Breathless Descent

Texas Hotzone #3

by Lisa Renee Jones

Ten years ago, an impulsive eighteen-year-old Shay White kissed Caleb Martin—her brother's best friend. The resulting chemistry was hot enough to send Caleb running. Now he's back…an ex-special forces operative getting his skydiving business off the ground. But Shay figures that all that sexual tension was a "forbidden fruit" sort of thing. A simple kiss should put that fantasy to rest, right?

Wrong. Instead, Shay and Caleb find themselves caught in a web of need and decide to finally do something about it…in the most exquisitely carnal way possible. Now Shay and Caleb are tumbling into a lust-fueled freefall—are they headed for a safe landing or the kind of crash that will change their lives forever?

Genres: Romance, Harlequin Blaze, Contemporary, Harlequin, Fiction, Military Fiction, Erotica

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones is the author of the highly acclaimed INSIDE OUT series. Suzanne Todd (producer of Alice in Wonderland) on the INSIDE OUT series: Lisa has created a beautiful, complicated, and sensual world that is filled with intrigue and suspense. Sara’s character is strong, flawed, complex, and sexy - a modern girl we all can identify with.

In addition to the success of Lisa's INSIDE OUT series, she has published many successful titles. The TALL, DARK AND DEADLY series and THE SECRET LIFE OF AMY BENSEN series, both spent several months on a combination of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling lists. Lisa is presently working on a dark, edgy new series, Dirty Money, for St. Martin's Press.
Prior to publishing Lisa owned multi-state staffing agency that was recognized many times by The Austin Business Journal and also praised by the Dallas Women's Magazine. In 1998 Lisa was listed as the #7 growing women owned business in Entrepreneur Magazine.

Lisa loves to hear from her readers. You can reach her at www.lisareneejones.com and she is active on Twitter and Facebook daily.

Reviews

[Lisa Jones]

Three sexy standalones - BINGE THE TEXAS HOTZONE HOTTIES NOW

JUMP START
A battlefield moment of clarity leads Sergeant Bobby Evans back to the Texas town he fled long ago. His new mission--winning back the woman he wants, by any naughty means necessary. Jennifer Jones spent seven years aching with the memory of Bobby's blistering kisses--and his sudden, silent departure. Now he's back, looking to pick up where they left off--naked and voracious. But Jen won't get burned again, no matter how "hot" Bobby turned out. Two torrid weeks, then she'll give him his marching orders...or not!

BUY JUMP START ​(book one)
Amazon: http://mybook.to/JumpStart1
Apple: https://apple.co/3c2W8ZR
Nook: https://bit.ly/2RAbFXI
Kobo: https://bit.ly/35PxQBc
Paperback: http://mybook.to/JumpStartPB

BUY HIGH OCTANE (book two)
Well-known newspaper journalist Sabrina Cameron has arrived in Austin, Texas, to reinvent herself. Besides a new job and new friends, what better cure for her control-freak tendencies than to skydive for the first time in her life? Super-sexy jumpmaster Ryan "Cowboy" Walker is just the wild man to push Sabrina to her limits—both of them know it on sight. The high-octane experiences that follow, meanwhile, have nothing to do with leaping from a plane. Talk about losing control!

​But when Sabrina's suddenly forced to choose between new loyalties and old…it'll not only force her to choose who she's going to be…but who she's going to be with.

BUY HIGH OCTANE (book two)
Amazon: http://mybook.to/HighOctane
Apple: https://apple.co/2E7gBQy
Nook: https://bit.ly/2Ebm7lk
Kobo: https://bit.ly/35JVGyA
Paperback: http://mybook.to/HighOctanePB

BREATHLESS DESCENT ​(book three)
Ten years ago, an impulsive eighteen-year-old Shay White kissed Caleb Martin, her brother's best friend. The resulting chemistry was hot enough to send Caleb running. Now he's back, an ex-special forces operative getting his skydiving business off the ground. But Shay figures that all that sexual tension was a "forbidden fruit" sort of thing. A simple kiss should put that fantasy to rest, right?

