{"id":6288,"date":"2016-07-07T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2016-07-07T15:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allthethingsinbetween.net\/?p=6288"},"modified":"2016-07-07T08:00:58","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T15:00:58","slug":"book-it-excerpt-reveal-ball-peen-hammer-by-lauren-rowe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/havecoffeeneedbooks.com\/index.php\/2016\/07\/07\/book-it-excerpt-reveal-ball-peen-hammer-by-lauren-rowe\/","title":{"rendered":"Book It: Excerpt Reveal Ball Peen Hammer by Lauren Rowe"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ball Peen Hammer Blurb:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keane Morgan wouldn\u2019t return any of my calls or texts, and I was pissed as hell about it. I didn\u2019t want to drive from Seattle to L.A. with the guy any more than he wanted to drive with me, but I had no frickin\u2019 choice in the matter–at least, not if I wanted to use his brother Dax\u2019s coveted parking spot at UCLA. <\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so it turned out Keane was objectively gorgeous, and, fine, pretty funny, too. But did he have to be so damned <\/span>in love<\/span><\/i> with himself? I mean, jeez, the cocky way he flashed those dimples was just so <\/span>orchestrated.<\/span><\/i> And, honestly, what kind of guy uses the phrase \u201cbaby doll\u201d with a straight face? Oh, that\u2019s right: <\/span>the kind of guy who\u2019s a male stripper.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Yup, the cocky jerk turned out to be Seattle\u2019s answer to Magic Mike, a stripper known as \u201cBall Peen Hammer\u201d–which meant Keane Morgan was emphatically <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> the kind of guy I\u2019d ever fall for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not. At. All.<\/p>\n

No freakin\u2019 way.<\/p>\n

Well, until Keane convinced me to fall for him, that is.<\/p>\n

Which I did.<\/p>\n

Hard.<\/span><\/i>
\n\"TBR\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Ball Peen Hammer:<\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

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Ball Peen Hammer Excerpt:<\/p>\n

