Spotlight & Giveaway: The Innocent’s Protector in Paradise by Annie West

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Annie West to HJ!

Hi Annie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, The Innocent’s Protector in Paradise!

 
Hello and thank you for inviting me! Things are good here in sunny Australia and I hope they are too, where you are!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Lola is off limits! She’s Niall’s best friend’s sister. Plus secret guilt stops him committing to any woman. But when she’s threatened, Niall appoints himself bodyguard. Once they’re forced to share a glamorous retreat, temptation proves irresistible. And Lola has her own ideas about what she wants from Niall…
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

I think it’s the moment at the beginning of the book when Lola’s brother contacts his friend, Niall, asking him to check on her because he can’t get there and he’s worried she’s in trouble. He ends by saying ‘Just don’t let her fob you off.’
Niall hasn’t seen her in years and the next line is from his perspective: ‘Fob him off? Little Lola? The idea tugged Niall’s mouth into a smile.’
I chuckled as I wrote this. Because soon after he finds himself absolutely floored by the fact that little Lola has turned into a feisty, stunning woman and that she’s no pushover. In fact, she’s so unwilling to accept his help it’s a huge challenge. I do like it when heroes get more than they expect!

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The book is set on the Gold Coast of Queensland in north east Australia. It’s a place I’ve visited many times. I was supposed to attend a romance writing conference there this year but was unable to get there due to travel restrictions, but this story brings back wonderful memories of time spent there.
• One of the great joys of writing fiction is being able to create your world the way you want. I had the very best fun in this book creating a lavish, luxurious, totally over-the-top themed party in an amazing beachfront home. I so enjoyed creating a stand out party without worrying about the cost, or the clean up. If you read the book I hope that scene makes you grin as I did.
• Lola and Niall’s story owes a bit to some of the romances I first started reading in my teens. I read a lot of women-in-jeopardy stories and occasionally that comes out in my plots now. I’ve written a couple of kidnapped heroines in my time and I do like that added tension when the stakes are extra high. Writing a bodyguard story gave me a chance to tap into that, even though the emphasis is firmly on the romance.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

This time my hero and heroine have known each other for ages. Niall is Lola’s brother’s best friend, so they met years before. She’s had a crush on him all this time. Despite looking like a typical bad boy troublemaker, and gorgeous with it, he was also patient, caring and considerate with her. It’s only when they meet again and he proves himself to be bossy, trying to take control of her life, that things sour. Oh, and he’s incredibly sexy too! For Niall, he’s always known what a gorgeous person Lola is on the inside. He just wasn’t prepared for how she’s changed on the outside, into a fine looking woman who ties his libido and his brain in knots just by walking into a room! He even appreciates her sassy, opinionated streak, except when it gets in the way of him trying to protect her.
 

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I had a quiet chuckle as I wrote a scene where Niall is guarding Lola as she shops. She’s had a tough time, with a stalker threatening her and now Niall insisting on guarding her. She feels crowded as well as frustrated. She needs to assert a little independence and she wants Niall to see her as a desirable woman. She takes a little detour…

Niall was happy, more or less, to accompany her into most of the boutiques. But she had other ideas. They were passing a store window filled with filmy, decadent nightgowns and underwear that alternated between miniscule and see through.
Without pausing, Lola sashayed inside, he’d swear with an extra sway to her hips. Not by a single backward glance did she acknowledge she was gauging whether he’d follow, but he knew she’d gone there deliberately. Instead of pointing to a lacy, low cut bra in the window as she spoke to the shop assistant, she made a production of touching it, her fingers skimming the crimson lace that surely wouldn’t even cover her nipples when she tried it on.
Niall knew when he was beaten.
Stiff-legged, he walked across the road and ordered an espresso, his eyes never leaving the shop. He’d monitor her from here. If there was even a hint of threat he’d be at her side in seconds.

From Lola’s perspective a little later:

Her lips twitched as she remembered the frozen look on his face as she’d sauntered into a lingerie shop. As if it had never occurred to him that Ed’s little sister was woman enough to wear such things.
Who’d have guessed the mighty, powerful Niall Pedersen would be cowed by a little silk and lace?

