Falling for the New Guy is the third book in my Bluff City series (Book 1: Too Close to Resist (June ’14). Free Read: Too Much to Handle, Book 2: Too Friendly to Date (Oct ’14). (All books can stand alone).
Blurb:
She needs a distraction
One of Bluff City’s finest, Tess Camden always follows the rules. That means a romp with the strong and silent new guy on the force would be out of the question. Besides, no matter how deliciously sexy Marc Santino is, she’s his boss. So she’ll stick with her keeping-to-herself routine.
Still, Marc has Tess aching to be all kinds of wrong. And all those reasons they have to stay away don’t seem important…especially if their sexy arrangement remains their secret. Suddenly, their hot affair becomes more than just a distraction. Can they let it turn into something more?
[Amazon] [BN] [Kobo] [iBooks] [Goodreads] [Harlequin]
Praise:
“Helm’s book has well-drawn characters and an interesting storyline.” 4 Stars from RT Book Reviews
Excerpt:
Marc glared at his boxes, ready to tackle the task of unpacking. A task that wouldn’t take long at all, but would at least take his mind off all this shit. Dumb shit.
A loud thumping from out in the hall caught his attention before he made any progress unpacking. Followed by muffled cursing. Yeah, the walls weren’t exactly thick, were they?
He walked to the door, wondering if he should get his gun out of its safe first. The peephole was murky and he couldn’t make out much. Still, as run-down as this apartment complex down by the river was, it wasn’t grab-your-gun-before-you-check-out-the-hallway bad.
So he opened the door. And, okay, he strategically placed himself to be ready for whatever situation he might find.
He did not expect a woman standing at the top of the stairs, cradling one arm, leaning against the wall, cursing as though her life depended on it. Cursing really creatively.
“Are you—”
Her head jerked up, hand coming off her arm long enough for him to notice a bloody piece of fabric beneath.
“You’re hurt.” He moved toward her, his initial reaction. Someone was hurt, you moved in to help.
“Yeah, I noticed,” she muttered, staring down at the bloody fabric on her forearm before squeezing her hand over it again.
“Let me help.” She stiffened when he reached toward her, so he did his best to seem unthreatening. “It’s okay. I’m a cop. I can show you my badge if you’d like.”
She snorted and pushed herself away from the wall, very much ignoring and avoiding his outstretched hand. “Yeah, well, I’m a cop, too, buddy. Badge and all. Which means I can help myself.” She walked past him to the door at the end of the hall, then turned around.
“Wait. I know you.”
He was pretty sure he’d remember eyes like that. Which was a weird-ass thing to think, but they weren’t really blue, instead nearly gray. He’d never seen gray eyes before. Paired with the half assessing, half go-screw-yourself expression in them, he was pretty sure he’d remember her.
“New guy. San…San…San Francisco?” She flashed a grin, some of the go-screw-yourself fading.
The corner of his mouth inched upward against his permission. “Santino.”
“Right. Right. Matt Santino.”
“Marc.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said, right?” She half smiled at him and he felt like a dumb teenager scrambling to say something. Something that might impress her.
Idiot. If she knew him and was a cop, she had to work at BCPD, which meant no impressing.
“Tess. Tess Camden.” She nodded at his open door, blood starting to drip onto the hallway floor. “You live here?”
“Um, yeah.” He moved toward her again, gesturing at the next blood drop threatening to fall. “Don’t you think you should—”
“Good. That’ll be convenient.”
“Convenient? What do you—”
But she’d opened her door, was stepping inside. “See you tomorrow, San Francisco.” With a wave, she slammed the door shut.
Marc wasn’t sure how long he stood there in shock. Sure, it hadn’t been a seriously painful injury or she’d probably be screaming or going to the hospital or something. But she’d been dripping blood in the hallway, and that wasn’t good. At all.
But it was none of his business, and surely if she was a cop she knew how to take care of herself. Still, the image of that bloody scrap of fabric stayed with him, and he didn’t think he’d shake it until he knew what all that was about.
Extras:
Nicole Helm 
Pingback: End of the Summer Update | Nicole Helm