Hard As Steel by Laura Kaye

Hard As Steel by Laura Kaye

1001 Dark Nights is a collection of breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic novellas inspired by the exotic tales of The Arabian Nights. In the original, Scheherazade desperately attempts to entertain her husband, the King of Persia, with nightly stories so that he will postpone her execution. In our versions, each of our fabulous authors puts a unique spin on the premise and creates a tale that a new Scheherazade tells long into the dark, dark night.

After identifying her employer's dangerous enemies, Jessica Jakes takes refuge at the compound of the Raven Riders Motorcycle Club. Fellow Hard Ink tattooist and Raven leader Ike Young promises to keep Jess safe for as long as it takes, which would be perfect if his close, personal, round-the-clock protection didn't make it so hard to hide just how much she wants him--and always has.

Ike Young loved and lost a woman in trouble once before. The last thing he needs is alone time with the sexiest and feistiest woman he's ever known, one he's purposely kept at a distance for years. Now Ike's not sure he can keep his hands or his heart to himself--or that he even wants to anymore. And that means he has to do whatever it takes to hold on to Jess forever.

Laura Kaye, the best-selling and award-winning author of a half-dozen books, was named Breakout Author of the Year in the 2011 GraveTells Readers' Choice Awards. Hearts in Darkness is a finalist for the EPIC eBook Award for Best Novella, Forever Freed took home the NJRW Golden Leaf Award for Best Paranormal in 2011, and North of Need, the first book in the Hearts of the Anemoi series, was chosen GraveTells' Best Book of 2011 and received their 5-STAR Gold Heart Award, as well as Sizzling Hot Read of the Year at Sizzling Hot Books. She was up in a huge extended family that believed in the supernatural and constantly told stories about their own personal experiences with it. Laura's love with the occult and the world of fantasy was sparked by family legends about angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses. Laura had been a voracious reader and writer since she was a child--at fourteen, she hand wrote a 50-notebook-page paranormal retelling of The Secret Garden, and at sixteen, her time travel historical short story, Peter Rescue The Tsar, won an award from the county Board of Education.

New aspirations and pursuits overtook these previous interests in fiction writing as she grew older, and it took years for the storyteller in her spirit to demand to be heard. Laura's inner muse has insisted on making up for lost time by whispering story and character ideas into her ear faster than she can write them down--but she wouldn't have it any other way! Laura, who lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and a naughty dog, enjoys her daily view of the Chesapeake Bay.