
Looks Are Deceiving
All shadows and mystery, Elissa Baker's destiny with the scum of the
Earth is a secret. Only Greg can wreck her long-laid path by being Mister
Right and refusing to let her go.
Restauranteur Greg Moretti is crazy in love with a woman leading a
smoke-and-mirrors life. He'll fix that by cooking up some heat, triggering
some hunger, and melting the ice-wall around her world. Elissa will have to
choose, Greg or the criminal world. Good boys can be bad too, and lethal to
the heart.
The serendipitous solution to Greg's father's cold-case murder leads
somewhere he'd never anticipated. When the mob takes his dessert-kissed
goddess from his house, Greg couldn't have guessed someone would die, and no
one knew what Elissa could do.
Everything changes with the pull of a trigger, and Greg loses Elissa to her
fate and a badge. Nothing looks the same after this…
Sensuality Rating: SIZZLING
Genre: Erotic Romantic Suspense
Length: 89,000 words
"Every week I go to the supermarket, let's say, not dressed for the
prom. Hair pinned tightly to my scalp, glasses instead of contacts, no
makeup on my pale face, and probably barefoot. If you pass a person looking
like a wreck, that's me. Stop and say hi. One day, I wondered what could
come of such a disastrous appearance. And Looks Are Deceiving was born."
~ Michele ~ |
Larger Cover
Image
Cover Art by Jinger
Heaston
LOOKS ARE DECEIVING
ISBN: 1-60601-045-X
E-book $5.99

ISBN:
1-60601-112-X
Trade Paperback $13.99


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Looks Are Deceiving Video
REVIEWS for Looks Are Deceiving
5 Stars:
"Elissa and Greg date initially because of a dare. They
end up falling in love. Elissa has difficulty giving up control. Will Greg be
able to break through to her core? Greg’s family secrets are threatening his
security. Will Elissa help him discover the family secrets? This is a breezy
read. I could not wait to get home to see what happened next. I loved the
ending. I recommend this!"
—Ashley Turlington, Review
Your Book
4.5 Stars:
"Elissa’s personality is a mystery, especially to Greg.
She is presented as a fun loving, normal woman but there is a lot going on
inside that intrigues and mystifies. She is a whole package and I loved every
bit that I discovered. Greg is a fine man. He knows his responsibilities and can
become a wonderful support system for anyone when the need arises. Their coming
together was all part of an interesting bet to get back on the childish prank
his friends played, but I wasn’t prepared for all the simmering heat that their
union generated. Elissa and Greg uncover each other’s potential during the whole
course of their budding relationship and the intensity is evident in the sex
scenes. The lovemaking scenes will delight readers who want their zings mixed in
perfectly with the ongoing storyline. The secondary characters are mostly
integral parts of Greg’s past and I loved the banter and camaraderie between
them. All the female characters have a great deal of strength and spunk and I
liked knowing them. A few sub-plots join in the main one but it is a relief that
it doesn’t get tangled up. The mystery was decent and I was really looking
forward to meeting the villain. Ms. Hart managed to grab my interest with a
clever opening and held my interest till the end. All in all, Looks Are
Deceiving is a fast-paced, adventure filled story that will keep you on the
edge of your seat. Nicely Done!"
—Mahaira Fatima, Just Erotic Romance Reviews
The excerpt
or excerpts
below contain
explicit adult language and sexual content.
By
reading any further, you are stating that you are at
least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of
18, it is necessary to exit this site.
___________________________________________
Copyright © 2008
All rights reserved, Siren Publishing, Inc. Cannot be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without expressly permitted to do so in writing from the
publisher.
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EXCERPTS
She watched his suspicious green eyes roam the cocoa-and-white
living room appreciatively. “Greg’s got some pad here.”
His vision fixed on the cases of wine stacked beside the
airport-lights sound system and flat-screen TV embedded into the
wall. One would’ve thought the electronics would draw a thief’s
eye.
This one pointed the gun at the cases of wine, then back to her.
“That’s what I’m looking for.”
