Book Spotlight: Indulge Me by J. Kenner
Indulge Me
(Stark Ever After #10)
by J. Kenner
Date Released: July 9, 2019
About Indulge Me
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J. Kenner comes a new story in her Stark Ever After series…
Despite everything I have suffered, I never truly understood darkness until my family was in danger. Those desperate hours came close to breaking both Damien and me, but together we found the strength to survive and hold our family together.
Even so, my wounds are deep, and wispy shadows still linger. But Damien is my rock. My hero against the dark and violence.
And when dark memories threaten to consume me, he whisks me away, knowing that in order to conquer my fears he must take control. Demand my submission. Claim me completely. Because if I am going to find my center again, I must hold tight to Damien and draw deep from the wellspring of our shared passion.
Read my four-starred review of Indulge Me.
Julie Kenner (aka J. Kenner and J.K. Beck) is the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty novels, novellas and short stories in a variety of genres.
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations,” J.K. writes a range of stories including super sexy romances, paranormal romance, chick lit suspense and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, is in development as a feature film with 1492 Pictures.
Her most recent trilogy of erotic romances, The Stark Trilogy (as J. Kenner), reached as high as #2 on the New York Times list and is published in over twenty countries.
J.K. lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and several cats.
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An Excerpt from Indulge Me
I’ve been dreading this conversation, but now that we’re having it, I can’t help but feel relieved. Because I don’t want to keep my wounds from Damien. Not when he’s the one who has always helped me heal.
I used to joke that Damien could remake the world to his will with nothing more than a sweep of his arm, and if that wasn’t enough, his checkbook could take over, and he’d remake it with a swipe of his pen. An exaggeration, of course. A joke, even.
And yet some small part of me believed it to be true.
No. Some part of me knew that it was true. Maybe not as to the whole world, but as to us. Him. Me. The girls. Our friends. Inside the bubble we lived in, Damien had that power. Even when the outside world would squeeze in through a pinhole, somehow Damien would shoot them down and shoo them away.
Anne’s kidnapping was a huge breach in that bubble. But even then, Damien’s command and determination pulled us through, and we got our daughter back.
We also got pain and fear and death and betrayal. And defeat, I add, thinking of the newest scar to mar my inner thigh.
Even then, it took some crazy teens on a winding road for me to finally understand just how dangerous the monsters in the dark can be.
I love Damien. More important, I trust him.
But I’ve finally faced the realization that he can’t truly keep me or the girls safe any more than he could put that bubble back over our lives.
That’s the truth. That’s reality. And yet thinking it feels disloyal.
He’s watching me tenderly, studying my face. “Tell me,” he demands, and though it’s difficult, I lead him through the twisting path of my thoughts.
“It’s never bad when illusions are shattered,” he says when I finish. “Facing reality is the truest form of courage there is. But that doesn’t mean you have to give in to it. Instead, you acknowledge it. You look it in the eye. And in that moment, you know that you’re strong enough to withstand anything. You, Nikki.”
“Am I?” I know he believes it. He’s always seen a wellspring of strength in me that even the fact that I took a blade to my own flesh couldn’t squelch.
And the irony? He’s right. I am strong. I’m even stronger with him at my side.
But I’m also afraid.
I think of the terror that burned through my blood on that dangerous mountain road. The similar pang I feel every time my girls leave my sight now, because I’ve seen the truth. I know that anything could happen to them. Anything at all. And not even a man like Damien Stark can ensure their safety.
I meet his eyes. “Can you honestly tell me that your heart doesn’t tighten every moment they are out of your sight?”
“Our girls? Of course it does. Every moment you’re away from me, too. But goddammit, I won’t cower forever just because horror came knocking. And I won’t let you, either.”
About J. Kenner
I’ve been dreading this conversation, but now that we’re having it, I can’t help but feel relieved. Because I don’t want to keep my wounds from Damien. Not when he’s the one who has always helped me heal.
I used to joke that Damien could remake the world to his will with nothing more than a sweep of his arm, and if that wasn’t enough, his checkbook could take over, and he’d remake it with a swipe of his pen. An exaggeration, of course. A joke, even.
And yet some small part of me believed it to be true.
No. Some part of me knew that it was true. Maybe not as to the whole world, but as to us. Him. Me. The girls. Our friends. Inside the bubble we lived in, Damien had that power. Even when the outside world would squeeze in through a pinhole, somehow Damien would shoot them down and shoo them away.
Anne’s kidnapping was a huge breach in that bubble. But even then, Damien’s command and determination pulled us through, and we got our daughter back.
We also got pain and fear and death and betrayal. And defeat, I add, thinking of the newest scar to mar my inner thigh.
Even then, it took some crazy teens on a winding road for me to finally understand just how dangerous the monsters in the dark can be.
I love Damien. More important, I trust him.
But I’ve finally faced the realization that he can’t truly keep me or the girls safe any more than he could put that bubble back over our lives.
That’s the truth. That’s reality. And yet thinking it feels disloyal.
He’s watching me tenderly, studying my face. “Tell me,” he demands, and though it’s difficult, I lead him through the twisting path of my thoughts.
“It’s never bad when illusions are shattered,” he says when I finish. “Facing reality is the truest form of courage there is. But that doesn’t mean you have to give in to it. Instead, you acknowledge it. You look it in the eye. And in that moment, you know that you’re strong enough to withstand anything. You, Nikki.”
“Am I?” I know he believes it. He’s always seen a wellspring of strength in me that even the fact that I took a blade to my own flesh couldn’t squelch.
And the irony? He’s right. I am strong. I’m even stronger with him at my side.
But I’m also afraid.
I think of the terror that burned through my blood on that dangerous mountain road. The similar pang I feel every time my girls leave my sight now, because I’ve seen the truth. I know that anything could happen to them. Anything at all. And not even a man like Damien Stark can ensure their safety.
I meet his eyes. “Can you honestly tell me that your heart doesn’t tighten every moment they are out of your sight?”
“Our girls? Of course it does. Every moment you’re away from me, too. But goddammit, I won’t cower forever just because horror came knocking. And I won’t let you, either.”
About J. Kenner
Praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a “flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations,” J.K. writes a range of stories including super sexy romances, paranormal romance, chick lit suspense and paranormal mommy lit. Her foray into the latter, Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner, is in development as a feature film with 1492 Pictures.
Her most recent trilogy of erotic romances, The Stark Trilogy (as J. Kenner), reached as high as #2 on the New York Times list and is published in over twenty countries.
J.K. lives in Central Texas, with her husband, two daughters, and several cats.
Connect with J. Kenner
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