Keane looks around the small motel room while I sit in a rickety chair, watching him. He seems nervous, though I can\u2019t imagine why. Isn\u2019t this what he does for a living?
\n\u201cThere isn\u2019t a lot of room to maneuver in here,\u201d Keane says, biting the inside of his cheek. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna be able to do most of my usual moves.\u201d
\n\u201cNo judgment here,\u201d I say. \u201cJust jiggle a little bit and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be duly impressed.\u201d
\nKeane rolls his eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t jiggle, Maddy. I dance.\u201d
\n\u201cOkay, gyrate. Writhe. Shake your booty. Whatever. I\u2019m just saying I\u2019m easy to please.\u201d
\nKeane twists his mouth, still surveying the small space. \u201cI can\u2019t do any of my acrobatics or flips in here. This is gonna be pretty lame, actually.\u201d He sighs. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll definitely have to use the bed for some stuff. Okay? Otherwise, there\u2019s no place to maneuver.\u201d
\nI bite my lip, trying not to smile. \u201cDo whatever you think is best,\u201d I say. \u201cI won\u2019t know the difference. It\u2019s my first lap dance, remember?\u201d
\nKeane furrows his eyebrows adorably. \u201cOkay. But just so you know I\u2019m usually way more exciting than what you\u2019re about to see.\u201d
\nI purse my lips and flare my nostrils, trying to keep a huge smile at bay. Why the heckity-heck does Keane seem so freaking nervous? \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d I say. \u201cI\u2019ll mention the cramped performing space when I write my Yelp review.\u201d
\n\u201cHang on.\u201d Without warning, he leans over me, giving me a whiff of his delicious, soapy scent, grabs ahold of either side of my chair, and rotates me a quarter turn so I\u2019m facing the length of the narrow \u201calley\u201d between the beds and the dresser. \u201cOkay, that\u2019s better,\u201d Keane says. \u201cGives me a little more room to work with.\u201d He grabs a shirt from his duffel bag and throws it over the lamp on the nightstand, further dimming the already low lighting in the room. \u201cCan I use your laptop to play some music?\u201d
\n\u201cSure.\u201d I motion to my computer on the bed and tell him the password.
\nAfter calling up something on my computer, Keane places the laptop onto the dresser to my left. \u201cPress play on the song when I cue you,\u201d he says.
\n\u201cYes, sir.\u201d
\nKeane positions himself a few feet in front of me, his head bowed, his hands clasped in front of his crotch, his legs spread into an athletic stance, but before he can do anything else, I burst into a manic giggle.
\nKeane looks up. \u201cYou okay?\u201d
\n\u201cYeah. Sorry. I just realized I\u2019ve paid a male stripper for a private lap dance in a motel room.\u201d I snicker. \u201cOkay. I\u2019m good now. Proceed.\u201d I exhale and shake out my arms.
\nAfter a beat, Keane puts his head down again, but then immediately raises his face to look at me again. \u201cPicture colorful lights swirling around the room, okay?\u201d
\n\u201cOoooh. Aaaaaaah. Pretty.\u201d
\nKeane levels me with the most hilariously annoyed expression he\u2019s ever flashed at me (which is saying a lot). \u201cAre you gonna be sardonic this entire time, or can you at least try to act like a normal pickle with a dollar bill?\u201d
\n\u201cSorry. I will most definitely relax and act like a normal pickle with a dollar bill, starting now.\u201d
\n\u201cThank you.\u201d He takes a deep breath, shakes out his arms, clasps his hands in front of his crotch again, and lowers his head. \u201cCue music,\u201d he says.
\nI dutifully reach over to my computer and press play on the song Keane\u2019s got cued up on YouTube: \u201cPony\u201d by Ginuwine, of course.
\nThe song begins blaring in the small room. But Keane doesn\u2019t move. To the contrary, through the first familiar chords of the iconic song, Keane remains stock-still, apparently letting anticipation build the same way Channing Tatum did when he danced to this song in Magic Mike. And I must say his tactic is working like a charm: I\u2019m transfixed.
\nBut, still, Keane doesn\u2019t move, other than to subtly flex the muscles on his forearms.
\nFinally, after a few bars of the song, Keane begins moving his hips and slowly touching his chest over the fabric of his tight black T-shirt\u2014an understated move that most definitely piques my interest\u2014and when the song reaches Ginuwine\u2019s vocals, Keane\u2019s magnificent body finally springs to animated life, jerking and gyrating to the beat of the music.
\nWhoa. Hotness. I had no idea Keane could move like this. He\u2019s as fluid as mercury.
\n\u201cWoohoo!\u201d I scream. \u201cYeah, baby! Now that\u2019s what I\u2019m talkin\u2019 \u2018bout!\u201d
\nKeane smirks at me, as if to say, \u201cYou ain\u2019t seen nothing yet.\u201d He thrusts his pelvis in rapid succession and then glides back a step, his body shuddering.
\n\u201cChanning\u2019s got nothing on you, baby!\u201d I shout.
\nKeane\u2019s body is bending and twisting now, undulating like an upright worm along with the song.
\n\u201cYeah, baby!\u201d I shout.
\nIn one easy motion, Keane leans completely back, touches the ground with his fingertips, and then pops back up to standing.
\n\u201cWow!\u201d I scream.
\nKeane\u2019s suddenly on his hands in the tight space and then back on his feet, and then he\u2019s dry humping the floor with jaw-dropping thrusts, much to my shrieking delight. Then he\u2019s back on his feet, peeling off his T-shirt while thrusting his pelvis into the air like he\u2019s in the throes of extremely rough sex. Holy hell, Keane\u2019s sweatpants are riding so low on his hips, it\u2019s a wonder they\u2019re not falling off when he\u2019s moving like that.
