PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF CARA McKENNA
Give It All
“Original and compelling. A rare treat. Those looking for an escape from the conventional should stop in Fortuity, Nevada, for a spell.”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
“An engrossing romantic thriller. McKenna’s deft plotting and endearingly flawed characters will keep readers coming back for more.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Featuring [a heroine] as tough, determined, and whip-smart as any you’re likely to find in contemporary romance today.”
—Romance Novels for Feminists
“Once again, Cara McKenna has completely won me over with her imperfect, flawed characters and a story that keeps on surprising me.”
—Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews
Lay It Down
“Like a smooth shot of whiskey after a dry desert ride, Lay It Down quenched my thirst for wicked-hot romance. Cara McKenna knows how to write sexy-as-hell bad boys.”
—New York Times bestselling author Jaci Burton
“McKenna opens her Desert Dogs series on the perfect note, presenting readers with a story that is sizzling, intelligent, and completely absorbing.”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
“McKenna ratchets up sexual chemistry and danger in equal measure, and tension stays high to the end. Readers will eagerly turn pages to learn the outcome of both the mystery and the romance.”
—Publishers Weekly
Hard Time
“Gritty and compelling. Cara McKenna is a master at capturing realistic situations and characters.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks
“A lovely, heartfelt romance. . . . The letters, the sweetness, the tender eroticism made this book a recommended read for me.”
—Dear Author (recommended read)
“McKenna has crafted an intense, at times dark, heated romance.”
—RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)
“It’s different and sexy, and I love that Cara McKenna explores protagonists that . . . have more real, grittier lives.”
—Smexy Books
“Hard Time has gripping, emotional sections paired with some serious sexy times. . . . Fans of McKenna will be happy with her latest offering.”
—Fiction Vixen
Unbound
“Beautifully written and brilliant. . . . If you’re looking for nuanced portrayals of complicated characters, I can’t recommend it enough.”
—Dear Author
“I’ve said this countless times . . . but I love Cara McKenna’s voice.”
—Smexy Books
“It’s a very happy day for me when I get to read a new Cara McKenna novel . . . a very emotional, tug-at-your-heartstrings type of book . . . so very good.”
—Fiction Vixen
“I appreciated the depth in this story and the raw emotion that McKenna brought to her characters. She treated the subject matter with great respect and allowed her characters to fully explore their sexuality in a way that sizzled the pages. I think my e-reader needs a cooldown period.”
—The Book Pushers
After Hours
“Intense, funny, and perfectly dirty all at the same time. After Hours is a new favorite.”
—Victoria Dahl, USA Today bestselling author of Fanning the Flames
“After reading After Hours, I went on a Cara McKenna glom and read seven books in a row. This book is that good!”
—Fiction Vixen
“Exceptionally evocative writing . . . fascinating.”
—Smart Bitches Trashy Books
“A well-done, real-life, gritty erotic romance with a bossy, bossy hero and a heroine who can fight back.”
—Smexy Books
ALSO BY CARA MCKENNA
The Desert Dogs Novels
Lay It Down
Give It All
Drive It Deep
The Sins in the City Novels
Crosstown Crush
Other Novels
After Hours
Unbound
Hard Time
SIGNET ECLIPSE
Published by New American Library,
an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
This book is an original publication of New American Library.
First Printing, November 2015
Copyright © Cara McKenna, 2015
Excerpt from Lay It Down copyright © Cara McKenna, 2014
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
Signet Eclipse and the Signet Eclipse colophon are trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.
For more information about Penguin Random House, visit penguin.com.
ISBN 978-0-698-40561-5
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Praise
Also by Cara McKenna
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Excerpt from Lay It Down
With thanks to Christina, Claire, and Laura. Gestating two books and a baby at the same time wasn’t easy, but you gals got me through.
Chapter 1
James Ware strolled into the prison yard alongside a couple hundred fellow inmates, welcoming the weak February sunshine on his shoulders and scalp. Normally the sensation would amount to a tease, a mere hour’s escape from the cinder block and noise of the inside, but this afternoon it felt different. Felt manageable.
“Two days,” came a voice from behind him. It was the young guy everybody called Tugs, for reasons James didn’t care to know. He was skinny, hyper, a little too wide-eyed and loudmouthed for this place where bluster required muscle to command any respect. James didn’t mind him, though. They worked in the kitchen together, and the kid was all right.