Resisting Kane was released by Phaze Books on September 6th, 2009. I’ll be giving away a free copy to someone who answers this question correctly:

Who gave Resisting Kane a 4.5 blue ribbon rating?

Please post your answer in the comments section below, along with your email address, in case you’re the lucky winner. 😀 I’ll be drawing a name tonight around 11PM (CST), and the winners name will be posted here. (Hint: The answer can be found here).

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Blurb: Past inequities are hard to forget “¦ and harder still to forgive. After fifteen years, high school classmates Madison Carey and Terence Kane are forced to work together to stop a madman whose sole purpose is to seek revenge “¦ with her life as the prize.

Excerpt: The following morning, Madison bounded down the stairway, excited to be going back to work. At least she would be around people other than just policemen. Besides Julian and Andrew, she’d had several calls from friends wanting to come visit over the weekend, but she had made excuses, not wanting to risk anyone finding out the circumstances that surrounded her. How in the world would she be able to explain a balding police officer prowling her downstairs? It was hard enough keeping the secret from Julian and Andrew.

She wasn’t used to being without her friends and having no one to pass the time with. Normally she was encompassed in a bustle of activity so the quietness made her two-story home feel even bigger and emptier. Waking up early that morning, she had jumped out of bed, eager to get dressed and back to work just so she would have someone besides a cop to talk to.

Madison rolled her eyes in disdain the moment she saw Terry waiting for her in the foyer with Drew at his side. As soon as Drew walked out the front door, he turned to her and greeted her with a lopsided smile.

“Good morning, Madison,” he said cheerfully.

Placing her hands on her hips, Madison scowled at him. It was bad enough for them to be thrown together against her wishes, but seeing how he was obviously enjoying her misery over the whole situation made it even worse.

“I really don’t see why it’s necessary for you to drive me. I have a chauffeur who can do the same thing with far less aggravation.”

She walked past him and into the den. As he followed her every move, she heard him chuckle under his breath. Choosing to ignore it rather than start a futile argument with him, she looked around the room for her purse. She vaguely remembered setting it down in the den when she returned from work Friday evening, but now it was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the housekeeper had moved it.

“Your chauffeur isn’t the one being paid to protect you,” he reminded her, picking up her purse from a nearby table. “Look, Madison, I know you’re not thrilled with me being assigned to your case. That’s pretty obvious.”

Snatching it from his hand, she stormed past him and walked toward the kitchen.

“Good. Then I can stop pretending to be civil toward you.”

After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she fumbled with some paperwork on the countertop while Terry stood nearby and watched. In his black dress pants, long-sleeved blue shirt, and tie, she had to admit he looked quite handsome, but she immediately forced the thought from her mind as quickly as it had entered. She wouldn’t go there again if her life depended on it.

“Pretend all you want. I’m not going anywhere. It’s my job to watch over you and I’m going to do my job whether you like it or not,” he replied, arrogantly crossing his arms over his chest. Swallowing hard, Madison glared at him, trying valiantly not to wail at him with her claws bared.

“You might have walked over me and everyone else you looked down upon in high school, but you won’t do it to me again, Terence Kane. I don’t need your protection. My father hired you. I didn’t. I can take care of myself.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, he walked toward her and cornered her against the kitchen counter before she had time to escape. Undaunted, she looked up into his cold hazel eyes and never flinched. She had been up against far more intimidating men than him in her lifetime, and she wasn’t about to be bullied.

“You can stand here and act all high and mighty as long as you want to, Madison Carey. I can do this all day long.”

Placing his hands on either side of her against the counter, his glare was unwavering.

“The fact that you’re rich and well-known in this shallow business you seem to love won’t stop Joseph Sinclair from killing you if he’s given the slightest opportunity.”

His breath was hot against her skin, and even though she knew she should try and step away from him, for some reason her feet felt permanently glued to the floor. She couldn’t remember a time she had ever been this close to him, and it was unsettling to say the least. The scent of his cologne pervaded her senses and, as much as she tried, she couldn’t control her body from quivering.

“Terry, I know the thought of some helpless woman falling at your feet excites you, but I don’t need you. If he makes the mistake of getting near me, I’ll”¦I’ll just take care of it. I’ll kill him if I have to.”

“And how do you expect to do that?” he asked incredulously.

Shrugging her shoulders, Madison tore her gaze away from him and glanced out the window, refusing to look him in the eye. She had protected herself this long; she certainly didn’t need him to start doing it. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Jerking away from her, Terry inhaled sharply as if something had suddenly occurred to him. Then, before she had time to react, he took her purse and poured all of its contents on the countertop. Bewildered, she tried to stop him, but he was much too strong.

“What the **** are you doing? You have no right going through my things! Stop it!”

Every zipper and compartment he opened as Madison looked on helplessly. With his jaws clenched tightly together, he franticly searched through her wallet, every lipstick case, and every other content scattered on top of the kitchen counter as if searching for buried treasure.

“What are you hiding, Madison? A knife? A gun? Where is it?” He demanded, turning to look at her. His heated gaze was probably meant to alarm her, but instead she felt her knees weaken. Grabbing her by the waist, he pushed her roughly against the counter.

His lips were so close. Unsure of what to do next, she looked up at him and waited expectantly. For reasons she couldn’t even begin to fathom, she desperately hoped he would kiss her, but instead he began frisking her. Confused and angry, she tried pushing him away as he patted her hips with both of his hands, making his way down her body.

“No! Stop it, Terry! I don’t have”¦”

Now on his knees in front of her, her pleading ended abruptly when she felt his hands grasp the pistol she had strapped to her right thigh. As he looked up at her, the shock was apparent in his gaze, and suddenly she was afraid to say anything else that might anger him even further.

“Madison””” he began, the disappointment evident in his tone of voice.

“I’ve been carrying it for protection. That’s all,” she said resolutely. “It’s mine, Terry. I own it legally. I have the documents to prove it.”

“It’s dangerous, Madison. You could hurt yourself or someone else accidentally.”

As he lifted her skirt to her thighs and his hands slipped beneath it, she closed her eyes when his fingers grazed her skin.

“You forget who my father is. I know how to use a gun.”

Deftly, he slid his fingers over her skin and began removing the holster while she clutched the side of the counter to keep from falling. Her defenses down, she relaxed against the kitchen counter and tried to keep her voice from shaking.

“I’m tired of looking over my shoulder all the time. I’m sick of worrying if today is going to be the day that Joseph gets his revenge. You don’t understand. I just wanted something to help me feel safe.”

After resting the gun and holster on the floor, he slid his hands up her legs once again where he clasped onto the hem of her skirt and pulled it back down, smoothing it into place. She expected him to let go, but instead he held on for several seconds.

“That’s what I’m here for. You don’t need this anymore.”

The tenderness in his voice and his touch made her wince. For a moment, she considered reaching out and touching him, but before she had the chance to, he abruptly picked up the gun and holster and stood up.

“I’ll keep these,” he said sharply, never once looking her in the eye. “We should go.”

When he walked away, Madison held on to the counter and tried to catch her breath. The anger returned. She should have known he still had a heart of stone. **** him!

Throwing her belongings back into her purse, she cursed him under her breath and silently swore that it would never happen again. He wasn’t worth it. He never was.