Blog Hop: Review, Special Post & Giveaway of Surrender to Temptation By E. B. Walters

Book Title:  Surrender to Temptation

Series:  The Fitzgerald Family

Author:  E. B. Walters

Genre:  Contemporary Romance - Suspense - Sensual

Presented by:  As You Wish Tours

Banner Made by:  Julia Hendrix
My Rating:

A night by the fire with Chase Fitzgerald

Nikki leaned back and exhaled. The sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean, painting the sky with palettes of orange. The view was amazing, but then again, her husband never did anything that wasn’t spectacular. She reached down and rubbed her stomach, a smiling tugging her mouth. Being married to Chase Fitzgerald has been a thrill of a lifetime.

The sliding door behind her opened and she smiled before his warm lips pressed on her shoulder. “You look stunning, my lady in red,” Chase whispered.

Nikki turned her head and smiled up at him. Two years after saying “I do” on their ranch in Montana and he still took her breath away. Still had the power to reduce her to a drooling mass of needs and wants. He was dressed for the occasion too. His shoulders seemed broader, his body harder, and his sexy smile still promised all sorts of decadence.

“You cleaned up pretty well too, Rancher Fitzgerald.” She captured his lips in a long kiss, the taste of him going straight to her head.

“Quit messing with my head, woman. I have laid out a plan for this evening and we’re following it to the letter. You will not distract me.” He offered her a chocolate-covered strawberry. “My special recipe.”

Nikki grinned. “Oh, your sons and I have been craving these.”

“Don’t you mean my daughters?” Chase knelt by her seat and pressed a kiss on her swollen stomach, gently stroking it.

They’d flown to L.A. to see her gynecologist, but the three-day visit had turned into a week. Every Fitzgerald had insisted they visit them. Tomorrow was a huge family picnic right here at the family estate in Palos Verdes. The Fitzgerald picnics were usually fun, but when you are six months pregnant with twins, crowds got on your nerves fast. At least tonight they had the house to themselves.

“Hey! One of them kicked me,” Chase said.

Nikki laughed. “They probably heard your voice and are saying hello. Boys, behave,” she added, patting her stomach. She didn’t think she could ever be this happy or feel so cherished.

Chase chuckled and proceeded to have a one-sided conversation with their unborn children. “Your Mommy insists you are boys and since she’s never wrong and today is such a special day, I’ll give in. I love you, you little rascals, but we need to come to an understanding before you are born. I saw her first. She’s mine. She can love you, spoil you, or think you can never do wrong, but she’ll always be mine. My first. My last. My everything. One day, if you’re lucky, you might find yourself a gem like her. Now behave for the rest of the evening because tonight is our night. Hers and mine.” He stood. “Come, sweetheart.” He helped Nikki to her feet and led into the house.

Soft jazz greeted her when she stepped inside. In the middle of the bedroom was a table set for two. Dome-shaped lids covered serving plates on two serving carts were on either sides of the table. A bottle of lemon-raspberry fizz sat in a cooler. Two candles flickered on either side of a single rose sitting majestically at the center of the table. This was beyond beautiful.

She heard crackling and turned her head to look. He’d started a fire. A real fire with logs. Warmth drifted from the fireplace, chasing away the spring coolness in the air. But the best part, he’d pulled down the mattress and placed it in front of the fire. She loved making love to him in front of the fire back at home.

“Oh, honey,” Nikki whispered. “This is amazing.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he said, pulling out a chair for her. He planted another kiss on her shoulder before lifting lid after lid and showing her the Valentine’s Day meal he’d prepared for her.

“For appetizer, we have clam oreganata and fried oysters. There’s crouton salad. Side dishes are spinach and mushroom ravioli and truffled mashed potatoes. For the main dish, I thought you’d like something different, crispy rack of lamb with honey and mascarpone. And to finish it, chocolate-raspberry mascarpone bars.”

He’d out done himself. “You are priceless, Chase Fitzgerald.”