It felt good to see the impact Lola has on this tough, confident, uber-confident man and that there were some limits to his control. Go, Lola!
 

Readers should read this book….

’ll let readers have their say on this. One reader said the characters were believable and engaging and though their journey to a happy ever after wasn’t straightforward, it was ‘delicious and emotionally satisfying’. Another reader called it ‘an incredibly fabulous romance’ that touched her heart. A third said one of her favourite story scenarios is forbidden attraction and this is ‘one of the best I’ve read in a long while’. Note review attributions are on my website at www.annie-west.com

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

I’m currently finishing a sheikh story that I hope my editor will love. But I’ve already got a couple of releases lined up for early in 2022. Look out in January for CLAIMING HIS VIRGIN PRINCESS, which is about a pair who discover a lot more than they bargained for when they embark on a cruise from Monaco to the gorgeous coast of Turkey. Then in April ONE NIGHT WITH HER FORGOTTEN HUSBAND hits the stores. I think the title explains it pretty well!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: I’m offering an international giveaway. One reader will receive TWO signed Annie West romances, each set in a swoonworthy location. Just the thing for a little armchair travel.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: One of the fun scenes to write in this story was the fabulous, over the top and glitzy party where no expense was spared and there was lots of good humour and laughter. Do you like themed parties? If you could choose the celebration of your choice, what would it be?

 
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Excerpt from The Innocent’s Protector in Paradise:

Niall had made plenty of mistakes in his time but none as significant as this one.
He should never have brought her here.
Never have introduced her to Jake Sinclair.
Bad enough to watch Jake dance with Lola earlier, when the music was loud and upbeat. But now, hours later, the music had changed and the dancers moved slowly, in what looked more like slowly savoured sex than dancing.
Pain shot up Niall’s jaw and he realised he was grinding his molars. Again.
Breaking away from the knot of people around him, ignoring the clutch of feminine fingers on his arm and the invitation in a pair of bright blue eyes, Niall shouldered his way through the throng to a relatively quiet spot where he could watch the dance floor and brood in peace.
Except there’d be no peace, not with Lola, gorgeous in that red dress and come-take-me heels that emphasised the slender shape of her legs and drew the eye up to her ripe peach of a derriere. Not when she was plastered against a grinning Jake Sinclair.
Multiple times tonight Niall had intervened, steering Lola towards new acquaintances he thought she’d enjoy. Staying beside her during the fundraising auction and enjoying her enthusiasm when he’d won various items. He’d found any excuse to remove her from Jake and that appreciative glint in his eye. But whenever he left her Jake turned up again.
Yet Niall had been compelled to give her space.
Lola hated being reminded of the reasons for his protectiveness and he’d vowed tonight would be about her enjoying herself after the stress of recent days. More importantly, if he stayed beside her he might give in to the desperate urge to touch her himself.
His belly clenched as he watched her move sinuously, every slim line and curve revealed by the tight, short dress that had lit a hungry flame inside him.
Back at the house he’d been on the verge of telling her the party had been cancelled and they had to stay in. Except that would mean an evening alone in her company. An evening with a temptress dressed to party… and seduce.
Niall was strong-willed. Apart from that one kiss, he’d stood firm against his baser instincts from the moment he’d walked into Lola’s apartment a few days ago. But there were limits and he’d reached his.
The voice of his conscience, reminding him that he owed her a duty of care — that he couldn’t, shouldn’t, mustn’t touch her — had been silent since she sashayed out of her bedroom looking like a sexy angel from a wet dream.
He hefted in a draught of air that did nothing to cool the deep-seated pulse of need throbbing through him.
Niall knew what Jake Sinclair wanted. Because he wanted the same. Lola, naked in his bed. Or, his temperature spiked, still in that dress, as she rode his erection while he held her hips and feasted on her tantalising breast through the red fabric. Niall swallowed hard and gulped down the whisky he’d moved on to when beer failed to slake his thirst.
Nothing would slake his thirst but Lola.
His only consolation was that Jake wouldn’t get her either. Not on Niall’s watch.
Lola was safe tonight from Braithwaite given the tighter security arrangements he’d arranged for the building. Even so Niall was on constant alert for any hint of danger.
Niall would also make sure she was safe from casual philanderers. This was the first time she’d danced with Jake in thirty minutes. It would be the last. But he’d wait till the music stopped before intervening. He had that much control, just.
Jake’s hand slid down her hip, drawing her closer, and a growl built at the back of Niall’s throat.
‘If you don’t like it, do something about it, darling.’
He turned to find Carolyn at his elbow, looking at Lola and Jake.
‘I will. Soon.’ When this never-ending song finished. ‘She deserves a chance to enjoy herself.’
‘At your expense?’ Carolyn slanted him a curious look. ‘From what I saw she’d be happier dancing with you.’
Niall turned back towards the dancers. ‘She looks happy to me.’ His voice hit a rough note and he swallowed a little more whisky, easing his dry throat.
‘Ah, but you haven’t seen the way she’s been looking at you all night. Funny that you haven’t noticed. But then you’ve gone to such trouble not to stare at her all the time. Till now.’
Could it be true? Would Lola prefer to be with him?
Niall reminded himself it wasn’t possible. It wouldn’t be right.
But his body had other ideas. The music ended and he strode forward, thrusting his glass into Carolyn’s hand, the sound of her chuckle in his ears.
He wasn’t in the habit of revealing weakness. But right now he didn’t care that his hostess had read him like a book. All he cared for was…
‘My dance.’ No please. No hesitation. Just his hand on Jake’s shoulder, pulling him away and his other hand on Lola’s. Her eyes met his and the fire in his belly dropped straight to his groin.
Carolyn had been right. He saw excitement flare in Lola’s eyes, her lips parting as if she drew in a sudden breath.
Jake said something Niall didn’t hear as he pulled Lola towards him and, miracle of miracles, she settled against him, her slender body fitting close.
Niall sucked in a shaky breath as his brain struggled to catalogue all the many ways this felt good. Finally he gave up and simply basked in the rush of pleasure. After a moment he noticed the music and remembered to move. It was no more than a shuffle, but it brought Lola against him in new and delicious ways.
Was that a sigh? He gathered her nearer, tilting her head against his shoulder and bending his head to inhale the summer sunshine scent of her hair.
Another wash of desire filled him and he slipped his hand to her hip, wondering if she’d object. Instead she moved closer and his thigh insinuated between her legs as they turned.
Niall’s hand slid further, lower, till he claimed her buttock and then a new heat blasted him. The heat of her sex rubbing against him.
Need jolted through him so hard he forgot they were supposed to be dancing. He stood, rock hard, his leg pressing between hers, his hand drawing her to him in a movement that was purely, overtly sexual.
He had to stop this. Had to remember why he couldn’t—
‘Niall? Don’t you want to dance anymore?’
She looked up and he was drowning in soft green. It was like looking into the rainforest, greens and darker flecks of shadow beckoning him closer.
