THURSDAY TEASER - Sam Cheever

 Good morning folk!  My good friend Sam Cheever has a new release today and to celebrate she's showing you an exclusive excerpt!

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STEALTH HONEYBUN Release Date February 9, 2012

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BLURB:

Peyton Honeybun just wants to get a six pack of cold beer and watch football. But, he doesn’t quite make it to that la-z-boy with his six pack. When four gunmen enter a small country grocery store and take the employees hostage, Peyton and the store’s beautiful owner just barely avoid being discovered and taken hostage with the others.

Willa Sloan doesn’t know what’s happening when she emerges from the backroom and gets a big, warm, Honeybun hand slapped over her mouth as she’s dragged backward into hiding. But when she learns her store has been infiltrated and her people taken hostage, the last thing she intends is to hide in a dark corner whimpering.
Together, they discover two things through that long and terrifying night. First, a country grocery store is a great place to run a stealth operation if you’re enterprising enough. And second, love can happen at the strangest times!

EXCERPT:

     Willa screamed as the man grabbed her arm and jerked her hard, knocking the wind out of her as the sharp, metal edge of the cabinet slammed into her midsection.
     The man’s gun came up and a large hand grasped his wrist, holding the gun away from Willa as she crouched on the floor, struggling to catch a breath. Nausea roiled through her and, for just a moment, she saw stars.
     The sounds of a struggle told her Peyton had his hands full fighting the big man. Boxes crashed to the ground and a supply cart slid past, barely missing her head as it slammed into the wall.
As soon as she could gasp a breath and push to her feet, Willa looked around for Peyton. She sucked air when she spotted them, horrified. The massive gunman had Peyton against the wall, the muscles of his arms bulging as he held Peyton almost off the ground, strangling him.
     Trying to pry the massive hands away from his throat, Peyton looked as if he was only a moment away from passing out. His face had turned a terrifying shade of purple and his eyes were wide, bulging slightly. He stopped trying to pry the man’s fingers from his throat and started punching his face. He was quickly weakening though, and his punches weren’t having much affect.
     Willa’s gaze slid around the room, looking for the gun the man must have dropped.
     Peyton kicked out and caught the man in the groin, then followed up with a perfect roundhouse to the man’s chin as he loosened his grip and doubled over in pain.
     Willa finally spotted the handle of the gun sticking out from under the cart that had rolled by and grabbed it. The sound of flesh hitting flesh didn’t stop as she grabbed the gun. Apparently the massive gunman had barely been slowed down by crushed balls and a good crack to the chin.
     Peyton finally threw himself at the man, wrapping his arms around the man’s throat and sending them both crashing to the floor. They skidded across the room, landing at Willa’s feet. She held her breath as she reached down and placed the muzzle of the gun on the big man’s forehead.
     He stopped moving, small, light green eyes focused on her face as she struggled against panic. Her knuckles were white on the pistol, and her hand was shaking so badly it almost slipped off his head.
Fortunately, Peyton took the gun from her before the man realized she was too terrified to do anything more with it than threaten.
     “Don’t fuckin’ move.” Peyton instructed the big man.
     Willa cracked the door to the store, listening. From the front of the store, a loud argument ended with a shouted warning. The hostages had done as Peyton had instructed, picking a boisterous fight to distract and cover any sounds he and Willa might make subduing the big gunman.
     She only hoped they’d been loud enough.
     With shaking hands, Willa returned to the gunman and stuffed a rag in his mouth, slapping a strip of duct tape across it as they’d done to the other gunman.
     Peyton held the gun firmly against his head and spoke to him in a soft voice filled with menace. “Now I need you to roll over and put your hands behind your back so the lady can tie them.”
     With some shoving, they got the big man onto his side and Willa tied his wrists quickly with packaging twine.
     “Make sure you tie it tight and wind it several times,” Peyton told her. “He’s a big guy.”
     “Do you think they heard anything up front?”
     Peyton shook his head. “I don’t think so, or somebody would have shown up by now to check it out. But let’s get this turkey trussed and flash frozen quickly, just in case.”
     They got him to his feet, shoving him back to the freezer vault, where his other buddy currently sat, shivering and complaining behind the taped rag stuffed into his mouth.  
     They trussed the second man the same way, tying his thick ankles to match his wrists, and threw a thin butcher coat over him. “Sorry, no blankets. But hopefully you won’t have to sit in here too long before the police come for you.” Peyton told them.
     They closed the door and Peyton looked at her. She gritted her teeth and tried to look normal, but she was vibrating with fear.
     His face softened when he saw what a state she was in and he reached for her. “Awe, come here, honey,” he said. “You did good.”
     She sobbed out a laugh and buried her face in his shirt, too scared even to cry. Her hands clutched his shirt and she pressed herself as close to him as she could, reveling in his heat, his incredible scent, and his seemingly unflappable strength.
     They stood unmoving for a long moment, only the beat of their hearts breaking the silence surrounding them. After a few minutes she stopped shaking and took a deep breath, stepping away,
     He lowered his head and looked her in the eyes. “Okay?”
    Willa nodded. “Sorry I fell apart.”
     He pulled her in again, rubbing a hand down her back. “You were incredible. You have nothing to apologize for.”

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Oh Sam!  Peyton is yummy!