Exclusive excerpt: 'Asa' by Jay Crownover

Asa Cross! His story is the final book in the USA TODAY and New York Times bestselling Marked Men series by author Jay Crownover. I can promise you that Asa will consume you. He's the complicated, tortured bad boy who is sexy as hell. He's the man who's caught between his troubled, criminal past and the happy ever after that flirts just beyond his reach. He's the con man who falls for the fiery, redhead cop, Royal Hastings.

Today, I have a special treat for HEA readers. As we eagerly wait for Asa to hit book stores and e-readers around the world (coming April 21), together with Vilma's Book Blog, Crownover is sharing the entirety of Chapter 1 with us! Part one starts here, then stop on over at Vilma's Book Blog for the second, sizzling part.

SYNOPSIS

Starting over in Denver with a whole new circle of friends and family, Asa Cross struggles with being the man he knows everyone wants him to be and the man he knows he really is. A leopard doesn't it change its spots and Asa has always been a predator. He doesn't want to hurt those who love and rely on him, especially one luscious arresting cop who suddenly seems to be interested in him for far more than his penchant for breaking the law. But letting go of old habits is hard, and it's easy to hit bottom when it's the place you know best.

Royal Hastings is quickly learning what the bottom looks like after a tragic situation at work threatens not only her career but her partner's life. As a woman who has only ever had a few real friends she's trying to muddle through her confusion and devastation all alone. Except she can't stop thinking about the sexy southern bartender she locked up. Crushing on Asa is the last thing she needs but his allure is too strong to resist. His long criminal record can only hurt her already shaky career and chasing after a guy who has no respect for the law or himself can only end in heartbreak.

A longtime criminal and a cop together just seems so wrong ... but for Asa and Royal, being wrong together is the only right choice to make.

EXCERPT

Not too long ago when I watched a girl purposely get as drunk as this pretty one did, I would've moved in for the kill. I would have taken her home, taken her to bed, and not felt guilty at all about knowing that she was making choices without all her cylinders firing. I used to never let an easy opportunity pass me by, and I never felt bad that my actions weren't exactly going to win me any awards for morality. I used to like it when things were handed to me with no effort on my part, and I liked it that when I walked away, I could always brush off any kind of responsibility for wrongdoing and put it on someone else. Accountability was a foreign thing, and back in the day I avoided it like I owed it money.

But times had changed and somewhere between dying on a hospital bed and coming back to life and seeing the last chance I had at any kind of normality flicker in and out of my little sister's eyes, the barest hint of a conscience had woken up inside of me. Now, when I watched this very pretty drunk girl, obviously out of control, obviously looking for trouble, I wanted her to know how heavy an anchor regret could be. I still wanted to take her home and take her to bed, only I understood the connotation was different. Now that sliver of conscience was poking at me to do something I had never done and pretend that I was chivalrous and save her from herself.

No one would ever call me altruistic or considerate, but if I didn't step in, the beautiful redhead was going to get herself into a whole world of hurt. I knew from firsthand experience that some hurt and some mistakes could weigh you down forever. Carrying the load was exhausting and she deserved better than that, even if at the moment she seemed to have forgotten it.

I wiped my hands on the bar towel that was hanging loosely from my belt in the back and lifted an eyebrow at my cocktail waitress, Dixie, who was watching the same show on the dance floor that I was, with wide eyes. It was a Saturday night, so the bar was pretty full and there was a live band playing on the tiny stage, but pretty much every pair of eyes in the place was trained on the way the redhead was moving across the dance floor. I knew I should have cut her off, she was a lightweight as it was, but her big, chocolate-colored eyes were so sad, so tormented, I had a hard time telling her no. Now that I could actually feel s*** like empathy and compassion, I knew that I had overserved her, which led up to the virtual striptease that was now happening in the middle of the dance floor.

"You think all those guys trying to grind on her would flip out if they knew she's more than likely armed?"

Dixie's voice was laced with dry humor as she took the Jack and Coke I mixed for her order from me.

"When a girl is clearly intoxicated, looking for a good time, and just happens to look like her, a bullet isn't very much of a deterrent. I'm gonna go pull her out of there. After you drop that off, will you watch the bar for a second?"

She lifted her own eyebrows back at me with a grin. "Are you sure you want to do that? That's like a pack of jackals circling a fallen gazelle. It might get ugly if you go and ruin all the fun."

This exclusive excerpt of chapter one of Asa continues on Vilma's Book Blog.

Find out more about Jay and her books at www.jaycrownover.com.