“I know.” He flashed his famous sexy smile, then he grew series. He poured the lemon-raspberry fizz in chutes and offered her one. “Here is to you, my love. My safe harbor in a storm. My anchor. Every day I look at you and breathe easier because you chose me to be your husband and agreed to become my wife, my love, the mother of my children. I love you, Nikki Fitzgerald.”

Tears rushed to her eyes. She cried so easily these days. First time it happened, Chase had panicked that he’d hurt her feelings. Turned out pregnancy was playing havoc with her emotions.

She reached out and took his hand and started talking. Chase heard her vows of love and devotion, but it wasn’t her words that had him swallowing and fighting tears of his own. It was the look in her eyes and what they said: she adored him, needed him, and wanted him.

Dinner was great, but he was completely focused on her. Her eyes sparkled underneath thick lashes. Her skin glowed in the flickering light of the candles and the fire behind her created an aura around her, giving her a shimmering incandescence. His fascination with her lips had never waned. She had the sexiest, luscious lips God had ever given a woman. He was madly in love with this breathtaking woman and it never failed to humble him that she felt the same.

“Dance with me,” Chase requested huskily when they were done eating.

“But this…” she patted her stomach.

“Can’t stop me.” He wrapped his arms around her and brought her back to his font. When he crossed his hands over her stomach, she covered them with hers, interlacing their fingers. They swayed gently.

He wanted her and was sure she could feel his erection pressing against her butt. He dropped his head to nuzzle her neck and a tremor shot through her and her breathing changed. Her response to his touch never failed to amaze him. He planned to make love to her slowly and thoroughly. For now, he was content with the foreplay.

She wiggled out of his arms and faced him. The look in her eyes told him foreplay was over. She pushed aside the spaghetti straps of her dress and the red dress floated to her feet. She kicked it out of the way. His eyes crossed. She looked glorious, the flickering fire covering her lush body in a blush of gold.

Wearing nothing but heels, which he still thought pregnant women shouldn’t wear, and a come-hither smile, Nikki planted a hand on her hip and purred, “Happy Valentine’s Day, my husband.”

Damn, she’d just hijacked his plans. Chase stripped in record time, then closed the gap between them and scooped her up. “Happy Valentine’s Day, wife.”

A playboy in hiding
A woman searching for answers
Will he let her in or send her packing?

After a tragic accident, Chef Chase Fitzgerald left his life in Los Angeles behind and moved to a ranch in Montana. He's convinced that all he needs to be happy are his horses, a few ranch hands and the Big Sky Country. Until one day, Nikki Savoy walks through his doors with her city clothes, sexy mouth, and a body designed to drive a man insane.

Nikki wants to know the truth about the accident that left her sister in a coma. Getting a job at Chase’s ranch is just the beginning. Throw in a crafty housekeeper, a cantankerous old cowboy, a few adorable horses, and an attraction that can’t be denied, and you have a recipe for disaster or romance. Will Nikki get her answers or will Chase offer her something better?

Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.

Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance RUNES is the first book in her new series. 

Underthe pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She's presently working on book six.

"After you. I rather like following you." 

"Don't you mean you like staring at my ass?" She said

"What was I right about before?" She said.

"Your gorgeous ass. I love staring at it."

____________________

"You have a dirty mind. I was going to say we could always go for a ride." 

"As in riding a horse?" She said.

"You'll see they're not monsters. They are the gentlest creatures God created."

"You mean after dogs, cats, and all domesticated birds."

"I promise to not let one nibble on you. And if you get thrown, I'll kiss it better."  He said.

"I'm placing a lot of trust in you cowboy." She said.

"Thank you. What eased your worries, the promise to protect you or the kiss?" He said.

Definitely the kiss. "None of the above. I can protect myself, and I don't know you well enough to let you kiss any part of my body." She said.

_______________________

He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to claim him like no woman had ever claimed him. Wanted to be everything to her. He was falling in love and was powerless to stop himself.

