Ruth Cardello's Blog: http://ruthcardello.com/blog/, page 2

This week I released TAKING CHARGE, the final, climactic book in the Lone Star Burn Series. I have loved and laughed my way through writing this series, and I hope you have loved the journey as much as I have. Thank you again for all your amazing support, and even though this series is coming to a close, I have many, many more stories for you.

TAKING CHARGE is also available in audio! If you already bought the book (I love you), you can also get the additional audio version for a big discounted price! Just log into your account on Amazon and look up the title of the book.


If you haven’t tried Audible yet, you can try it for FREE for 30 days. 






Dive into the 7 Brides for 7 Brothers Series with Luke – Now Available!
Coming November 1st: Gabe

This week, the supremely talented bestselling author, Barbara Freethy, released the first book in the series, LUKE. You’ll meet the Brannigan brothers—seven sexy brothers who bring the heart and the heat!

Now available on:

iBooks | Amazon | Nook | Google Play | Kobo

GABE will be released on November 1 – written by yours truly

Excerpt 1

She met his eyes, and for a moment her resolve wavered. He had the kindest eyes she’d ever looked into. What would we be to each other if we’d known each other before all this? If I wasn’t already a tangled mess on the inside?

Why ask myself what might have been, when all I have is here and now?

“Keeping this ranch is my priority now. My only priority. I know how ungrateful that sounds, but I asked you not to come. I warned you. Good-bye, David.”

He bent closer again, so close Lucy’s resolve began to dissolve. “I’m not leaving until I’m sure you’re safe, Lucy. Wyatt hired me to help look after the outbuildings, and I agreed to bring some of my horses over to give work to some of the men who were here today. Wyatt seems to think they’ll need it.”

The room spun. “Wyatt can’t hire you. This is my ranch.”

David caressed the side of Lucy’s face, running the back of his fingers down one side of her neck. “Wyatt’s worried about you. He thinks you need someone to watch over you. I agree.”

The pleasure of his touch confused Lucy. She felt vibrantly alive, and her miserable morning was too easy to forget. No. No. No. She pushed his hand away. “I don’t care what Wyatt thinks, and I don’t care what you do, either. I’m telling you to leave. I don’t want you here.”

“Then why do you look like you want to kiss me so damn much?” he asked.

Lucy turned away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself. She could lie to him and say he was wrong, but they’d both know it wasn’t true. “You say you want to help me, David, but you don’t listen to me. I will save this ranch, and I will do it myself.” She turned back to face him. “Haven’t you ever needed to prove something to yourself so badly that an easier way of doing something was impossible to consider?”

David nodded. “And that was usually right before I fell on my face.”

She sputtered angrily and was about to tell him off when he raised his hand to caress her cheek again. “We’re at a standoff, you and I. My daddy always said the secret to solving a disagreement was finding a compromise both could live with. Wyatt needs help outside, the men who were here today need jobs, and I need to know you’re okay.”

He ran a mesmerizing thumb across her parted lips. “You need to save the ranch on your own. What if I promise I won’t step in to help again unless you ask me to, and in return you let me pay for the use of your barns and fields to train my horses.”

“You can’t pay me. I owe you money.”

“Then charge me and deduct as we go. I’ll pay you a fair rate for the lease of your facility.” “Why would you do that?” Besides to sleep with me, because that can’t happen.

As if he heard her, he dropped his hand and stepped back. The sadness she felt at the absence of his touch was as confusing as fighting the pleasure from it had been. “I’ve been thinking about getting my own place for a while. This would be a way to test how I like it. Working with Tony has been good for me, but like you, it’s time for me to see what I can do on my own.”

“You can’t stay in the main house.” Lucy blushed right after she blurted her thought out.

A slow smile spread across his face. “Wyatt suggested I stay in the old workers’ quarters. None of the men who were here today will be looking to stay there. It’ll be perfect.”

Perfectly crazy.

Am I honestly considering this? “If I say yes, it doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to anything else. I

want to be clear about that.”

 

A twinkle lit his eyes. “Why, Miss Lucy, what else might I think you were agreeing to?”