“You’re holding me at gunpoint for wine? Some alcohol problem
you have.”
The man cast her an angry snarl. “Shut up. Don’t be a problem,
and you won’t get hurt.”
“I can do that,” she replied, keeping her hands in his sight as
not to illicit a bullet. No reason to earn a gunshot wound. She
was about to take his gun away, anyway.
Over the man’s shoulder, Elissa spotted the front door easing
open, and she saw Greg stick his head in. He eyed the man, then
slid back noiselessly behind the door. His sudden appearance
changed everything.
Now Elissa wasn’t sure how to keep everyone from injury.
The stranger ordered her, “You’re going to pick up those cases
and put them in the trunk of my car.”
Elissa shook her head, gambling, now hoping to exclude his gun
from the action entirely, avoiding any physical struggle
altogether. He’d need to put down the gun to pick up the wine.
“I can’t lift them. I tried earlier.”
Her assailant gave her a nasty grimace. “What do you mean you
can’t lift them? They can’t be over thirty pounds.”
She shrugged her shoulders, taking in his posture, sizing up his
every move, an eye out for some advantage she could exploit or
an unexpected aggressive motion. “I have a bad back. I’m bound
to drop a case and shatter the bottles.”
Clearly frustrated, the man tucked the gun into his holster on
his belt, exactly what she needed him to do. Then he grabbed
hold of her upper arm and hauled her over to the window where he
ripped the pull cord from the glass door’s mini-blinds. In his
rough handling, she spotted Greg skulking through the front door
to duck behind the island of the kitchen.
The wine thief shoved her to the floor at the metal-and-glass
coffee table, and he wrapped the cord around her wrists without
a fight from her. She focused on keeping her assailant’s
attention on her so he wouldn’t pick up the small sounds of Greg
passing over the tiled kitchen floor.
“You know, you can get help for the alcohol problem,” she said,
watching over the gunman’s shoulder as Greg surfaced on the
other side of the island and slipped into a door beyond.
“I know a few places you could get help. You just really have to
commit to it—”
“Shut up.”
“Got ya, shutting up.”
Having tied her rather insecurely to the table, the armed man
then grabbed hold of two of the stacked cases, one atop the
other, and he hauled the cases outside. Wordless, she watched
Greg slip from the bedroom, a Glock-22 semi-auto in his hand,
and he sneaked back into the kitchen to press himself against
the refrigerator, shielded by an entranceway wall.
Elissa took a deep breath and thought up a quick prayer. Why
would someone, an armed someone, show up at a home to steal
three cases of wine, passing up the nicest home theater system
she’d ever seen?
When the man stepped back into the house for the third case, he
passed the wall Greg hid behind. In one smooth motion, Greg
stepped into the hall and pressed the muzzle to the back of the
man’s head.
“Don’t move,” Greg told him, stopping the man cold, and the look
of surprise on the gunman’s face was profound. “And I won’t
shoot you. Move a muscle, and your brains are going to be my new
decorating scheme.”
* * * *
“Are you sure there are no holes in your privacy fence?”
“I’m aware of several rather large holes, right at sight level.”
She snickered against his shoulder as he swept her body with his hands
in a slow exploration, snapping the spandex from her body as if
it violated his sacred territory. The small jeopardy of being
discovered titillated her.
“This must go. It’s in my way.”
Elissa giggled, and Greg peeled away the bathing suit, leaving her to
cross her arms over her nudity. Before she could suspect his
evil motives, Greg snatched her up by her waist and tossed her
onto the inflated mattress floating on the water. Elissa
shrieked from the surprise, and she smacked a hand over her
mouth to keep from drawing the attention of the crowd next door.
He leapt onto the mattress beside her, rocking the boat and causing
another explosive laughter from both of them that probably
blended into the neighborhood noise.
“Sh,” Greg whispered at her feet, his tone sneaky. “They might hear us.”
