Exclusive Excerpt from My New Release, Batten Down the Hatches!

12 min read

Why hello there, Readers!

What’s that you say, an exclusive excerpt of my new release?

Why, sure!

Please enjoy this blurb and excerpt of my new release, Costa Mesa 1: Batten Down the Hatches, out on October 25th with Loose Id. There has been a minor delay in the cover art, but I should have it today or tomorrow. In the meantime, please enjoy this art of the book, drawn by Bianca and Natalie Duarte.

Buy Link: http://www.loose-id.com/batten-down-the-hatches.html

Piper Goldhirsch is the head reporter for Business Buster, an Undercover Boss-esque tabloid exposé show. While it was never her dream job, it pays the bills. When she attends a masked Halloween Ball and has a passionate affair in the billiard room with a sexy costumed pirate captain who calls himself Captain Jack, what starts out as a few kind words and exchanged kisses soon transforms into the greatest sex of her life, and she’s haunted by the powerful magic between them. Piper parts ways with the mysterious stranger, and assumes she’ll never see him again… until he becomes her job’s next target.

Captain Jack Spencer runs his own brand new whale watching company, Ahoy, Matey, on the outskirts of Costa Mesa and Balboa Island. He’s so good at it he’s garnered the attention of rival companies. Piper is called in by Jack’s nemesis to go undercover on an ocean tour to expose him, and reveal his alleged illegal tricks that have made his business so successful in a short amount of time. But when Piper realizes he’s the same sexy man she slept with at the Halloween Ball, she’s emotionally conflicted. Jack is unable to forget the woman from Halloween, and when they do meet up again, they can’t keep their hands off each other. It’s time to Batten Down the Hatches, because the waves are about to get wild!

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Excerpt:

Piper moved aside Jack’s photo. It was him. He had a slight crease near the corner of his mouth, and she remembered the roguish Elvis smile. Damn it all if he wasn’t gorgeous beneath the pirate ensemble. She eyed the passenger ticket with some disdain. “I, uh, I’m not sure I can.”

“What the hell do you mean, you can’t?” Larry asked. “You love this stuff. Going incognito, bustin’ chops. This is the shit you live for, kiddo.”

“Yeah, but I think I might have met him.”

Tim frowned across the table. “You did? When?”

“That’s not important. I mean, he doesn’t know who I am, not really.” She chewed on the inside of her cheek. Messed-up case aside, she didn’t want to bust Jack. He’d given her the greatest sex she’d ever had and made her feel cherished, even if it was just for an hour out of her life. Still, it would be a trip to see him again after their passionate time together last night, to find out more about him and how he operated on a real level. It had its appeal. “I suppose if the makeup crew did a huge number on me, I might go. I don’t think he’d recognize me if they went to town with a good disguise. But I shouldn’t interact with him, in case he does realize it’s me.”

Larry clapped his hands and tilted his head. “I’m on it. We’ll get one of the female interns to go on the cruise too, and see if she can rattle his birdcage a little. In the meantime, we’ll get you hooked up. Wig, glasses, prosthetics, the whole nine yards. You always know how to handle it, Goldhirsch. I’ll leave it up to you how you want to go about things. Go see Stefan and Lance in makeup and tell them what you want. I’ll get the intern girl and equipment ready.”

* * * *

An hour later, Stefan Delgado swiveled Piper around in the makeup chair. She took one look in the mirror and gasped. After Stefan’s magic, she looked like her middle-aged, overweight Aunt Fran. She’d had them pad her up to look heavyset, and her real hair was smashed down with bobby pins and a hairnet, over which she wore what she’d christened the Rod Stewart wig, a trendy but huge blonde bob with bangs. Thick, beehive sunglasses shielded her eyes, and the elasticated waist pants she wore over the padding concealed her slim legs. She wore flat tennis shoes.

Stefan’s husband, Lance, popped up alongside him, drinking an espresso from a small cup and saucer. They were both close, dear friends of hers and often invited her over for dinners and get-togethers.

“I think you’ve outdone yourself, my love.” Lance grinned at his husband, who remained concentrated on Piper’s reaction.

“Hmm. I’m not a big fan of the wig, but no one handles Piper’s hair but me. Well?” Stefan asked, his voice tetchy. He tugged on the measuring tape around his neck. “Do you like it or not?”

Piper touched the latex on her cheeks, which looked natural and added an extra layer of fat. She poked her finger against it. “Weird. Well, aside from the fact my Tuchus has a Tuchus and that I look like I belong at my Grandma Yetta’s bingo night, I’d say it’s a safe-enough bet there’s no way in hell he’ll ever recognize me.”