_______________________

I was so happy to be reading this book. I've worked with Ednah before & I absolutely love her, so when I had the opportunity to be part of a blog tour for her, I'm all in. I really liked this story and I enjoyed that she wrote it in dual perspectives. I'm always interested to know what guys are thinking because they're so different from us, how a big strong man can go down on his knees for the woman he loves it grabs my attention and I'm immediately hooked. That is what I love about this story particularly; Chase was strong and had a powerful persona, he was cocky and always got his way. Although there's a whole other side of him that is compassionate and understanding. You wouldn't think that from his descriptions of what he looks like but he's got such depth, it was really wonderful to see. He cared about his family, employees, and his horses in a way that you wouldn't think possible. That is what makes me fall for a character, how he treats others and how he cares about them, he was loyal to the ones he cared about. I also really like the family dynamic in these books, it's such a big loving family. They all care so much for each other and support each other. Nikki comes along and she puts him in his place, she different, she's strong willed like he is but isn't afraid to tell it to him straight and doesn't care that he's the boss. She called him baboon and that he was arrogant which was a total slap in the face & it was interesting to picture his expressions because it was hilarious.

Chase was living in his ranch in Montana after an unforeseen situation happened, he went into hiding to heal and start over. He was a chef but wanted to change his career path dramatically; he wanted to be a horse breeder. It's a drastic change from living in California where he was successful and rubbed elbows with the famous, to living in a ranch in Montana where everyone knew your business. That's what he wanted though, to live his dream of taking care of horses. Chase's family wanted him to settle down because everyone else was doing that around him. His family had expectations, so his uncle sent a few women to work for Chase but he really just wanted them to really work instead of this whole matchmaking scheme going on. So when Nikki showed up unannounced, he assumed that she was there to "entertain" him like the others tried doing. But she was very serious about her job, she was there to do a website for him, with ulterior motives but they weren't to seduce him. He didn't want her there because she was a distracting woman, beautiful, so he knew that she would get to him and he didn't want that.

"They've already eaten. Do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, time you learned you don't always get your way." She said. 
_______________________

Nikki wasn't going away easily, she was on a mission; she needed to stay in his ranch and figure some things out because her sisters life depended on it and Chase was the only one who could help. He didn't know it but he was her last hope. Nikki was a really spirited character, I liked that she didn't back down from him. She wasn't intimidated or was fainting around him because he was so gorgeous-- not literally but you know what I mean. He always had that affect on women, they either did what he said or wanted to bed him. When Nikki showed no interest, Chase made it a priority to seduce her and prove her wrong. He saw her as a challenge he had to win, but she wasn't falling for it so easily. She had a job to do and investigating to discover, but damn if she thought he was hot.

"You're not my type." She said.
When he lifted his head, she was staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. He probably had. No woman ever rejected him because he didn't fit a mold.
Not her type? He planned to make her take back her words in three days flat.
____________________

It was amusing to see Chase and Nikki's interactions with each other. First he was trying to get rid of her, then he was trying to seduce her, then he was trying to keep her. It was so enchanting to see them falling in love with each other. Chase was a sexy cowboy and Nikki was outspoken and independent. I thought they were really great together and in between the sheets they were smoking hot.

I feel like Ednah really covered all her basics, she was very specific in her descriptions and she put together wholesome characters. She was specific about web designing and horse breeding. I enjoyed reading both sides because I'm thinking about doing some web designing myself, it's always a bonus to have something in common with a character. I also have a few uncles with farms so I know a little bit about that as well. The whole story came together pretty spectacularly.  Chase is hot, sexy, and untamed and Nikki is the one woman he could never get enough of. These are essential ingredients of a scorching hot romance. When Nikki showed up at Chase's ranch it was not a matter of if she would fall for him, it was when she would, because it was inevitable. He was too hot for words. 

I was really glad that I got to read Surrender to Temptation. This is another of Ednah's smash hits! She does not disappoints, she's one of my favorite authors and I always look forward to reading her books.  

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