KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!

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DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
DCYE – An Enemies to Lovers Series Book 1
BY LYNESSA LAYNE

Blurb

An Enemies to Lovers Series Begins

Bartender, beach bunny and college track star known as Micro Machine, Kinsley Hayes’ most pressing priorities are having the lowest times on the stopwatch and choosing between internships before graduation.

An intense encounter with a dicey stranger jolts Kinsley into the real world while she’s left mystified by her magnetism to the edgy rogue.

Who is he?
Would she ever see him again?

Klive King reappears in Kinsley’s life as a secret admirer, tempting and teasing, rekindling their irresistible love-hate chemistry at the same time as her high school crush home from war, Jase Taylor, reveals his repressed longing to be more than friends.

What’s a girl to do?

When nefarious biker gang, Inferno, set their sights on the wrong girl, Kinsley inadvertently draws both Klive and Jase into a battle to protect her while also dueling for her heart.

Set in the tropical locales of Florida, this dual POV romantic suspense follows Klive, Kinsley and Jase into the beginning of their tumultuous love triangle and the perilous predicaments of Kinsley falling for not one, but two, dangerous men. Both are hiding secrets, leaving her with a mystery to solve while testing their limits, never knowing her life hangs in the balance between them.

When love is a killer, don’t close your eyes ….

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
DCYE – An Enemies to Lovers Series Book 1
BY LYNESSA LAYNE

Character Interview,
Klive King

1. What one word best describes you?


I’m most frequently labeled a “straight-shooter”. (smirks)

2. What are you passionate about these days?

Finding a way out of the syndicate I’m involved in to be with the woman I love.

3. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I have a soft spot for children of sad circumstances and enjoy helping where I can make their lives better. I also secretly assist addicts in their recoveries.

4. You just won a huge lottery. What is the first thing you’d buy?

Nothing. I’d donate the money to various causes I’m passionate about because I have enough money of my own.

5. Who should play you in a film?

Some guy who plays Captain Hook in the show Once Upon a Time. I don’t have time to watch the telly, but someone told me he could be my doppelganger.

6. Do you play any sports?


I used to run track and play football, or what you Americans call soccer. I love gridiron.

7. What would we find under your bed?


Beneath my bed you’ll find nothing, but beneath my mattress I keep a gun.

8. What is something you want people to know about you?


That I’m not as rude as I seem. It’s more a protective mechanism. Not for me, for them. Deep down, I’d love nothing more than to fill my life with friends and relationships, family, but until my complications die down, I have to keep a safe distance.

9. Tell us about your greatest achievement.

My double life is my greatest achievement.

10. What was the scariest moment of your life?

Falling in love, second only to nearly being eliminated.

11. Is there a piece of advice that you have received that has really stuck with you? If so, what was it?

A wise man once told me, if you can define why you love someone, you’re not really in love. You can like someone and not love or be in love with them. You can be in love with someone and not like or love them. You can love someone without liking or being in love. When you find you like them, love them and are in love with them, you have something exceptional.

12. If you could apologize to someone in your past, what would you say?

To my parents. You did an amazing job raising me and my brothers. You did nothing wrong. My own foolish choices got me mixed up with the wrong people and trapped in the life I lead. I’m doing everything possible to get out, but if I die trying, please forgive me and know I love you.

DON’T CLOSE YOUR EYES
DCYE – An Enemies to Lovers Series Book 1
BY LYNESSA LAYNE

Editor’s Note: Edited for some language.

Excerpt

“I hate this. I’m done with men and their drama. It’s all the same. And you’re …..” She trailed off in search of a word that might match how low I measured, inspecting me for flaws. Rosy blossoms on the apples of her cheeks betrayed her. That’s right, love, I’m not alone in this inexplicable attraction and misery. 

“I’m what?” I taunted. “Grown up? Mature? Too big a pr*ck?”

Better if she hated me to escape my attention. Safer for both of us.

“Too old?” The corners of her lips lifted like that mental Russian roulette revolver. Her expressive eyes spun the cylinder as I stared like a victim realizing too late his own number was up. Victorious knowing fired from her irises, nailing my contempt, bleeding my strength. She turned and stalked away, determined to hold the power over me tight in her little fist. Not so fast.

“You’re not done. If you’d had a man instead of a boy, you’d be done with drama, because real men don’t have time for theatrics. Nor do real men hurt women. You’re finished with temperamental kids. Maybe ring me when you’re not one anymore.” I strolled behind her enjoying the line of her legs in Puss-in-Boots stilettos.

“What are you doing?” She spun so fast I stumbled into her. her squeal echoed off the concrete pillars while I grabbed her to keep us both from falling. Warm hands wrapped around my neck. Fiery eyes blazed mine with accusation. Uh, huh. Two can play this game.

“Did you do that on purpose?” I grinned.

“Ha! You wish.” She stabilized and threw a finger in my face. The weak girl vaporized to re-materialize into a dominating woman. Pure beauty. This young lady, Kinsley, was the Anne Bonny to my Calico Jack … Kinsley King has quite the ring ….

“I asked you a question.” She interrupted my reverie. “What are you doing?”

I blinked hard. What was I doing? Hell, what was I thinking?

“Dangerous to be alone in a parking garage at night dressed so sexy.” I nodded toward her costume. “Here. Take this.” I shrugged out of my pirate coat.

“Oh,the chivalry angle again?” She stared at my offering with a stubborn lift of her chin. When I raised my eyebrows, she grimaced and yanked the heavy crushed velvet from my hand. She shrugged into the sleeves much longer than her arms. Anne Bonny looked mighty adorable in my coat. Too adorable to sport such a venomous attitude.

“Lead the way,” I told her.

She snorted. “I don’t think so.”

My finger rose this time. “I’m walking you to your car.”

“Why? To put me in my car seat and buckle my belt?”

“If you need it, sure, but I figured you’d at least graduated to a booster seat.” She was so frustrated I barely contained a grin. “In those heels, I bet you can even reach the pedals.”

“Insults coming from Peter Pan in a Captain Hook costume? That’s cute.”

I winced like she’d burned me before my wicked smile spread. “Oh come now, love. At least grant me a solid Captain Morgan.”

“Yeah, I could use a few shots of rum after being around you.”

I chuckled at her playful insult. She turned to keep walking. Her pace quickened. I kept up and she grumbled as we narrowed in on a shiny green Civic. The unmistakable feeling of watching eyes skittered over my back, raising goosebumps on my neck. Glancing around like she sensed danger, too, she pulled the coat closed. Her eyes held mine for a ghost of a second. We were being observed. She rushed to her car with new urgency while I scanned for threats. She had my knife. I’d rather not pull my pistol unless I had to.

About Author Lynessa Layne…

Lynessa Layne is a native Texan who grew up in the small town of Plantersville, home of the Texas Renaissance Festival. She’s a fan of cosplay, exploration, history, loves the beach and is always game for a great book. A military wife, she’s bounced around the US, including the settings for DCYE, currently landing in the heart of sweet home Alabama where she and her husband are raising their blended family.

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