Chapter Three

Piper drove alone through the sunny, palm-treed streets of Costa Mesa, gnawing on mixed feelings, until she came to Newport Beach. The familiar stucco houses and terra-cotta roof shingles were replaced now with more coastal, charming ocean-side cottages and custom-made homes with circular address plaques next to the doors.

Passersby and tourists strolled along the sidewalks, while others rode rental bicycles with relaxed expressions. She turned down a pretty neighborhood road and found the side street which led to the Balboa Island ferry. She parked her car on the ferry, rolled the car windows down, and passed four dollars to a disinterested boatman. The ferry oscillated in tandem with the gentle bay waves. The intern, Crystal, was meant to be on the same cruise by herself and would attempt to flirt with Jack to play the ladies’ man angle, which might add more spice to the whole story.

Trepidation wrestled with the pit of her stomach, though. If Jack was indeed corrupt and endangering the whales, fair enough. But after what they’d shared, what would it be like to destroy him as she’d done to so many others? She might have had to toughen up and suck up the truth about being a seedy tabloid reporter, rather than the serious journalist she’d always set out to be, but it didn’t mean her integrity had flown out the window. She prayed she wouldn’t have to expose him.

It was a mere five-minute journey to Balboa Island across the water, and when they docked, she drove the car off the boat onto the platform. The building Ahoy, Matey was in occupied a hole-in-the-wall next to fishing shops a few hundred feet away. She parked in a nearby garage, paid ten dollars for the day, and walked over to the cruise shop. She adjusted her sunglasses and pulled down the bangs of her wig. If she could find a spot near the tail end of the boat, she might be able to see what they were up to, and the hidden camera on the button of her floral blouse would catch it all. The standard protocol for Business Buster was to do reconnaissance on the company, assess the situation, meet with management about her findings, and then run the show and bust them in a flamboyant, trashy style.

A scraggly-haired young guy in shorts and a light-blue polo top with the Ahoy, Matey logo checked her in. He handed her a passenger ticket.

“The boarding area’s to the left of the building down by the dock, ma’am. Wait there until it’s time. Would you like to rent binoculars for ten dollars for the trip?”

Piper glanced at the display shelf behind him. They had sunscreen for sale and different kinds of binoculars for rent. “I’ll pass, thanks.” She smiled, took the ticket, and went to the dock.

A senior couple sat on a bench, dressed to the “we’re vacationing” nines—sun visors, stretch pants, fanny packs, and all. Piper gave them both a polite smile, just one of the older folks, and patted down her wig as she turned away. She got close enough to eavesdrop on their conversation. Their voices sounded almost New Yorker and definitely Jewish. She had a knack for finding her people wherever she went and could spot the nuances of the dialect.

“Do your hands itch, Bernie?” the old woman asked. “God, my hand is burning. I feel like I touched a cactus or something.”

“I have it too, Rose. Must be the hotel lotion.”

Piper pressed her lips together. They might as well be relatives commiserating at her Uncle Ira’s get-togethers.

“I’m always colder here too. It’s this California weather, much drier and less humid than Fort Lauderdale.”

“Maybe it’s your hormones.”

“Yeah, it must be.”

Piper tried not to crack up. A metal click unlatched nearby, and she turned to see Captain Jack a few feet behind her, freshly shaven   and handsome as he opened the gate that led down the dock. He had on a light-blue polo top identical to the shop attendant, with his name stitched above the breast pocket. He wore a white captain hat, a nice contrast against his darker features.

She stood up without thinking twice and stared at him, her mouth open. Oh, it was him. She knew that hard, built body, those hips that took hers without mercy, those enormous shoulders, full lips, and hawk-like, deep-blue eyes. He flashed a wide grin at her, apparently amused to find some middle-aged cougar ogling him.

“Hello, ma’am. Ready to see some fish today?”

Piper tugged at her earlobe and avoided eye contact. She brightened her throaty voice and tried to imitate her nasal aunt. “I, uh, yeah, I guess. Absolutely.”

Bernie approached Jack. “Say, you got life jackets on this ship, son?”

“Yes, sir. We do. Life jackets, life boats, lifesavers for sale, the whole shebang. You let us know what you need, and we’ll be sure you get it.”

“Good. We like to be safe.” Bernie put an arm around his wife as Jack opened the gate and motioned them through.

“Well, we aim to keep you safe. If you’ll make your way right down to my first and second mate, there, if you please. They’ll take your tickets and help you on board. Ma’am.”

Jack nodded as he watched her, and his blue eyes seemed to glitter with merriment as he watched the cute old couple. He appeared oblivious to her actual identity. She gave him a small grin in acknowledgement and ducked her head as she headed along the dock. Her insides were on fire.

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