My Sunday guest is the fabulous Amber Lea Easton and her novel

Welcome to the blog Amber

Thanks for hosting me, Elodie!  I’m glad to be here to feature my new release, Riptide, a romantic suspense novel that’s only been out since August. 

Where do I begin with this story?  Sometimes an author is lucky enough to be able write characters that she truly identifies with from a place deep inside her heart that pours out a wealth of emotion.  That’s how Riptide flowed from me. 

The definition of Riptide is “a stretch of turbulent water in the sea, caused by the meeting of currents or abrupt changes in depth. Also called rip current, a strong current, especially one flowing outwards from the shore, causing disturbance on the surface.”   For me, that definition sums up this story perfectly, hence the title. 

A story about starting over, learning to trust again, opening to love after intense heartbreak, and overcoming tremendous obstacles on the path to happiness, Riptide is truly an abrupt change in depth for my lead characters, Lauren Biltmore and Noah Reynolds.  Both have been hurt in the past, some would call them damaged.  They don’t trust easily, but find that sometimes together is better than alone, even if that means risking everything for a chance at having it all. 

 One violent night shatters Lauren Biltmore’s life.  As an anchorwoman, she’s accustomed to reporting the news rather than being the lead story.  She escapes the spotlight by fleeing to her brother’s home in the Cayman Islands.  Haunted by nightmares, all she wants is a distraction from reality.

Distraction arrives in the form of sexy screenwriter, Noah Reynolds.  His take-me-to-bed looks mask a past ripe with scandal.  He knows he should stay away from Lauren, especially when the worst night of her life unlocks his writer’s block and while he’s dealing with a stalker of his own, but ethics aren’t exactly his specialty.

Attraction sizzles beneath Caribbean sunshine.  As their relationship grows, Noah’s stalker intensifies her torment.  Lauren wonders if her paranoia is justified or a carryover from her past.  What’s real?  What’s imagined?

Tentative trust is tested as their love is swept up against a riptide of deceit, murder and revenge.

Riptide excerpt:

Surrendering, she leaned her head against his shoulder and held on as if her life depended on it. When he wrapped his arms around her, she closed her eyes. He felt like a safe haven in a storm.

“When you look at me, do you think about why I’m here or what I’ve done like Larry does? Tell me the truth,” she whispered against his neck.

“No, I don’t. That’s the truth.” Fingers on her chin, he tilted her face up to look at him. “I see a beautiful woman who’s my friend’s sister and who I’ve been having elicit fantasies about for nearly forty-eight hours even though I know it’s a bad idea.”

“It is a bad idea.” She stared into his eyes as if trying to see his soul. She needed at least one person in this world who didn’t think of her as damaged. “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable of. I saw the way you looked at me back there. You were wondering if I’d snap.”

“Because a man had been shot next to you, not because of your past. Damn it, I’m shaken up myself.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “You tried to protect me, wanted me to tamper with evidence, that’s sexy as hell.”

She grinned despite the weight that had fallen on her shoulders. “I wanted to see what was in the envelope.”

“Ahh...so you were driven by curiosity.” His thumb traced the curve of her lower lip. “You’re one helluva woman, Lauren Biltmore.”

“You don’t know me.” She looped her hands around his neck and leaned closer. Damn, the man felt like heaven. “Is someone trying to hurt you, Noah?”

In the darkness, it was hard to tell if the shadows across his face were caused by clouds over the moon or unspoken emotion.

“No one’s trying to hurt me.” His grin seemed fake. “Let’s get you back to Austin’s.”

She held him when he would have stepped back. “You’re lying.”

He pushed his hands through her hair, gaze scanning her face. “Like you said, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. Maybe it’s best if we stop this before it goes any further. You don’t need my kind of trouble in your life right now.”

“Maybe your kind of trouble is exactly what I need.” She kissed him because the adrenaline surging through her body needed release, and he was the perfect outlet.

He matched her intensity with a fierceness that weakened her knees. She sagged against him, hands clinging to his shoulders for support. Trouble or not, the man kissed like a porn star. Damn, he melted the skin from her bones with every stroke of his tongue against hers.

Her hands roamed over his shoulders to his back. She pressed closer, craving skin on skin. One thought and one thought only penetrated her mind...sex. She wanted him inside her. Now. Fast. To hell with the consequences.

Together they fell against the sand with laughter tangled between their lips. Somewhere between fleeing a crime scene and kissing, fear had transitioned to passion. She needed his touch, his mouth, his body heavy against hers. Desire consumed every cell of her body.

“We’re the most unethical people I know,” he said against her mouth. “I shouldn’t be proud of that, but strangely I am.”

“Take me back to Austin’s. Stay with me.” She caught his lip lightly between her teeth and stared into his eyes.

His hand slid beneath her skirt and up her thigh. “I don’t know if we’re good or bad for each other. I’m not thinking clearly at all around you, making bad decisions, dragging you along with me.”

“I’m going willingly.” She nipped his neck, her hands smoothing down his back before grabbing his ass. “We have too many clothes on.”

“And we’re on a beach within view of anyone who happens to walk by and look closely enough.” He laughed against the side of her face. “Let me take you home.”

“And you’ll stay with me?” She kissed him again, unwilling to let him go. He felt too damn good pressing her into the cool sand at her back.

His kiss softened and teased as his hand caressed her naked thigh beneath the skirt, his thumb moving over her panties. She hungered for him like a woman coming off a diet craved chocolate.

“I’m such a bastard,” he whispered before rolling off of her and covering his face with his hands. “I can’t do this. It’s not right.”

The abruptness of his absence rattled her. They laid side-by-side, their breathing labored and a sea of stars above them.

“Do what? Me? Us? What can’t you do?” she asked even though she didn’t want to talk. No, talking was the furthest thing from her agenda.

“I can’t be the man you need me to be.” He sat up and looked toward the ocean. “That’s just how it is. I’m not a good guy. It’s for the best. Trust me.”

Where to buy Riptide:

 Riptide is available in both paperback and ebook formats from Amazon, AmazonUK, Barnes and Noble and Bookstrand.com