Dangerous Past by Laura Hunsaker is a Stress Busting Book Festival pick #romanticsuspense #romance #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- 16 hours ago
- 5 min read
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:
The morning came all too soon. Lark wanted to laze the day away with Jay, but a cold nose on her bare back reminded her that the dogs needed to go out. She found Jay’s shirt and her yoga pants, then went hunting for her shoes.
“Leaving?”
Lark didn't look up; she was trying to put on her shoe and clip Bandit’s leash at the same time. “Yeah, the dogs need to go out. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Wait, I’ll come with you.”
Lark finally looked up and beamed at him. “Really? I’d love some company.” Her smile fell. “But what if he’s out there. Watching me.” She shuddered. “What will he think if he sees you with me?”
“I don’t want you going anywhere alone right now, Lark.”
“And I don’t want to be alone right now either, trust me. I may be independent or quirky or whatever people think about me, but I’m not stupid. I really don't want to be alone.”
“You’re not stupid, Lark.”
“I know that, Jay.” She paused. “But thank you. Sometimes it’s nice to hear it from someone else.”
He had gotten out of bed and wasn’t wearing anything. The way the light hit his skin, the way the shadows hugged every dip in between his carved muscles? She could swoon. She could stand and admire his form all day if she had the chance. She bit her lower lip. She really wanted the chance.
He caught her staring at his bare ass and laughed. “Are you checking me out?”
“Nope, I’m ogling. There’s a difference.”
He stalked over to her, grabbed a fistful of her shirt and pulled her to her tiptoes for a kiss. “You’re wearing my shirt.”
“Yep,” she murmured against his lips.
“What am I supposed to wear?”
“Mine?” She kissed him once more, tasting his smile. “I’ll be right back.” She pointed at a patch of grass right in front of the window. “You can watch me through the window from your own room where you can get another shirt.”
His body hardened as he kissed her once more. “Or I could take my shirt off of you and toss you back on the bed…”
They were interrupted by a whine.
She sighed. “Or you could hold that thought while I take the dogs out.”
He dropped his head back and blew out a frustrated breath. “Or I can hold that thought while you take the dogs out.” He stared hard at her. “Five minutes. No more or I’m coming out. I don’t like you being alone.”
“I know, Jay,” Lark said softly. She hesitated, then rose to her toes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be right back.”
***
“Once more. What’s the plan?” Jay would drill her until she could recite it forward and back.
“I get in the car like normal. I drive north. I act natural. I stop for gas, I get snacks, all the things I would normally do.”
“This time, when you stop for the night, Kyle will be waiting at the hotel we’ve picked out. He’s already left so he has a head start. This way, whoever is following you doesn’t know we’re involved. And this way he won’t see a car following you and raise suspicions.”
“The GPS is back on my car?”
He nodded. “It is. And when you get to the hotel, you’ll take the batteries out.”
“He’ll think the GPS batteries need to be replaced, and he’ll come to the parking lot to change them.”
“If he normally would watch you from a distance, this should draw him out. He’ll have to get close to change the batteries, something we have to assume he’s done in the past.”
“Then you catch him red-handed.”
“That’s the plan. Then you can sleep safe and sound tonight.”
Luke was staying in Chester while they all drove north to Medford, Oregon. It was about 250 miles away, so it shouldn’t take more than four or five hours. The plan was for Jay to follow Lark. Maybe they’d get lucky and find the creep stalking her, but he wasn’t holding his breath. If the guy was watching the hotel, he’d notice a man joining Lark in the same car. They couldn’t risk it. So Jay would follow in his vehicle, and he would pray they had all their bases covered.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dangerous-past-laura-hunsaker/1144214970?ean=2940166118837
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Laura_Hunsaker_Dangerous_Past?id=5JPgEAAAQBAJ
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1464382
What’s your favorite way to combat stress?
I read to combat stress. I need those handsome dukes, protective special agents, and sexy cowboys. I need werewolves, dragons, and magic. Many of us come home from work exhausted and in need of the opposite of reality. Give me Romance any day of the week!
Why is your featured book a stress busting read?
Dangerous Past makes the perfect stress busting read, because even though there is edge of the seat excitement, page-turning thrills, and risks, you know there will be that happily ever after waiting for you (and the characters) at the end.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $100 Amazon gift card.
Open internationally.
Runs May 1 – 31, 2025
Drawing will be held on June 1, 2025.
Author Biography:
Laura Hunsaker is an award-winning author 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 adventures 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 day job, 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. Join the New York Empires for romance and shenanigans now!
Social Media Links:
Twitter/X : https://x.com/laurahunsaker
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highland_hussy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LauraHunsaker/
