic Romance (R)
Mel/Alexia Reed, Urban Fantasy (R)
Rebecca Savage, Romantic Suspense (R)
Fae Sutherland, Contemporary Erotic Romance (R)
Stephanie Adkins, Paranormal Erotic Romance (NC 17)
Evie Byrne, Erotic Historical Romance (NC17)
Ella Drake, Erotic Contemporary (NC17)
Dawn Montgomery, Erotic Paranormal Romance (NC17)
Lauren Murphy, Erotic Romance (NC 17)
Kim Knox, Erotic Paranormal Romance (NC17)
Emily Ryan-Davis, Historical Western Romance (NC17)
Kirsten Saell, Erotic Fantasy Romance (NC 17)
Jeanne St. James, Contemporary Romance (NC 17)