MELISSA CUTLER TAKES OVER BOOK OBSESSED CHICKS TODAY WITH TEMPTED INTO DANGER AND A GIVEAWAY!!!!

Melissa Cutler here, and I'm excited to be on Book Obsessed Chicks today talking about my latest release, Tempted into Danger.

I had a blast writing this action-adventure book about a black ops agent with a bad attitude and the self-proclaimed "Mathlete" brainiac who steals his heart while they're on the run in the jungles of Panama.

Vanessa, the heroine, doesn't know her life's about to change when she leaves work one sultry Spring afternoon, but that's exactly what happens in TEMPTED. In a matter of hours, she's lost everything she owns and is fighting for her life. Lucky for her, ICE agent Diego Santero has her back. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to lose everything and have to start over with a clean slate. It's scary, and I have friends who've lost everything in wildfires so I know how terrible that is, but the idea of starting over is appealing in a lot of ways. There are so many places in the world that'd be wonderful to put down roots in or at least enjoy an extended stay at.

Especially if, like Vanessa, you're still figuring out your place in the world. If she and Diego can figure out how to neutralize the men threatening her, then she basically has a free pass to start over anywhere in the world…possibly with one of the world's hottest black ops commandos by her side. You'll have to read 'till the end to find out!

Here's a scene to "Tempt" you:

“You’re not going to cry, are you?”

The ludicrous question jarred her from her trancelike melancholy. Diego’s brow was furrowed and his lips had stretched into a cringe. He fidgeted with the rifle, his gaze darting anxiously to the car as though he was contemplating escape. Here was a man who’d jumped onto the roof of a moving minivan, shot and killed at least one man and shielded her from an explosion with his body…and yet he was threatened by the possibility of a few tears?

Despite everything she’d been through and her fear of the future, a spark of affection had her biting her cheeks to hide a grin. Apparently there wasn’t much difference between the college football players her dad coached and macho military alphas. Nothing brought them to their knees faster than the threat of genuine emotional expression.

She drilled him with her best offended look and set her hands on her hips. “I might cry. What are you going to do about it?”

He squirmed, then scratched his head. His eyes shifted to the car again, then the jungle beyond. “Look, forget I said that.”

She shouldn’t mess with him, really. This man was the only thing standing between her and certain death at the hands of a whole bunch of bad guys—but she couldn’t help it. She sniffed to draw his gaze back to her, then blinked hard, jarring a tear loose. It started a slow roll over her cheek.

He stared at her, his eyes dark and serious. Then he startled and took off in a fast stride to the car. “Time for us for bolt. The longer we’re on the grid, the more danger you’re in.”

He opened the backseat door for her and jumped into the driver seat.

Yep. Her assessment had been right. The man of steel had a soft and gooey center. She settled into the seat, contemplating that revelation as she watched the play of skin and muscle on his arm as he shifted the car into gear and pulled onto the road.

Once they were moving again, she set her hand on his shoulder. She had a feeling that touching him would spook him all over again, but like unleashing that tear, she couldn’t help herself. He tensed at her touch but met the look she gave him in the mirror. “Just so you know, for future reference, the best thing to do when a woman cries is to keep your mouth shut and hand her a tissue. Cringing and running away is definitely not recommended. You’ve got to learn how to play it closer to the vest.”

The edge of his jaw grew tight, not with a scowl of irritation, but as though he was fighting a grin. “I must’ve skipped that day in guy school.”

Though she wanted to squeeze his shoulder, to test the breadth of it against her palm, she forced herself to let go and sit back in her seat. “Then I should also mention that the only exception to the tissue rule is if the woman crying is someone you care a lot about, then you have to hold her until she’s done. Think you can handle that, soldier?”

“Roger that. Mouth shut. Weepy chicks get tissues except girlfriends, then you have to offer yourself as a tissue.”

Tempted into Danger is in stores now:

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/VPTGez

iTunes:  http://bit.ly/10zY4k9

B&N: http://bit.ly/16edknt

Kobo: http://bit.ly/YGpvDg

Check out TEMPTED on Goodreads, too: http://bit.ly/WaxtqC

Giveaway: I'm giving away a $5 Starbucks e-gift card to one commenter, so tell me: where in the world would you consider starting over if you were forced to, like Vanessa in TEMPTED INTO DANGER?

My thanks to Kimberly and Book Obsessed Chicks for hosting me today. I love hearing from readers and am really easy to find at www.melissacutler.net, on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MelissaCutlerBooks ), and Twitter (@m_cutler). And you can always email me at melissa@melissacutler.net or sign up for my newsletter (http://www.melissacutler.net/newsletter/ ) to find out about my latest books and upcoming events.

Bio: Melissa Cutler is a flip-flop wearing Southern California native living with her family in beautiful San Diego. In 2008, she decided to take her romance novel devotion to the next level by penning one herself. She now divides her time between her dual passions for writing sexy, small town contemporaries for Kensington Books and edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense for Harlequin.