Spotlight & Giveaway: Strong Hold by Sarah Castille

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Sarah Castille to HJ!

Hi Sarah and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Strong Hold!

Please share your favorite scene from Strong Hold:

My favorite scene occurs after Shayla, a security guard, apprehends an intruder at the software company where she works. Zack finds out that she was injured while arresting the suspect and goes alpha male crazy. He drives from the gym where he was training to the industrial estate where Shayla is working with her friend Cheryl and is totally unable to contain his need to protect her.

With a loud thud, the Acura door flies open. Zack bursts out of the vehicle and stalks across the grass. He is wearing his fight shorts, running shoes, and nothing else.
“Good Lord.” Cheryl grabs my wrist, squeezes tight. “I hope you’ve got some ropes, because you’re gonna have to tie me down. That piece of man candy needs some licking, and my tongue is already wet.”
I have to admit, half-naked Zack is magnificent, all broad shoulders, taut pecs, and sculpted abs, that faint dusting of hair arrowing down to where my gaze shouldn’t go when I’m in uniform and on the job. His muscles ripple as he walks, tat sleeve gleaming under the parking lot lights, hard thighs eating up the distance between us. He is breathtaking. Beautiful.
But for some reason, he doesn’t seem happy to see me.
“Where are they?” Zack swivels his head from side to side, checking out the parking lot.
Puzzled, I frown. “Who?”
“The men who attacked you.”
“They didn’t attack me. They were trying to get away and—”
“One of them is on his way to jail,” Cheryl says in a placating tone. “I’m sure by now the police will have apprehended the other one. They aren’t a threat anymore. Your girl is safe.”
Zack’s eyes narrow. “Did anyone check the building? The grounds? Vehicles in the parking lot? Are you sure there aren’t any more? Is Symbian putting on extra security?”
“Seriously?” I give an exasperated sigh. “I don’t need help to do my job.”
“Yes to all your questions.” A betraying Cheryl shoots me a grin. “And as soon as our replacements arrive, we’re off duty.”
Zack grunts his approval, and his gaze returns to me. “You’re hurt.”
I touch the bandage on my temple and shrug. “Just a few cuts and bruises. I’ve had worse at the gym. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” He cups my jaw, turning my face so he can inspect my injuries. “Dammit. Why didn’t you call me?”
“I was kinda busy chasing a couple of bad guys across the yard and giving them a beat down.” I pull my hand away. “This is my job, Zack. I’m perfectly capable of handling a couple of thieves.”
“She has a gun,” Cheryl adds. “And a Taser. But she didn’t need to use them. Not even when they turned on her. You should have seen it. Two massive dudes bearing down on our very own Shayla.”
Zack’s lips thin, and his face darkens. For a moment, I fear he might lose control.
“Cheryl…” I warn, but Cheryl is on a roll, and nothing is going to stop her.
“It was like David and two humungous Goliaths. They were three times her size and at least twice her weight. I thought for sure they’d rip her to pieces. I had my gun ready in case they knocked her out—or worse.”
“Cheryl!”
“Aaargh.” Zack roars his frustration and stalks across the parking lot, his chest heaving.
“Too much?” Cheryl asks with mock innocence.
“Way too much. Even after the gross exaggeration of their appearance, I thought he’d hold it together until you said ‘worse.’”
She leans against the railing and laughs. “I was checking to see if he’s really into you. News flash. He is. Also, he seems to be a very protective sort. Protective can be good or bad, depending on how much bossing around you can take.”
“Not much.”
Sol comes outside to see what’s going on while Zack rages around the parking lot. He is joined by the three security guards Symbian has sent to replace us for the night. Zack takes one look at the uniformed guards and returns to my side, throwing a heavy arm over my shoulders while Cheryl and I get our replacements up to speed on the events of the night.
Although he’s the only person in the group without a gun—or proper clothes—he is no less intimidating, and I kind of like having his arm around me, telling me he’s there if I need him. Or maybe he’s warning Sol and the other guys away. I especially like how he glares at Sol, as if he knows the kind of things Sol is thinking, which I’m sure are even worse than the things that come out of his mouth. However, I don’t like it when Zack insists on driving me to the hospital to see Joe.
“Cheryl and I carpool all the time, Zack. Her car is perfectly safe.”
“I want you to come with me.” Without waiting for my response, Zack stalks to his vehicle.
“You’d better go with him,” Cheryl whispers. “He’s not going to calm down unless you’re with him and he knows you’re safe. My second husband, Steve, was just the same. Once those protective instincts are triggered, discussion is a waste of time.”
“Seriously?” My head falls back, and I groan. “You make him sound like he’s incapable of rational thought. And we’re not together, Cheryl. We kissed twice, and then we agreed it wouldn’t happen again.”
“Those must have been damn good kisses, because he’s acting like you belong to him. I thought he was going to attack Sol just for looking at you.”
“They were good, but they didn’t change the way I feel about what happened.”
“Then go with him.” She gives me a gentle push in Zack’s direction. “I promise you won’t be sorry. A protective man is a horny man. And he’s already got most of his clothes off.”
Zack expresses his pleasure at my decision to ride to the hospital with him by pushing me against the side of his vehicle and crushing my lips in a fierce and very unprofessional kiss that leaves my knees weak and my body trembling. Then he ruins it by trying to kill me as he races through the deserted industrial park at one hundred miles per hour.
“Why do you drive so fast?” I lean back in my seat, take a deep breath.
“I like it.”
“Of course you do.” I shift in my seat, wincing as the bruises from the fight begin to make themselves known.
Zack frowns. “Where else are you hurt?”
“I took a few body kicks. Nothing serious. I’m wearing a bulletproof vest under my uniform shirt.”
With a yank on the wheel, Zack slows to a stop and pulls over at the side of the road.
“Take it off.”
His imperious command makes me bristle. “Why?”
“Want to check you out. Now.”
“You’re so damn bossy. If this is what you’re going to be like as a coach, I foresee all sorts of problems, because the new gun-toting, intruder-arresting me doesn’t like being told what to do.”
His face creases in a menacing scowl. “Is this the game you want to play?”
If it gets him this worked up, I’m all in. I open the car door and step out onto the grass.
“Yes, Zack. Let’s play.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: Print copy of STRONG HOLD (Redemption) by Sarah Castille

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: My Redemption series fighters are all alpha males. Dominant, possessive, and protective, they will go overboard for the woman you love. What do you look for in a romance hero? Alpha or Beta? Fighter, biker, or billionaire? Let me know in the comments below!

 
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Book Info:

For the longest moment Zack’s brain couldn’t process the sight in front of him.
Seven years, ten months and twenty-seven days. That was how long it had been since he’d seen her. That was how long it had been since he’d lived a life without regret.

Fight promoter Zack Grayson is on the prowl for a rising star. As the top recruiter of a prestigious MMA promotion company, he wants to take someone where he was never able to go: the top of the professional league. He didn’t expect that someone to be the woman he loved…and left.

Top-ranked MMA amateur fighter Shayla “Shilla the Killa” Tyler built walls around her heart when Zack left her seven years ago—and again when her husband turned violent. Now, seeing Zack is nearly enough to send those walls crumbling. But she can’t risk the exposure of the limelight, and she definitely can’t risk another heartbreak.

As Shayla and Zack grow closer, though, business turns personal. And once their passion unleashes, there’s no going back…
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Meet the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sarah Castille writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha males and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading in her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home in wilderness near Vancouver. Readers can find her at sarahcastille.com