He opened his mouth then shut it again. He didn’t trust himself to speak. If he vocalised he feared it might be an utterly feral roar of possessiveness.
Then he saw her mouth turn down at the corners and some of the light dim in her lovely eyes.
‘No,’ he said at last, his voice thick. ‘It’s not dancing I want.’
Her lips, the lips that had been so soft against his, formed into an O of surprise.
Not rejection or distaste.
She lifted her hand from his shoulder and raked her fingers through the hair on the back of his head. Instinctively he tipped his head back into her touch as tingling ripples of pleasure cascaded from her fingertips.
If it felt that good when she merely touched his scalp…
‘Nor me,’ she murmured in a throaty voice that untied another row of knots in the web of his self-control.
Niall frowned, trying to make sense of her words. Then she moved against him in a suggestive sway that blasted everything else into the background.
‘Hold that thought,’ he growled. Drawing together the tattered fibres of his self-possession, he stepped back, ignoring his body’s silent scream of protest. He was strung so tight it was a wonder he could even make the move.
The only positive was seeing his own distress mirrored in Lola’s eyes.
He threaded his fingers through hers and led her to the edge of the room. He felt clumsy, his gait stiff-legged because of the hard-on he could do nothing about.
Not yet. But soon. Meanwhile his body felt like it was stretched on a rack, taut to the edge of pain.
Faces blurred as they passed. People spoke but he didn’t stop. Then, near the lift, he spied a familiar blonde, her top hat tipped at a jaunty angle, a cocktail in one hand and her finger on the button for the lift.
‘Darlings! I’m so pleased you had a good time.’ Niall’s read a mischievous twinkle in Carolyn’s eyes. ‘I had a feeling you might be leaving. Ah, here it is.’ She turned and with a flourish, gestured for them to step inside.
‘Thanks, Carolyn. It’s been…memorable.’
Lola added her thanks before the doors shut, enclosing them together. Instantly his tension ratcheted from extreme to the catastrophic. His pulse thundered and her perfume in his nostrils threated to short circuit his senses.
Niall punched in his private access code with an unsteady hand, then leaned forward for the iris scanner he’d insisted on during the building phase.
He kept his attention on the display panel because he feared if he looked at Lola the security staff monitoring the cameras would get an eyeful of their boss having unbridled sex with the temptress beside him.
But he kept tight hold of her hand.
Niall swallowed hard. When had holding hands become an erotic experience?
Touching Lola’s soft palm, her slim fingers threaded through his, felt like a promise of what was to come. Soon he’d feel her smooth body against him as they melded together completely.
He swallowed again, his skin steaming despite the perfectly stable temperature.
‘We’re going up, not down.’
He had to concentrate on making his voice work. ‘I had more to drink than I intended.’ Because the sight of Lola cosying up to Jake Sinclair drove him to ignore his usual limits. ‘I won’t take a chance on being over the limit. We’ll stay here the night.’
‘You have an apartment here as well as on the mountain?’
Ridiculous how tough it was to concentrate on conversation.
‘An investment.’ The whole building was, but he kept the penthouse for himself. He’d rent it out now he had the house in the hinterland. The doors opened and they stepped into the penthouse.
A swish of sound as the doors closed, leaving them cut off from the outside world. The air rushed from Niall’s lungs and some of the corded tension in his tortured muscles eased.
At last.
He turned to the woman beside him. The woman who drove him to the edge of reason. Sure enough, one glance at those wide eyes and parted lips, and something slammed down inside him.
The voice of caution smashing into oblivion?
Because nothing, not conscience or good intentions or even guilt could make him release her now.
He’d gone past the point of no return. Unless…
‘Lola.’ His tongue was thick and his voice husky. ‘If you don’t want me, say so now. Then choose a bedroom and shut the door and you won’t see me till tomorrow.’
How he’d find the strength to deliver on the promise he didn’t know. But one thing at a time.
She shook her head and his hand tightened, dismay filling him. Had he misread—?
Lola’s gaze locked on his. The impact was a pulse of energy straight to his groin. ‘I want you, Niall. So much.’

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

In this forbidden romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Annie West, his protection is essential…and their passion is unstoppable!
He’s sworn to keep her safe.
She threatens his every barrier!
Niall Pedersen is the only person Lola Suarez can turn to when a stalker threatens her. A self-made security tycoon and her brother’s best friend, Niall immediately offers her a hiding place—that turns out to be his private retreat on Australia’s glamorous Gold Coast!
Lola may be forbidden, but their sizzling heat incinerates Niall’s resistance. Yet once innocent Lola is sharing his bed, he can’t hide from the truth: she deserves a happily-ever-after. Exactly what Niall, scarred by tragedy, has always vowed he can’t give!
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Meet the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author Annie West loves writing passionate, intense love stories. She has devoted her life to an in depth study of tall, dark, charismatic heroes who cause the best kind of trouble in the lives of their heroines. Creating heroines who are a perfect match for those strong, stubborn men is one of her all time favorite things. As a sideline she’s also researched dreamy locations for romance, from vibrant cities to desert encampments and fairytale castles. She lives on the east coast of Australia and her favorite things are books, good company, good food and travel.
For behind the scenes news, early release information and free giveaways, sign up for Annie’s newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/ya56pe7c (then look out in your inbox for your first free read – if you don’t see it check your spam folder).
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