 

Excerpt 2

(Spicier…lol)

Lucy walked back to the box and picked up the largest toy inside. It was the velvet base with the exchangeable mechanical dildo on top. She placed it on her desk, laid out the variety of attachable pieces in front of it, and sat down. She rested her chin on one hand and looked at it sternly.

You don’t scare me, you know.

You’re just a bunch of wires and silicone molds.

She glanced at the directions, then attached one of the dildos to the top. It had a tickler on its end that reminded Lucy of a mop of hair.

Not even sexy. More like something from outer space.

She absently ran her finger over the complicated arrangements of buttons on the front. And seriously, how much does something like you need to do?

As she brushed too hard against one of the buttons, the dildo started to spin. “Shit.” She tried to turn it off, but the button she’d pressed had sent the base into a vibration mode so powerful, the thing was hopping on her desk. She made a grab for it, pressed another button, and the dildo flew forward, slapping her across the face. She swore and lost her grip, and it hopped itself off her desk and crashed to the floor.

She scrambled onto her knees, trying to grab the damn thing. It eluded her first attempt, but she finally caught it. Despite how it wiggled for its freedom, she righted it and located the “Off” button. Swearing, she sat back on her heels and wiped a hand across her now sweaty brow. It was only then that she noticed David standing at the door.

There are moments in life that test a man. The sight of Lucy chasing a hopping machine with a dick waving from the top of it like a flag was probably the funniest thing David had ever seen. The expression on her face warned him not to laugh. He told himself she was probably embarrassed, and he shouldn’t have opened the door without knocking.

Then, because he was only human, he grinned and asked, “Tough day at work?”

The post Taking Charge Excerpts appeared first on Ruth Cardello.

For those who missed my radio spot here it is. . .it gets pretty funny half-way through when it all goes south. . .lol Wait until I mention Kathleen Brooks. The show has technical difficulties that lead to all out mayhem and laughter.

My street team dropped by with kind words and to taunt me. You get to hear my brother call in wondering if he needs to save me. 

Follow this link and then click the little symbol I highlighted below. My podcast comes up. First you hear music, but hang on :) It's all there. Once the phone starts calling me back you'll hear me go from nervously laughing to actually freaked out. Hopefully you find that as amusing as I do.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/authorsontheair

A Corisi Christmas (Book 7) (Legacy Collection)(Novella)
Warm up with the couple who started it all. Dominic and Abby are gathering everyone for Christmas—Corisi style. This holiday NOVELLA is a heartwarming visit with the whole Legacy gang. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll want to read the series all over again.

Always Mine (The Barrington Billionaires) (Book1)
 
All new couples, still set in the world of Dominic Corisi.

Move over Andrades—it’s time to hear from your cousins.

This project is especially meaningful to me because I'm plotting it along with my sister, Jeannette Winters. The books in her series (Barrington Billionaire World) will release between mine. Our characters will make cameo appearances in both series. It won't be necessary to read hers to enjoy mine, but it will be more fun if you do.

 All new couples, same exciting billionaire world. First book will release early November. The rest of the series will roll out in 2016.
This series is especially meaningful to me because I'm plotting it along with my sister, Jeannette Winters. I've pulled her into this world and convinced her to write a series with me. The books in her series will release between mine. Our characters will make cameo appearances in each other's books. It won't be necessary to read both series to enjoy either, but it will be more fun if you do.
 

I'm receiving a lot of mail about Loving Gigi being the last book in the Andrade series. So many are asking what is coming next that I thought I'd give you a preview. My next billionaire series will be set in the same world as the Andrades and the Legacy Collection. What that means is that the characters will have fun cameos in the new series. This family is related to the Andrades. I'm finishing up a different book that I'll be announcing soon, but I can't wait to start this series. I've already outlined what is looking like another wild ride.


I have plans to revisit my older series now and then with novellas, but for now this is the project I'm most excited about.

 (Loving Gigi Excerpt: Good friends know when it's time to leave.)