​Wrong. Instead, Shay and Caleb find themselves caught in a web of need and decide to finally do something about it, in the most exquisitely carnal way possible. Now Shay and Caleb are tumbling into a lust-fueled freefall, are they headed for a safe landing or the kind of crash that will change their lives forever?

BUY BREATHLESS DESCENT ​(book three)
Amazon: http://mybook.to/BreathlessDescent
Apple: https://apple.co/3msZ7zv
Nook: https://bit.ly/3kt96mn
Kobo: https://bit.ly/35KhQke
Paperback: http://mybook.to/BreathlessDescentPB

EXCERPT FROM BREATHLESS DESCENT
“What if we regret this?”

He laced the fingers of one of his hands with hers. “What if we don’t?”

Fretful, she rejected that nonanswer. “What if we do, Caleb?”

“The only regret I’ll have is walking away and losing another day pretending we don’t want each other.”

Sending him away would be hard. It would stink. But… “But what if something does go wrong? What if it makes you afraid to come around the family?” She frowned when she noticed he was smiling. “What about this is amusing?”

“The part where you still say ‘what if’ at the beginning of every sentence when you are feeling out of control,” he admitted unashamedly.

“I’m serious, Caleb,” she said, refusing to be drawn into playful banter designed to redirect her questions. “What if it’s not what we thought it would be? Will we act strangely? All this build-up. What if—”

“What if—” he drew her wrist to his lips “—I kiss you here.” His mouth pressed to her pulse point, and she felt it all over her body. “Or here?” He opened her palm and kissed it, as well. “Or even here?” He kissed the bend of her arm, which was really, really sexy, in a way she’d never imagined. No one had ever kissed her there. Shay shuddered with arousal.

His lips lifted with satisfaction as he asked, “At what point will I convince you…it’s going to be good?” He folded her in his arms, his body cradling hers, his lips near her ear. “Because it’s already good for me.”

Shay buried her face in his neck, inhaling the scent of him. “I’m just—” she hesitated and decided to be honest—this was Caleb after all “—nervous.” She laughed. “Yeah. I’m really nervous.”

He pulled back, his hand sliding down her hair. “I’m still me,” he said, his eyes warm with comfort. “The same guy you once pushed into the swimming pool, ruining my boots.”

A sudden spell of laughter bubbled from her lips. She should have known he’d come up with the perfect thing to calm her nerves. “You were so mad. I’d venture to say you were furious.”

“And you never told me why you did it,” he reminded her.

“I don’t remember,” she said coyly, but of course, she did. She’d worn a dress to get his attention, and he’d told her it was too old for her, treated her like a kid sister. Not fifteen minutes later, she had the opportunity and took it. Caleb went into the pool, fully clothed. Seeing him sopping wet had done a lot to ease the bite of his reprimand.

“Liar,” he purred, nibbling at her neck and picking her up, his hands sliding around her backside. Shay wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms wrapping around his neck. “Why’d you push me into that pool?”

“I was sixteen and hormonal, and you were in the way,” she said, which was the truth—just not the whole truth. She intended to keep her youthful pettiness to herself.

Caleb headed down the stairs toward the living room, rather than toward the bedroom, and she knew it was because she’d told him she was nervous. The man was full of all kinds of awesomeness. Big, brawny and manly, yet he could be so darn sensitive.

“Liar,” he accused, sitting down on the couch and taking her with him.

Shay automatically leaned into him, her hands leveraging her weight on his shoulders, the V of her body intimately spread across his cock. He was hard, his eyes hot, his hands gentle as they caressed her back. Thin layers of clothing separated them, but nothing more. Clothes that would soon be removed. And she knew he was thinking the same thing. She could see it in the heaviness of his eyelids, the tightness around his mouth.

