Dangerous Past by Laura Hunsaker is a Love and Romance Festival pick #romance #romanticsupsense #lovemonth #giveaway
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    • Feb 9
    • 6 min read

Dangerous Past by Laura Hunsaker is a Love and Romance Festival pick #romance #romanticsupsense #lovemonth #giveaway



Title: Dangerous Past

 

Author: Laura Hunsaker

 

Genre: Romantic Suspense

 

Book Blurb:

 

She’s running from her past…


Lark Seawell is the daughter of a serial killer. His reputation has long been a shadow looming over her since his arrest when she was a child. Especially since she’s the one who called the police. She has spent her entire life trying to live as anonymously and quietly as possible. She is not her father’s legacy.


He wants to be her future... 


FBI agent Jay Sutherland is visiting a friend in a small mountain town when free spirit Lark asks for help with her injured dog. He is instantly enamored with her, and their one night stand stays with him far into the next morning, though Lark is long gone. When his partner realizes that she is the daughter of The Highwayman, Jay refuses to believe Lark is anything like her father.


What happens when she stops running…


When a trail of dead bodies follows Lark on her cross-country drive, the FBI believes she’s the killer. How can the sweet woman who rescues injured animals and makes him feel things he hasn’t felt in years be a murderer? The bodies don’t lie. Jay knows there’s more at play. If he’s wrong, and Lark is as much a monster as her father, he may be the next target…


*Author's Note: This book contains a sunshiney heroine, a gruff hero, a couple of goofy dogs, some intense action, and begins when a one night stand leads to more…

 

Excerpt:

 

She knew how people perceived her, but Lark didn’t care anymore. She was who she was. She’d been on her own for a very long time, and she’d had her share of relationships. She loved life, and she loved love. The falling in love was her favorite part, where you were still getting to know each other, and everything was new and shiny. It was once someone felt comfortable showing their real face that she didn’t like. That was usually when the control started. Trying to change her, fix her, make her into who they thought she should be. Poor broken Lark; you can’t survive on your own.


She was doing just fine, thank you very much. She had learned to appreciate life, and tonight, she wanted to appreciate Jay. In fact, she wanted to be the only member of the Jay Appreciation Fan Club, because she didn’t want to share him.


She turned to him, “Did you want a ride home?”


He studied her face for a moment. “I don’t live here; I’m visiting.”


“Ah…” So he wasn’t a local boy.


“But I’d like a ride to my hotel if you’re offering.”


“Hop in.”


His presence filled the car once more, and she was tempted to crack a window to relieve the pressure, but she knew that wouldn’t work. She could be in a wide-open field and feel the same. The air nearly crackled with tension.


He gave her directions to the hotel, one of only two in Chester, and when he turned to say goodbye, Lark went for it. She pressed her lips to his, gently, giving him a chance to back off, but also parting them slightly in case he wanted more. Because she wanted more.


He froze in surprise, but he didn’t pull away. He didn’t kiss her back either, though. She leaned back a couple inches, “Thank you for saving my dog.”


 His breath wafted across her still wet lips. She darted her tongue out to capture the last taste of him. She’d taken her shot; he wasn’t interested—no harm no foul. Lark wasn’t one to dwell. Dwelling led to dark memories she didn’t want to think about. She pressed the release on his seatbelt, effectively kicking him out of her car, but his hand covered hers. His eyes hadn’t left her face, and with a groan, he leaned in and kissed her. This was no passive kiss like earlier; this was a claiming. No gentle press of the lips. His tongue slipped past her lips and tangled with hers. The surprise Lark initially felt had waned, and she was all in.


The sun was setting, and as the car grew darker, their body heat fogged up the windows. Jay’s lips trailed down her neck, and Lark tipped her head back, saw at her goofy dogs’ faces, and tried not to start laughing. She was a grown woman with the hottest man she’d ever met, and they were necking in her car with her dogs looking on. Her lips tipped up.


“Do that again,” she murmured as his teeth grazed the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder.


“What, this?” He nipped her this time.


“Ah, that. Yes.” 


He unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled her closer, the center console getting in the way. She made an aggravated sound and pressed herself against him, ignoring the pain in her hip where the emergency brake dug in.


Her hands were gripping his biceps through the soft material of his shirt, but she couldn’t get any closer. She wanted skin to skin. She wanted his hands on her; she wanted her hands on him.


With a tiny growl of frustration, she pulled back. “Let’s go to your room.”


He paused. “You’re sure?”


She kissed him again. “Definitely.”


With her hand on the door handle, she stopped. Jay was already around her car to open her door.


“Second thoughts?” He quirked an eyebrow.

 

She stood up slowly, her eyes never leaving his. “Never. But…”


“But?” he prompted.


“I can’t leave my dogs in the car all night.”


He huffed out a laugh. “Get their leashes. As long as they don’t want to watch, they can sleep on the floor.”


“My dogs aren’t pervs.” Lark feigned outrage, but secretly, he’d just added one more thing for her to put in her “Good” column today. He didn’t come off as a dog person, and yet he hadn’t batted an eye carrying Daisy down the trail. He hadn’t minded Bandit drooling on him, and even now, when he was so close to rounding home base, he cared enough about her dogs to allow them into his hotel room. If she thought that love was permanent, he was absolutely someone she could love forever. But she knew better than anyone that love was fleeting and best in small doses.


Peering at him from beneath her eyelashes, Lark realized she was looking at one of the few truly good men in the world.

 

Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):

 


  

  




 


What’s your favorite part about being a romance author?

 

I enjoy bringing new worlds and characters to life. The fact that a stray thought I had can become a full story in my head, and other people can enjoy that story is amazing!

 

Here’s my tip to add romance to your love life:

 

Do the thing. It sounds so simple, but seriously. Do the thing. Whether it's being bold and doing something new/out of your comfort zone, or making the first move, do it. If it sounds scary, do it anyway. Romance doesn't just happen, you have to put in effort. Even if the effort is for little things. Take a walk together. Watch a show together. Play a game together. Spend time together. Make the time for your person. And the most romantic thing is knowing that your person wants to make time and put in effort for you.

 

Giveaway –

 

One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card

 

 

Open internationally.

 

Runs February 1 – 29, 2024

 

Drawing will be held on March 1, 2024. 

 


Author Biography:

 

Laura Hunsaker is an award-winning writer who writes romance set in the Scottish Highlands, but with a twist. Somewhere in between Historical and Paranormal, she writes Scottish Time Travel Romance and Paranormal Romance. She's hard at work right now, writing about protective men paired with strong women who knock them off their feet.


She is a hybrid author being both traditionally published and self-published, as well as a member of Romance Writers of America® Cactus Rose Chapter and the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.


After earning degrees in English and German, with a specialty in British Literature, she taught for a few years. As of now, Laura has a full-time job as mom of three which leaves nights for traveling through the mists of Scotland.


Her latest adventure has been writing hockey romance as Kenzie MacLir with contemporary romance author Heather Lire. Their debut story is in the Icing the Puck anthology available now.

 

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