Gigi’s cell phone buzzed with a message. “It’s Rocco. Oh, my God.” Gigi jumped up from her spot on the couch and knocked her glass of wine over on the table. “Shit.”Annelise was beside her, mopping up the mess with napkins. “What happened? What did he say?”Gigi read over the message from her bodyguard again. “He said Kane is here. In my apartment building. Right downstairs. Why would he come here?”Annelise walked over to pick up her purse. “Because he wants to see you?”“Where are you going?” Gigi asked in a panic and read another message on her phone. “Rocco said Kane is on his way up.”“You don’t want me here.”Gigi grabbed her friend’s arm. “Yes, I do. You don’t know how I get with Kane. I can’t be alone with him.”Thoroughly amused, Annelise asked, “Are you afraid he’ll jump you or that you’ll jump him?”Gigi’s grip tightened on Annelise’s arm. “Neither. Both. I don’t know. I need your objective opinion. Stay and watch how he is with me. I don’t even care if this sounds immature. I’m telling you, my brain shuts off around him. Help me not make a complete fool of myself by imagining what’s maybe not there.”Laughing, Annelise pried Gigi’s hand off her arm. “Okay. Okay. I’ll hang out for a little bit. I’ve never seen you like this with a man.”“I’ve never felt like this. I’m already a wreck. Imagine how I’d be if I slept with him and then didn’t hear from him. I’d go insane.”“Whoa, where did that come from? Slow down. You barely know him, and the last time you saw him he was with another woman.”“I know. Which is why you have to swear to stay. I can’t trust my judgment when it comes to Kane. Whatever happens, don’t leave.” There was a knock on the door. “Promise?”Concern had replaced Annelise’s amusement. “I promise. I don’t want you to get hurt, Gigi.”Gigi gave Annelise a quick hug, then checked her image in a mirror on the wall before rushing to the door. “I don’t want that either. Especially since he’s so close to Gio. I don’t want to do anything that threatens what I found, but, oh, wait until you see him.”  With her heart thudding crazily in her chest and her hands shaking with excitement, Gigi tried to keep her facial expression calm when she opened the door. “Kane, this is a surprise.” Her eyes flew to his, and the chemistry she’d asked herself a thousand times if she’d imagined was back, even stronger than before. Her lips parted involuntarily, and she swallowed nervously. He leaned in as if drawn by the same irresistible force. His lips hovered above hers, the warmth of his breath a caress she knew she’d enjoy on many parts of her. Flushed, Gigi licked her bottom lip and loved how he watched the move hungrily. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” he said in a deep, husky voice.“We were just having wine,” Annelise said from beside them. “You must be Kane. My name is Annelise.”Kane raised his head slowly and tore his eyes from Gigi to greet her friend. “Yes, I am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”Gigi clung to the door handle for support, practically sagging against it during the temporary reprieve. I’m such an idiot. For all I know Gio asked him to drop something off for me. Hold it together. “What brings you by, Kane?”His eyes flew back to hers, as they silently said, “You.” But his actual answer gave much less away. “I have business in London. I didn’t see you before you left and thought I’d check to see how you’re doing.”Breathe. Play it cool. Gigi closed the door and raised a hand in the direction of the couches behind them. “Well, your timing is perfect. As Annelise said, we were just having wine. Would you like a glass?”“I’d love one.” It wasn’t what Kane said, but how he said it that sent waves of heat through Gigi. He wanted more than wine.Oh, God, me too. Me, too. “Have a seat. I’ll get you a glass.”Behind the swinging door of her kitchen, Gigi wrapped her arms around her waist, closed her eyes, and bit her lip. I don’t know him well enough to feel this way. If being ditched after a kiss hurt, do I really want to risk more?Don’t do it.