“You were mad at me over the dress,” he said softly, sliding his hands under her T-shirt, his calloused fingers brushing the skin of her midsection with delicious friction. “I wanted to turn you over my knee and spank you for strutting around half-naked, inviting that kind of attention. You were asking for trouble.”

“Spank me?” she repeated. Something about her bare butt across his lap was so erotic. Maybe because she knew he would never really hurt her. But what he might do was please her, and that intrigued her. A slow smile slid onto her lips, and the familiar teasing between them banished her nerves. “Might have been fun.”

He didn’t laugh. Heat flared in his expression, arousal etched in his face. He molded her closer, pressing her body tight against his, bringing his lips a warm breath from hers. “Watch out,” he warned softly, “or you might get more than you asked for.”

Had any other man said that to her, she would have probably run for the hills. She certainly wouldn’t have volleyed the seductive challenge back at him. But this was Caleb, and they not only volleyed, they volleyed well together. “Or maybe you will,” she warned softly.

He studied her, his eyes hungry and a bit primal, before he smiled and nipped her lips with his teeth, soothing the bite with his tongue. “I thought you were nervous?”

“I changed my mind.” Her fingers went to his face, her mouth to his, where she whispered, “I’ve wanted you too long to waste our time being nervous.”

A low growl escaped his lips, the intensity matching that look he’d given her—masculine and rough, in a way that stroked a path down her nerve endings and right to her core. A second later, and not soon enough, Caleb’s tongue parted her lips, tasting her with hot, wet demand. And she loved it—loved that after all those years of wanting him, of trying to push him over the edge, he was falling and taking her with him.

[Vicki Shaff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect ending to the series

Caleb is the third special forces soldier to not reenlist and has joined his teammates in the Hotzone sky diving business they took over. Caleb lost his last parent when he was 15 and his best friend's family took him in. Kent has a sister three years younger and there's always been a draw between Shay and Caleb. A kiss on her 18th birthday ensures him enlisting quickly because he couldn't fight the attraction. Ten years later the attraction still exists stronger than ever. In the past they've always fought it but Caleb is tired of hiding his feelings. Will they find their happy ever after? Loved the characters and the story.

[Melanie Marnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can a school girl crush translate to love 10 years later? Does he dare finally act on his feelings for his "adopted" little sister? There's no denying that Caleb and Shay have chemistry but acting on it is another matter. He's tried to keep her at arm's length, she's not having it. When he goes all in suddenly she's afraid. He refuses to be her secret and is willing to walk away. Figuring out her priorities is painful. All she knows is that she loves him. Letting him go is not an option but tearing the family apart isn't either.

[Phyllis Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Story of Taking That First Leap!

The story of Caleb Martin and Shay White was breath taking. Two people afraid to take that first leap and yet when they do they can't turn back! Lisa Renee Jones always makes you feel apart of the story! I love her books! Can't wait to see whats next.

[Delaine Mclafferty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book.

A true love out lasts even the longest separation if it's true love. You heart aches for that one person who completes you. Shay knows she loves him but will love make him stay? It's a great story of love found again. I loved it.

[Melissa’s Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caleb and the ACES are not reenlisting so Coming home a lot of decisions, Go home and see Shay. After 10 years of service he finally home, but will he stay?
Lisa Renee Jones has written a great trilogy.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling

Wonderful story of love and distance doesn’t prevent they’re true feeling from showing. No matter how many years they were separated their love to strong.

[Lora Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe this was the best out of the three

[Gigi Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read on Readict. Shay and Caleb free fall into love as the Hotzone heats up.

[Lisa C · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really don't expect a lot from my series romance. I like them formulaic, obvious, and predictable. I enjoy being impressed by what a good author can do with a simple outline (and being a bit scathing to the ones who don't do as well). That said, I'm pretty torn on this one. The storyline was interesting and kept my interest enough to read to the end -- which only happens in about 1 in 4. I'm reluctant to be too negative, because there is a certain amount of expectation in terms of slightly dominant males, waffling females, and general naughtiness. However, this one had just a bit more than I can let slide.

