Releasing on August 8, 2017, read on for more information about The Forbidden, including an excerpt and giveaway!

What do you do when you can't control your feelings for someone? When you know you shouldn't go there? Not even in your head.
Annie has never experienced the 'spark' with a guy-the kind of instant chemistry that steals your breath and blindsides you completely. Until a night out with friends brings her face to face with the wickedly sexy and mysterious Jack. It's not just a spark that ignites between them. It's an explosion. Jack promises to consume Annie, and he fully delivers on that promise.
Overwhelmed by the intensity of their one night together, Annie slips out of their hotel room. She is certain that a man who's had such a powerful impact on her and who could bend her to his will so easily, must be dangerous. But she's already in too deep. And Jack isn't only dangerous. He is forbidden.
Excerpt
Keeping his eyes on mine, he calls to the barman. āTwo tequilas, please.ā
āTequila,ā I muse, looking over my shoulder when the salt and lemon land behind me. āIs that my challenge?ā
āCrying off?ā he goads, reaching into his pocket and pulling out some notes.
āNever,ā I scoff, turning into the bar. I donāt know what his game is, but I want to play. With him. āYouāre asking me to prove Iām sober by doing a shot?ā I narrow my eyes on him, teasing. āOr is your plan to get me drunk and take advantage of me?ā
He smiles to himself as he pays the barman. āYou donāt look like the kind of woman who could be taken advantage of.ā
āWhat kind of woman do I look like, then?ā I challenge quietly.
He turns into me, watching me for a few moments. āI donāt know, but I think Iād like to find out.ā
I hold his gaze for a few seconds, no retort coming to me. I think I want him to find out, too, just as much as I want to find out what kind of man he is. My eyes drop from his sparkling greys, down his tall, lean frame to his feet.
Ohā¦fuckā¦
āLetās play,ā he says, moving in closer and pulling one of the glasses forward. I donāt mean to, but I yank my arm away abruptly when he brushes against me, startled by the tiny stabs of pleasure that pitter-patter all over my skin. The fleeting touch tells me he would feel as good as he looks, andāgive me strengthāhe smells divine, all manly and earthy and fucking edible.
The sudden lapse in movement and talking from both of us becomes slightly awkward. I can feel him looking down at me.
āWhat do I have to do?ā I ask again quietly, almost on a breathy gasp.
He clears his throat. āYouāre not drunk?ā
āNot even the slightest bit.ā I raise my nose in the air.
āGood. Then youāll smash this challenge first time.ā He places a finger on the brim of one of the shot glasses. āBrace your palms on the edge of the bar,ā he orders, firm but softly. I look at him, finding a serious face. āGo on.ā
Frowning, I place my hands on the edge of the bar. āOkay?ā
He takes my hips. He takes my fucking hips! I freeze from top to toe and swallow hard, waiting. My insides are quickly furling, my mind in chaos. āMove back a bit,ā he says, pulling at them a little until I step back.
Oh, Jesus. Iām on fire. I have a strange man bending me over a bar in public, and me, Annie Iām-immune-to-men Ryan, isnāt fighting him off. Itās like he has me under a spell. What gives? I dare not look behind me. Iām not stupid enough to think Lizzy isnāt currently watching a man manipulate my body to where he wants it.
āYou feel tense,ā he observes, releasing me and moving back to my side.
I donāt deny it; neither do I confirm it. His big hands felt so good resting on my hips, so much so I have to resist not claiming them and putting them back where they were. āWhat now?ā I ask, evidently struggling for air, damn me.
āNow.ā He picks up his beer and grins. āI get to gloat that I had you bent over a bar within five minutes of meeting you.ā He takes a swig, still grinning, and I hear the roar of a man down the bar laughing his head off.
Oh, the fucker! Part of me has admiration. Another part of me wants to slap him stupid; I donāt care how beautiful he is. And another part of me wants to rip his clothes from his body and ravish the sly bastard.
I cannot believe I fell for it! How many women has he played like a fiddle? I drop my head, shaking it to myself.
I knew that smile was dangerous. A man who can bend a woman to his will so easily and so soon couldnāt be anything less than lethal. And the fact that he got me with his wicked game means hats off to him. I canāt possibly take that away from him, and since Iām lacking in the dignity department right now, I decide not to slap him. Nor will I chuck a drink over his head, or fire a load of verbal abuse at him.
Iāll do what he least expects.
I push myself up and turn to face him, unable to stop myself from smiling at his half-grin. Holding his gaze, I slowly lick the back of my hand, blindly take the salt off the bar, sprinkle a bit, and take one of the shots of tequila. But as Iām taking my hand to my mouth to lick the salt up, he seizes my wrist and takes the shot from my other hand. My heartbeat accelerates, our eyes glued to each other as he moves into me and slowly brings my hand to his mouth. I watch, gripped, as he lazily licks up the salt from the back of my hand, eyes on mine, and then knocks the tequila back. Kill me now, for I will certainly die a happy woman. His tongue on my skin. His eyes boring into mine. His hold of my wrist. I must look like a statueāunable to talk, move, or think clearly.
āThereās one more tequila,ā he says, cocking his head toward the bar but keeping me in his sights. āAnd itās yours.ā
Oh good lord. My heart is speeding up by the second as I watch him lick the back of his hand and sprinkle some salt. Then he offers it to me. I stare at his hand, and then slowly look up at him. I could get lost in those grey glittery eyes.
āI taste good,ā he whispers.

Jodi Ellen Malpas was born and raised in the Midlands town of Northampton, England, where she lives with her two boys and a beagle. She is a self-professed daydreamer, a Converse and mojito addict, and has a terrible weak spot for Alpha Males. Writing powerful love stories and creating addictive characters have become her passion-a passion she now shares with her devoted readers. She's a proud #1 New York Times bestselling author, and all seven of her published novels were New York Times bestsellers, in addition to being international and Sunday Times bestsellers. Her work is published in more than twenty languages across the world.
Giveaway
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