Title: Primal Obsession (Obsession Set, Book 1)
Author: Susan Vaughan
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Book Blurb:
After hitting rock-bottom, former Major-Leaguer Sam Kincaid returned home to guide canoe expeditions in the Maine wilderness. He needs to make this gig a success. He can't let himself be distracted by an ambitious, obsessed female, even if she's sexy, witty and smart.
Annie Wylde, an investigative journalist, embarks on the canoe trip to keep a promise to her friend, murdered by a notorious killer called the Hunter. She struggles with nature’s challenges and fights her attraction to Sam, considering him just another egotistical jock.
When the trip turns deadly, they realize the Hunter has followed Annie into the wilderness. With her life on the line, Sam faces the challenge of his life because she’s become much more than a client to him.
Excerpt:
AFTER ORGANIZING HER sleeping bag and duffels inside her tent, Annie changed into her tankini. She walked along the shore with the bag of Emma’s ashes tucked in the crook of one arm.
Scanning the water for dangers, she waded one step at a time into the tepid water. “Idiot. No sharks here. Only Sam.” She frowned. Never mind that Emma would’ve laughed at her fears. And at her resistance to the hunky guide.
“Well, Emma, here you are.” Tears choked her voice as she unzipped the plastic bag. “May the beauty and purity of this wild lake bring you peace.”
She sprinkled the ashes over the waters along with a generous helping of tears.
After the ashes disappeared, she lathered up with her biodegradable combo soap and shampoo. Being clean made her feel better. As she dried off, she sensed a presence behind her, a movement, something. The berry bushes and the dark forest were still. No birdsong. No breeze.
Nothing.
She shook off her paranoia and spread her towel on a flat rock. A little work on her tablet was what she needed. She booted up and opened the folder labeled Hunter. A spreadsheet detailed each murder—victim description, place and time of abduction, body’s location.
The police had no leads, no suspects, and few clues. She owed Emma and her mother. After fleeing the city to return to Maine, she’d found a confidante and mentor in Rissa and a friend in Emma. The two women had helped her through the dark days.
Immersing herself in this alien wilderness had to help her understand the monster that had taken Emma and the others. “I’ll find him, Emma. I promise,” she whispered.
A rustle in the bushes lurched her heart into a rapid tattoo. She leaped to her feet and peered into the gathering shadows. A moose coming to drink? A bear eating berries?
Another thump and she catapulted toward the path, her towel flapping behind her.
A hand clamped her shoulder.
A scream rose to her throat and stuck there. She tried to wrench away, but hard arms surrounded her.
****
“WHOA, WHOA, ANNIE! It’s me.”
The instant Sam grabbed her he knew he’d made a mistake. She stomped on his insole. She twisted. Before her knee could score on his most vulnerable area, he held her at arm’s length.
“Sam!” Gasping, she wrenched free and swung her towel at him. “You scared the bejesus out of me. I broke another nail. Dumb jocks, everything has to be physical with you. What were you doing grabbing me?” She tossed the towel across her shoulder.
Damn, she was beautiful breathing fire and whaling at him. Her wet hair was slicked back. Her cheeks flamed pink to match her swimsuit, and her top played peek-a-boo with her navel. His hands started to sweat. Oh man, he’d been alone too long if he got this excited about a woman’s bellybutton.
He dragged his gaze to hers. “If I’d taken the time to be cerebral about it, you’d have tripped over that rock and sent that baby computer to cyber heaven.”
She shot a glance at the tuft of grass that concealed a jutting stone. “Why’d you sneak up on me in the first place?”
“I was coming to get you. Fire’s ready to cook the lobsters.”
“And you thought you’d scare me first by tromping like a bear through the raspberries?”
“Not me. I was just walking along the path. I saw you about to trip. I yelled, but you didn’t hear me.” He examined the purpling bruise on his foot. “You got some good moves. Your knee came awful close to crunching the family jewels.”
Her mouth twitched into a small, smug smile. “Living in New York, a woman learns to take care of herself.”
“Now you live in Portland, Maine.” Here was his chance. “A nice little city, but no Big Apple to a hotshot reporter. Why’d you leave?”
“Oh, I needed a change. The Messenger offered me a by-line. It’ll look good on my résumé when I go back.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.
“Uh-huh.”
“What? You don’t believe me? As if I care.” She bent and pried a stone from her sandal.
“As compulsive as you are about your work? No, you had more reason than needing a change.”
“How would you know I’m compulsive about work?” She folded her arms. Her gray eyes flashed storm clouds at him. “Supposing I am, that is.”
“One, it looks like stress forced you to take a time-out.”
“So you say.”
A swing and a hit. “Two, you brought your tablet. What’s the hot story you can’t let go?”
“None of your business.”
Correction—stand-up double. He was on a streak. “Top secret, huh?”
“I have lobsters to cook.” She started toward the lake.
“Take it easy. I didn’t mean anything.” He clasped her hand to halt her.
To his relief, she turned back to him, set down the case. “That really wasn’t you in the bushes back there?”
“Cross my heart.” He traced an X on his chest.
“Could it have been a bear?”
She hadn’t tugged her hand away, so he stepped close enough to inhale her freshly shampooed hair “Doubtful. These campsites smell too much of humans. Bears stay away.”
“So I’m safe?”
“From bears, yes.” He sent her a lazy grin, let his hand drift down her bare arm. Soft, smoother than the wood of a new ash bat. “But if you do see a bear, don’t run. You’d have more chance stealing home plate than escaping a charging black bear. Wave something, like that towel. Look big and scary.”
She maneuvered until she held the towel out like a cape. “Like this?”
Before he could appreciate the view, she draped the towel around her shoulders like a royal cape and stalked off.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon ebook : https://www.amazon.com/Primal-Obsession-Susan-Vaughan-ebook/dp/B0BS4K5HP5?ref_=ast_author_dp
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/primal-obsession-susan-vaughan/1100071214?ean=9781509249145
What makes your featured book a must-read?
I plotted Primal Obsession while on a canoe and camping expedition--without a serial killer, mind you--in northern Maine. My fellow campers helped with ideas for disasters. Sam is one of my favorite heroes, just the man Annie needed.
“Intensely romantic thriller” – The Romance Studio; “…hunky hero, strong heroine and creepy villain, all heading for a desperate face-off.”
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs August 20 – August 27, 2024.
Winner will be drawn on August 28, 2024.
Author Biography:
Susan Vaughan loves throwing her hero and heroine together under extraordinary circumstances and pitting them against a clever villain. Her books have won the Golden Leaf, More Than Magic, and Write Touch Readers’ Award and been a finalist for the Booksellers’ Best and Daphne du Maurier awards. A former teacher, she’s a West Virginia native, but she and her husband have lived in the Mid-Coast area of Maine for many years. Find her at www.susanvaughan.com.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: @shvaughan or https://twitter.com/SHVaughan
Amazon Author page: http://amzn.to/13RNhQv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shvaughan.author/