Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Amazon Barnes & Noble.com J. A. Clarke, Romance Author Uncial Press, Inc. Category:  Romance Publisher: Uncial Press Inc. ISBN-10:  1601741480 Type: Fiction Pages: 264 Copyright: March 2006 ISBN-13: 9781601741486 Price: $6.99 (eBook) In a primitive land, a woman discovers new strengths and a love she has only dreamed of, while a man learns there are second chances.  On a buying trip for her interior design firm, Kat Feldman is unprepared for Africa’s rough, exotic wilderness. This is nothing like the civilized streets of Europe and New York. There are monkeys committing mayhem in the trees outside her hotel room, gigantic insects in her bathroom and a man prowling the corridors who is inspiring her body to break all her dating rules. Jackson Roarke is an avid outdoorsman. Baby-sitting a high maintenance city girl is not his idea of a perk. Except the city girl surprises and captivates him with her determination, adventurous spirit and courage. Poached ivory and Jackson’s past collide to threaten their future, but in this primitive land, Kat discovers new strengths and a love she has only dreamed of, and Jackson learns there are second chances.   Excerpt Before she could think of all the reasons why she shouldn't, she reached behind and pulled down the zipper of her dress. Ron and Sheila wouldn't recognize this Kat. She didn't recognize this Kat. Her actions were driven by something other than reason, whose voice was silent. The dress slid down over her arms. It felt like a dream. The drums, that rhythmic pounding continued to stir her blood, to send a message she didn't want to resist. The dress puddled around her feet. She kicked it away and fingered the bra clasp between her breasts. But courage only went so far and the matching set of silk underwear stayed on. She stepped over to the edge of the pool, glanced around one more time, sucked in a breath and jumped. The coolness against her heated skin was a shock, even though she'd been prepared for it. She surfaced and trod water, her eyes closed. With the raw, primitive beat of the music still saturating the air, the liquid movement across her skin became a sensual caress. She moved her arms and legs in lazy circles, her entire concentration focused on nerve endings that tingled madly. Some small part of her wished she had removed her underwear. She wanted to be naked. Wanted to subjugate her inhibitions to the message that filled the night. Before the thought had completed itself, her fingers were again at the clasp of her bra. Water swirled around her. A stronger, more demanding current. More than she could possibly have created herself. Even as her mind reacted in fear to the knowledge, as it began to question what creature might have stalked her here, or lain concealed in the water, something hard brushed against her leg. At the same time, something just as hard wrapped around her waist. She shrieked in pure terror, only to have the sound muffled by a large hand pressed against her mouth. "Kat." The Voice was husky in her ear. "I'm going to take my hand away. Don't scream." She gave a tiny nod as hot rage erupted inside of her. She didn't know where its fury came from. Couldn't have controlled it even if she wanted to. But Roarke was the perfect target on which to vent the tension that had been building all day and which had escalated with the evening's dance performance. The pressure on her mouth disappeared. Hands on her waist turned her. "You bastard." She clenched her hand into a fist and swung it as hard and fast as she could manage at his head. "You scared me." He caught her hand with insulting ease and pushed it behind her, securing the other one as well. "Kat. Little Katrina," he murmured. His warm breath washed across her ear. "You are such a rebel. You just don't follow the rules, do you?" Furious, she twisted and squirmed in his grasp. Her unfettered feet kicked at his legs but seemed to do little damage. "I don't know what you're talking about. Let go of me, you--" She was jerked hard against his body. For an instant, she saw the shadowy outline of his head against the star-lit sky before it swooped down like some giant night predator and her mouth was crushed beneath velvet and steel. Her blood ignited.

Judith B. Glad
Tour Africa. See the wildlife. Meet handsome men. Fall in love.
If Katrina had dreamed up the perfect vacation, it couldn't have matched the one she had. Until the wildlife turned out to include biting flies and creepy crawly things, one handsome man betrayed her, and the other broke her heart.
J.A. Clarke's romance, Beneath a Blazing Sun, is well named. The setting and the action are hot, hot, hot!

Kat Feldman's idea of roughing it includes a basket from the deli and a city park. She isn't too keen on the idea of an African tour, but her boss wants her to search for primitive art. Jackson Roarke isn't your typical African tour director, because his other job is in a Seattle law office. He's a dedicated outdoorsman, though, and hasn't time for beautiful women who are more decorative than practical. So of course they're attracted to each other. Isn't that what always happens?
What starts out as a typical vacation romance turns into something more serious when Jackson starts thinking about taking Kat home with him. She wonders if she could adapt to life in Seattle, which she considers pretty uncivilized compared to her native Chicago. But there's always something to mess up the course of true love, and in this case it's a step-brother, who seems to think Jackson's women are for him to share, and Kat's co-worker, who can't resist the lure of forbidden goods. When the tour ends, Kat and Jackson go their separate ways, angry at what they see as betrayal.
Jackson learned the hard way that women aren't to be trusted. So why, when Kat shows up in Seattle, is he reluctantly willing to listen to her side of the story? And what is Kat going to tell him when he asks why she plans to stay, whether they resolve their issues or not?
Beneath a Blazing Sun follows the course of a love as fiery and tempestuous as the title promises. Kat and Jackson are beautifully drawn characters in a thrilling story that fills the reader's senses with the sights and scents and sounds of Africa. Add in an assortment of secondary characters who are convincing and interesting, and you have an unbeatable combination, promising hours of exciting reading.


4 1/2 hearts
4 1/2 hearts--"...highly creative and very romantic...a fascinating adventure..." The Romance Studio