Wonderful World if Book: Release Blitz - The Pawn by Skye Warren +Giveaway & Excerpt!

Today is the release day of Skye Warren’s sexy new THE PAWN! Check out this fantastic contemporary romance and grab your copy today!

Title: The Pawn

Series: Endgame #1

Author: Skye Warren

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: December 6, 2017

The price of survival…

Gabriel Miller swept into my life like a storm. He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl’s college to take care of the only family I have left.

There’s one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.

My virginity.

A forbidden auction…

Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he’s the only kindness in a brutal underworld.

Except he's playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.

*THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love. It's the first book in the brand new ENDGAME Series.

The next book in the series, The Knight, is expected in January 2017.

~ EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT ~

A sense of familiarity fills the space between us even though I know we haven’t met. This man is a stranger, but he looks at me as if he wants to know me. He looks at me as if he already does. There’s an intensity to his eyes when they sweep over my face, as firm and as telling as a touch. -

“I need…” A thud against my ribs as I think about all the things I need—a rewind button. One person in the city who doesn’t hate me by name alone. “I need a loan.” -

He gives me a slow perusal, from the nervous slide of my tongue along my lips to the high neckline of my dress. I tried to dress professionally—a black cowl-necked sweater and pencil skirt. His strange amber gaze unbuttons my coat, pulls away the expensive cotton, tears off the cotton fabric of my bra and panties. He sees right through me, and I shiver as a ripple of awareness runs over my skin. -

I’ve met a million men in my life. Shaken hands. Smiled. I’ve never felt as seen through as I do right now. Never felt like someone has turned me inside out, every dark secret exposed to the harsh light. He sees my weaknesses, and from the cruel set of his mouth, he likes them. -

His lids lower. “And what do you have for collateral?” -

Nothing except my word. That wouldn’t be worth anything if he knew my name. I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I don’t know.” -

Nothing. -

He takes a step forward, and suddenly I’m crowded against the brick wall beside the door, his large body blocking out the warm light from inside. He feels like a furnace in front me, the heat of him in sharp contrast to the cold brick at my back. “What’s your name, girl?” -

The word girl is a slap in the face. I force myself not to flinch, but it’s hard. Everything about him overwhelms me—his size, his low voice. “I’ll tell Mr. Scott my name.” -

In the shadowed space between us, his smile spreads, white and taunting. The pleasure that lights his strange yellow eyes is almost sensual, as if I caressed him. “You’ll have to get past me.” -

My heart thuds. He likes that I’m challenging him, and God, that’s even worse. What if I’ve already failed? I’m free-falling, tumbling, turning over without a single hope to anchor me. Where will I go if he turns me away? What will happen to my father? -

“Let me go,” I whisper, but my hope fades fast. -

His eyes flash with warning. “Little Avery James, all grown up.” -

A small gasp resounds in the space between us. He already knows my name. That means he knows who my father is. He knows what he’s done. Denials rush to my throat, pleas for understanding. The hard set of his eyes, the broad strength of his shoulders tells me I won’t find any mercy here. -

***
I lift my chin, determined to face whatever he throws at me. “What should I do?” I ask, challenging. “Should I get on my back? Or on my hands and knees?” -

“Still trying to control things,” he muses. -

I look away. “No, I’m trying to give you what you paid for.” -

“That might have worked with one of those assholes in there.” -

He reaches up to toy with a strand of my hair, almost tender. Then thick fingers push through the dark blonde locks. His fist clenches. I make a keening sound as he yanks my head back, his golden gaze looking down at me. My lips are parted in shock and pain—and something too dark to name. -

He studies my face, almost in reverence. “Here’s the thing about owning a virgin. For as long as I don’t fuck you, I still own one.” -

My breath catches. Does that mean he’s giving me a reprieve? Or does he have darker things in mind for me? He doesn’t have to fuck me to hurt me. He doesn’t have to take my virginity to get revenge. -

“Are you going to hurt me?” -

A soft breath of amusement. “Did Candy tell you all about her kinky games?” -

I feel my eyes widen. She likes kinky games? I remember her tucked into Ivan’s lap like a child, legs pulled up underneath her, hands folded almost in prayer. “She told me not to give in.” -

His smile spreads, slow and unbearably sexy. A man like him has no right to look that handsome. He should look like his insides: dark and cruel. “Good,” he says simply. “It will be more fun.” -

She told me other things, that by opposing him I would make him desperate for more. I don’t share that with Gabriel. He wouldn’t be afraid. He’d like the challenge of it. -

He pushes back from me, his lids lowered. “We’re leaving.” -

My hands tighten on his jacket. Every time I squeeze the fabric, a faint burst of masculine spice fills the air. “I have to go home, at least. I’m not trying to control you, but my dad—” -

“He’s taken care of.” -

I suck in a breath because that sounds more like a threat than reassurance. “What does that mean?” -

“A nurse is already with him. Tomorrow morning she’ll be replaced with the day nurse.” -

How did he manage that so quickly? Except that’s what money can do. It was only a year ago that I had money, my father’s money, but I’ve almost forgotten how powerful it can be. -

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” -

“Christ.” He cups his hand around my neck, his fingers tightening enough to make me gasp. “Do you know what I would do to a man who questioned my word?” -

Don’t give in. I meet his gaze even though my eyes are watering, my lungs are burning. “Then do it,” I whisper. “If you don’t want to fuck me, then fucking do it.” -

He looks at me like I’m some kind of otherworldy species. Then he grins, for a fleeting second seeming unaccountably younger. His hand falls away, and I blow out a breath. “You’ll have to trust me, little virgin. If I wanted your father dead, he would be.” -

A shiver runs through me. The words shouldn’t be reassuring, but somehow they are. For Gabriel Miller the most important thing is his word, which is why my father’s cheating had to be punished. Which means that I can trust him…up to a point. -

He won’t lie to me, but he would honestly hurt me. -