Stealth Honeybun - Book 3 of my sexy adventure series, Honeybun Cousins

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 back room 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!

~~*~~

Peyton showed Brita where his hostages were and her men carted them away. Then he went to the front of  the room and slipped along the refrigeration unit, looking for Willa down all the aisles.

There was no sign of her.

Brita left to get into position near the front of the store.

A moment later, a squawk sounded through the store and Peyton jumped.

A voice vibrated over the public address system. “Mr. Honeybun.” The voice was raspy and deep, like someone who’d been sucking smoke through his throat for a few decades.

His blood pressure shot into danger zone. If the guy knew his name…

“I think you and I need to talk. There’s someone here who would greatly appreciate you coming to the office.”

Peyton peered through the refrigeration unit and swore.

Willa and Jeff stood side by side in the office, in front of the glass window, and the gunman was behind them. He held a rifle to Willa’s head.

She had her arm around Jeff’s shoulders and looked terrified.

There was only one thing to do. He couldn’t help them from the back of the store. He needed to get close enough to stop Michaels from using that gun.

Peyton opened the glass door to the nearest unit and called out. “I’m coming out now. Don’t hurt them.”

The PA system squawked again. “No guns, Honeybun. I’m watching.”

“No guns!”

Peyton figured he had about 30 seconds to do what he needed to do. He grabbed one of the water bottles he’d assembled and tucked it into the small of his back, covering it with his shirt.

Then he went out through the storeroom and entered the store. Brita was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully she was already in place at the front of the store.

Peyton took a deep breath. Time to wrangle a bad guy.

 ~~*~~

Available 2/9/12 here!

Sexy Snippet Sunday

Are you ready for today's Sexy Sunday Snippet? Today's little taste is from my soon to be released romantic suspense novella, Stealth Honeybun. Enjoy!

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“Can I help you find something?” The soft, slightly breathless voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

Peyton looked around but didn’t see anybody.

Finally, a dark head lifted from behind a cart filled with vegetables. Soft brown eyes peered at him as a long fingered hand gripped the top of the cart. Peyton opened his mouth to tell her he was fine, but something about those eyes drew him in.

As he strolled closer, she stood up and Peyton caught his breath.

She was incredible.

An unruly cap of black hair curled softly around a slightly round face with fine features and a cupid’s bow mouth. Her chin was small and her neck was long, elegant. Her skin was a soft, creamy brown, and she was tall for a woman, probably 5 foot 10 inches.

She dropped a cabbage leaf into a bin at the top of the cart and placed a smooth green orb onto a pile of cabbages in the open cooler. “You look lost. You new in town?” Her smile sent a heated spiral spinning through his gut and Peyton felt himself responding as he hadn’t done in years.

He stopped a few feet away and shook his head. “You could say that.”

“Can I help you find something?” She repeated.

“Happens I just needed a cabbage or two.”

She rolled her lips to stop the smile he suspected came easily to her. Her beautiful brown eyes had soft crinkles at the corners that told him she smiled a lot. “Two cabbages, huh? What are you making?”

“He leaned a hip against the cooler and grinned. “Now that’s a very personal question, ma’am. I don’t generally divulge my recipes until at least the third date.”

She threw back her head and laughed, the sound finer than Mozart on a warm summer evening. “I wasn’t asking for your recipe, just your menu. They are different you know.” Her brown gaze slipped over him and the smile turned soft. Then she seemed to catch herself and she blinked, looking away.

She bent down, pulled another cabbage from the bottom shelf of the cart and ripped an outer leaf from it rather ruthlessly. “I just wondered if you were going to need carrots to go with your cabbage.”

Peyton’s gaze never leaving hers, he gave her a seductive grin. “Absolutely. I wouldn’t think of leaving here without some carrots.”