In the beginning, we are seeing primarily the male perspective, and for me, it smacked a bit too much of Lolita. Sure she's only 18 in the prologue and they've grown up together, he's a few years older, and she's "forbidden fruit." No problem that he'd struggle a bit. I thought the obsessive interest was carried a bit too far, but we knew it would all turn out well in the end. I was much more disturbed by the turn later in the story when we they're together and we're seeing mostly her perspective. She has a very real (though not communicated) fear of rejection based on her younger experience. Okay so far. The disturbing part is that he withholds affection and attention until she changes her attitude. Through much of the last third of the book, I was genuinely concerned that the author's perspective reminds me of abused women who fear repercussions for their actual thoughts and actions. The male character literally won't respond until she gets over her fear--without any kind of discussion or resolution. She just has to bend to his will. Everything in the text kept bringing me back to the same concern--does the author let men treat her this way?

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this book! It hooked me from page one. I was taken along on a ride with Celeb and Shay and couldn't wait to see how their journey would end.

Ten years ago a young and impulsive eighteen-year-old Shay White kissed Celeb Martin, her brother's best friend. The next day he takes off to begin his service in the Army. Now, Celeb is finished his tour of duty and back in town; and the question that burns them both is: is the chemistry between them still there or was that long ago kiss just a "moment"?

Shay and Celeb's chemistry is not only hot, it sizzles off the page. Lisa Renee Jones writes impressive smex! Sit back, grab a cold beverage (and a fan!) and enjoy this delicious book... I couldn't put it down!

Highly recommended!

[A.R. Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this story! It's a very gripping love story that had me hook, line and sinker from the start.

Shay and Calen grew up together like brother and sister (banter and all). Caleb is her brother's best friend and he is also a part of their family. Shay and Caleb have a long time attraction between them that they cannot ignore. Neither of them can either fight or deny it. But there are many reasons (mostly on Shay's part) that they have not acted on it.

I enjoyed they way Lisa Renee Jones put it all together to get those two to finally take a real look at the chemistry between them. Was very happy with the outcome and look forward to reading more of her works :)

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those 'mindless' summer reads, from which you can still learn a thing or two.
Lisa Renee Jones covers issues such as teenage love, foster families right up to gambling and mixes it all up with Special Forces, skydiving and psycho-therapy ... and creates a heart-wrenching story from beginning to end. Yes, I know, it's a romance novel and we do know the outcome - however, it's the journey that important and this is most definitely a rollercoaster-mystery as to what is going to happen next and why ...

[gert · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is what it is - a blaze romance. a bit better then average, but nothing that'll make you wish it lasted forever.

never really connected with h/h, but that's probably just as well. let's face it - when you buy a blaze, you're not looking for literature. you're looking for some steamy sex, hopefully bracketed by a half-decent story line.

this delivers on that.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize when I started this book that it was a series. Even reading it out of order, I still loved the book and didn't miss a thing. I am looking forward to starting the series over from the beginning and seeing how everything played out prior to this book. This is definitely a series that I would recommend and can't wait to start the other books.

[Mindi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caution, this is an adult book and explicit in content. I am reading it to fall asleep at night and pass the time, it just keeps me curious to where the story is going next. I don't recommend this book for others to read, I fell upon it somewhat unwillingly.

[Krystean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Lisa Renee Jones book I love! She is definitely one of my top go-to-authors for romance.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Texas Hotzone

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the brothers-best-friend romance trope and the chemistry between these two is fantastic!

[Robin *loves sexy books* · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favorite of the series, loved it!

[Jamie DeBree · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the push-pull dynamic of this story, and the sort of "forbidden but not" aspect of the relationship. Great, spicy read with lots of emotional angst.

[RedBecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, better than a lot of Harlequin I've read

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a couple surprises that I enjoyed, but there were also parts that dragged.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty great book :) would def recommend this to any harlequin fan

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

04/11/13