When Gigi returned with his glass, Kane was seated on the couch across from her friend. The way Annelise was looking him over reminded him how he’d felt in high school when going out with someone involved meeting her father. He shot her what he considered a charming smile.She didn’t smile back. “So, how long will you be in London?”“London?”Her eyes narrowed. “You said you were here for business.”“Oh, yes. Not sure yet. We’re considering an expansion, so I’m visiting sites for a potential secondary regional office.”“Any in Scotland?”“Very possibly.”“Would it be a permanent office or a temporary endeavor?”Kane loosened the tie that suddenly felt tight around his neck. He stood with relief when Gigi returned with his glass of wine and one for herself. The awkwardness of Annelise’s questions was quickly forgotten as well as the woman herself. That was the risk of seeing Gigi again. He wanted her with an intensity that overshadowed everything and everyone.Gigi held out the glass of wine to Kane. His hand brushed hers while he accepted it. From the expression in her eyes when they met his, Kane knew she felt the same fire that had shot through him. “Thank you,” he said softly. She held his eyes for a moment longer. He’d never wanted to kiss a woman as desperately as he wanted to kiss her. To taste her plump lips. He groaned.“Gigi, Kane was just telling me about the business that brought him to the area. It sounds as if it’s all still up in the air,” Annelise said cheerfully from the chair across from them.Without looking at her friend, Gigi answered breathlessly, “Business decisions can be complicated. They aren’t something to be rushed into.” “Not unless you know what you want and, in this case, I do,” Kane said.“Do you?” Gigi’s lips parted again deliciously.“Yes,” Kane said decisively.Annelise chirped in again. “How exciting. And surprising, I bet, too. Gigi, didn’t you tell me you hadn’t heard from Kane since you saw him that last time at Gio’s?” Gigi shook her head as if clearing it, and the temporary spell that had overtaken both of them was broken. She looked over at her friend and nodded. “I did say that.”They seemed to share a meaningful look. “You did.”Gigi took a seat in a chair beside the couch and downed a gulp of her wine. Kane placed his glass on the table in front of him and returned to the couch. He turned a charming smile on Annelise again. “Do you think it’s possible to give Gigi and me a few minutes alone? We have something we need to . . . discuss.”He expected Annelise to bow out gracefully. She seemed to understand what was going on between them. However, in an act that raised Kane’s level of frustration, Annelise settled herself deeper in her chair. “Gigi and I tell each other everything, so I’m sure she’s okay with me hearing whatever.”“It’s okay, Annelise. I want to hear what he has to say.”“That’s apparent, but I promised to hang out with you tonight. Remember how you said you didn’t want to be alone?”“She won’t be,” Kane said definitively. He had no intention of leaving. Gigi’s eyes flew to his. “Annelise is right. She should stay.”Okay. Gigi had called in reinforcements. That was fair. Why should she trust me? I haven’t given her a reason to. I imagine she’s as confused as I have been. Kane stood and walked over to Gigi. “I spent the last month living at my office instead of coming here and doing what I wanted to.” He took her by the hand and pulled her up to stand in front of him. “This.”The moment their lips touched all sanity left Kane. What started as a light kiss deepened quickly. Gigi wound her arms around his neck, pressing intimately against him. He couldn’t get enough. She held nothing back. It was a kiss that consumed both of them.“Okay, that’s it. I give up. It was nice to meet you, Kane. Gigi, call me tomorrow.” With that, Annelise left the apartment.Kane heard her, but he was already beyond caring about her presence. Gigi felt better than he remembered. Her mouth tasted sweeter. Her body softer beneath his firm hands. He didn’t want to stop to discuss why he hadn’t contacted her. Without breaking off their kiss he lifted her in his arms and set off down the hallway toward what he guessed would be her bedroom. He’d spent countless nights imagining what he would do if he had Gigi in his bed.Tonight he planned to enjoy every moment of being in hers.
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Highlight the release of Loving Gigi: Book 5 of the Andrade series and be entered into a $100 egift card giveaway. One winner will be randomly chosen from all qualified entries.