Just gazing down her unclothed body at him caused Elissa a cascade of
sensations like a waterfall spinning a paddle wheel. The setting
sun made the water droplets sliding down his toasty skin
sparkle. He looked reckless, and oh-so libidinous. She had to
lick her lips, dried from the moisture of her body shifting
downward.
An intent gleam in his eye, he started at her ankles, straddled her legs
and began a slow crawl up her body like a predator trapping his
dinner.
“It might not be a great idea to make love to me out here, Greg.”
He passed her hips, his face inches away from the curls of her sex,
placed a feather kiss there, then another kiss on her
bellybutton as he crawled upward. The way his dark-chocolate
eyes caressed her so hungrily made her ache.
“I think it’s the best idea in the world.”
“After last night, I can testify to the fact that I can’t keep quiet.”
His smile ripened into a full-fledged passion for risk, and he paused to
stare at her breasts. “God, I know. It was music to my ears.”
Elissa sucked her lips into her mouth, distrusting herself not to giggle
aloud. He was so damned cute. If Greg were the Devil, she’d
consider a life of sin.
“Irresistible impulse …” she pled aloud in a long moan.
Fully above her now, he smiled, badness and debauchery dancing in his
eyes. His hair was wild, his gaze anticipating and eager.
“You seemed like such a good boy when I met you.”
Greg descended on her, filled his mouth with her unshielded breast,
sending her hands into his hair and causing her to arch and moan
and lose all reason. Her knees rose to hug his torso, pressing
him against her in case he tried to get away.
“Shh,” he demanded around her nipple, the movement of his lips and rush
of his breath on her wet flesh sending more bliss and tension
through her.
“People might hear you, Elissa.... You’re not supposed to cry out, you
bad girl. But I’m going to make you do it, anyway.”
He descended on her other breast and suckled her until only iron
discipline kept her from uttering desperate moans. He made her
body ache for him. She caught herself in a tight grip of his
damp black hair and had to release him several times at the
realization, but he didn’t let up on her at all. He did make her
cry out more than once beyond her suppression, no matter how
much being heard would’ve embarrassed her.
Greg sat up on his knees between her open knees, his power position.
Feeling the roll of the water beneath them added to the
intoxication. Seeing him and his conquest smile between her legs
rocked her with another shudder.
He stroked the sensitive flesh of her inside thighs. “You should feel
the heat coming off you, Elissa. You’re scorching hot.”
His mere contact in intimate places put her just where he left off when
the doorbell rang, on the verge of starvation for him. She
didn’t know how she’d stay quiet enough not to draw the
curiosity of the party guests. She couldn’t stay quiet when he
touched her like this.
“You could take me into the bedroom now,” she muttered between rushed
breaths.
Greg shook his head in abject denial, no mercy in his eye. His hand slid
to the apex of her thighs, and his thumb stroked through the
hair there, sending a new shiver through her. “Not gonna happen
that way.”
She felt his finger slide down the folds of her pussy with sadistic
delay, then he penetrated her, drawing another gasp she couldn’t
hold back, and he pressed upward in a long glide all the way
into her, making her shiver, whimper, and pant.
SIREN SEX Rating
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SENSUAL:
Traditional romance, suitable for the general
audience (BookStrand) |
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STEAMY:
Heavy sexual tension; graphic details; may contain
coarse language (BookStrand) |
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SIZZLING:
Erotic, graphic sex; explicit sexual language; may offend delicate
readers (SIREN) |
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SCORCHING:
Erotica romance; contains many sexual encounters; may contain unconventional
sex; will offend delicate readers (SIREN) |
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SEXTREME:
Excessive or non-exclusive sex; many instances of unconventional sex; may be hardcore; not for the faint-hearted
(SIREN) |
SIREN BOOK LENGTH
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NOVELLA:
15,000-25,000
words |
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NOVEL:
25,000-55,000
words |
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FULL
NOVEL: 55,000-80,000
words |
| |
PLUS
NOVEL:
80,000-100,000
words |
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SUPER
PLUS
NOVEL:
100,000-140,000
words |
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HUMONGOUS
NOVEL:
140,000+
words |
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