Click here for more information and fill out the entry form.  Save this link because I'll be back on September 1, 2015 to announce the winner!

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Temptation Series:
How far would you go if you had the chance to fulfill your secret fantasies?
What would you ask someone to do, if you knew they’d do anything?
After the death of her mother and the abrupt end of her marriage, Kate is desperately unhappy to be spending the holidays alone. She vents her frustration in a letter to the one man her mother taught her to believe in: Santa Claus. This year she is rebelliously requesting something guaranteed to raise his eyebrows.
Brock Foster has wanted Kate since they were in high school. When he finds her letter, her hot Christmas wish becomes his obsession. Winning her will require skill and deception. Brock initiates a game that will bring them together—and tear them apart. Join Kate and Brock as they discover what happens when Santa puts you on his Naughty List. Kate's letter:  Dear Santa, I hate you. I know hate is a harsh word and that a lady never uses it, but my days of being proper are over. I’m sure you recognize my handwriting. There can’t be many twenty-eight-year-old women who still write to you. You can thank my mother for that. When I stopped believing in you as an actual person, she held out that you were the spirit of hope and dreams. Each time I doubted you, she would retell the story of the year her family had nothing and you brought them food, clothing that fit, and shoes for each child. Between you and me, your involvement in that was a crock of shit. We both know it was probably someone from her church who felt bad for her family. When I think of all the time I wasted crafting the perfect letters to you just because it made my mother smile, I want to hunt you down and kick your red-velvet-covered ass. You never gave me what I asked for. You only sent a mockery of it. Remember in high school when I asked for a boyfriend who would hold my hand and listen to me? What I got was a borderline stalker with hands so sweaty they felt like sponges. Sure, he wanted to hold my hand. He also wore the underwear he stole out of my gym bag. He said it was his way of staying close to me. Then he followed me all over town trying to explain why that was normal. I told him not to touch me so much that I gained the nickname Untouchable Kate. I didn’t out him because ladies are above vindictiveness. I guess I’m not a lady anymore, either, because I want to find him and beat his sorry ass, too. I wrote to you in college. I don’t know why. I guess it made me feel closer to my mother, and I missed her. I was in such a hurry to grow up back then. My friends were all getting married. I asked you for a husband—and you sent Wayne Price. Just like you, he was all show. He came from a good family, made the right amount of money, looked like one of the Kennedys, and said he loved me. I thought you had finally listened to me. When he asked me to marry him, I had no idea what a twisted sense of humor you have, Santa. If you were going to send me a man who would sleep with every last one of my friends, couldn’t you have at least made him good in bed? Is an orgasm here or there too much to ask for? When Mom found out she was sick, I wasn’t going to ask anything of you. I’d stopped believing in you long before that. But there we were last year, Mom and I, in a hospital room just before Christmas, and she wanted both of us to write to you. I didn’t ask you to cure her. All I asked was for you to take away her pain. I hate you more than I thought I was capable of hating anyone. It’s Christmas time again. If Mom were here she’d ask me to write to you. So here is your fucking Christmas letter. Santa, if you are indeed real, I’m not looking for love anymore. You’ve thoroughly killed my belief in happily ever after. I do, however, have a Christmas wish. To help me get my mind off how much this time of year sucks, I’m asking for a good old-fashioned, down-and-dirty fucking. I want a man who knows his way around a woman’s body. Give him a long tongue and a nice big cock, and make him strong enough to be able to fuck me against a wall. He should not only know where a G-spot is, but what to do with it once he finds it. Someone who doesn’t finish until I do. I don’t give a shit who the man is or if I ever see him again. I want to come so many times I can’t remember my name. That’s what I want under my tree this year. This is the last time I’ll write to you.
Hating you in a most unladylike fashion, Untouchable Kate
P.S. Fuck you
Brock's answer:
Dear Kate,
Your letter has been received and processed. Santa doesn’t grant the type of Christmas wish you requested, but I do. In the spirit of the holiday, I’ll offer you twelve temptations that will guide you to what you’re craving. In return, you will follow my instructions and tell me every juicy detail of your journey. We will communicate only through texts. Temptation number one is right in front of you. Turn on the phone, Kate. I’m the only number in there.
Waiting to hear from you, Head Elf in charge of the Naughty List

P.S. I’d take you up on the offer to fuck you, but this isn’t about me. It’s about you. I can show you how to get what you want, but you have to be brave enough to turn on the phone.