\n\u201cWoohoo!\u201d I shriek, laughing gleefully.
\nKeane throws his T-shirt onto the bed and shoots me a smolder so intense, my breathing hitches.
\n\u201cSexy,\u201d I whisper, my voice barely audible, though I\u2019d intended to scream the word.
\nIn a flash, Keane\u2019s standing over me as I sit in my chair, his body heat wafting over me. Right in time with the music, he picks my chair up off the ground with me in it, making me shriek, and then quickly releases my seat to the ground while holding my body up by my ass.
\nI open my mouth to say, \u201cHey, I remember that from the movie,\u201d but before I can get the words out, Keane\u2019s got my thighs on his shoulders and my crotch in his face.
\n\u201cOh my . . .\u201d is all I can manage to eek out as Keane shakes his head into my crotch like a voracious dog with a bone. But before I can say anything more, Keane\u2019s strong arms are cradling my back and lowering me confidently onto the bed.
\n\u201cOh my God,\u201d I gasp. \u201cWow.\u201d
\nIn a flash, Keane\u2019s on top of me, his forearms resting on either side of my head, his pelvis dry-humping me to the beat of the song.
\n\u201cWhoa. At least buy me a drink first, big guy,\u201d I say.
\nKeane flips me onto my stomach and, an instant later, his pelvis is driving into my ass in cadence with the sexy music.
\n\u201cOkay, now I\u2019m gonna need dinner and dessert,\u201d I say.
\nKeane exhales from behind me and stops moving. After a beat, he flips me over onto my back and straddles me with his strong thighs, his knees on either side of my hips, his sweatpants riding low. \u201cAre you not feeling this at all?\u201d he asks, his breathing labored.
\n\u201cOh,\u201d I say, taken aback. I feel my cheeks blush a deep crimson. \u201cAm I supposed to be reacting differently? I\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, I just mean . . .\u201d He stares down at me for a long beat, his blue eyes blazing, his muscles tensing. \u201cThis isn\u2019t turning you on at all?\u201d
\n\u201cOh. Um. Of course, it is. I mean, you\u2019re gorgeous. Look at you. And your smoove mooves are amazing. I especially liked that back-door-action simulation.\u201d
\nThere\u2019s a long beat of silence as Keane stares at me, apparently rendered speechless.
\nDamn. I feel like I\u2019m saying exactly the wrong thing here. \u201cAnd, hey, you did that oral-sex simulation from the movie even better than Channing Tatum,\u201d I add, filling the awkward silence.
\nKeane\u2019s eyes are burning. Wordlessly, he grabs my hands and places them above my head on the bed, his eyes boring holes into my face like laser beams. But he doesn\u2019t speak.
\n\u201cUm,\u201d I say. I swallow hard. Whoa, this is kinda hot all of a sudden. \u201cAnd, um, when you ripped off your shirt,\u201d I whisper, my heartbeat suddenly raging in my ears, \u201cthat part was really . . . \u201d I trail off, too flustered to finish my sentence. Wow, this is suddenly really, really hot.
\nKeane lets out a shaky breath but, still, he doesn\u2019t speak. He slides his palms into mine and clasps my fingers. \u201cThat part was really what?\u201d he finally asks softly, his eyes flickering with heat.
\n\u201cCool?\u201d
\nKeane smirks. He releases my fingers and slides his palms out of mine, down past my wrists and forearms, over my armpits, all the way down to my ribcage, where he finally lets his hands come to a rest mere inches from my breasts.
\nI open my mouth to speak, thinking I should fill the silence between us, but I\u2019m suddenly too overcome to form words. Every inch of the flesh Keane just touched is tingling like crazy. And I\u2019m hyper-aware of the placement of his warm, strong hands on my body. If he moved them a mere inch, he\u2019d be touching my breasts.
\n\u201cDid I do anything at all to get your motor running?\u201d Keane asks softly, his eyes locked with mine, his pelvis heavy on top of me.
\nI let out a long exhale to steady myself. I\u2019m really not sure how to answer Keane\u2019s question. Honestly, this thing he\u2019s doing to me right now is getting my motor running ten times more than the actual \u201clap dance\u201d he performed a few minutes ago.
\nWhen I don\u2019t reply to his question, Keane slides his hands up from my ribcage\u2014over my armpits, past the sensitive undersides of my arms, across my forearms and wrists\u2014and into my palms again.
\nBut he remains quiet.
\nGood God, what\u2019s he doing to me? He\u2019s wreaking havoc on my body with the simplest of touches.
\nKeane leans over me, his eyes burning like coals, his fingers intertwined in mine. \u201cYou weren\u2019t feeling it at all?\u201d he whispers.
\n\u201cOh, no, I totally was,\u201d I sputter. \u201cIt\u2019s just that . . . um . . .\u201d I begin. I take a deep breath, gathering myself. \u201cWhen you did your whole stripper-thing, it felt like you were doing a Channing Tatum impression\u2014like you were playing a character, rather than just being Keane.\u201d I swallow hard. \u201cAnd . . . um.\u201d I shut my mouth. Keane\u2019s begun gliding his hands from my palms down toward my torso again, and I\u2019m too overcome with tingles to speak further.
\n\u201cAnd . . ?\u201d Keane coaxes as he runs his hands down and then back up my arms, his body hulking over mine.
\nMy heart is pounding like a freakin\u2019 jackhammer. And so is my crotch. What the heck is this shirtless boy doing to me, pinning me here on the bed and caressing my bare flesh like that? He\u2019s turning me into a freakin\u2019 pile of goo. \u201cAnd . . .\u201d I swallow hard again.
\n\u201cTell me,\u201d Keane says.
\nShoot. I really don\u2019t think I should say the words on the tip of my tongue. Once I say them, I won\u2019t be able to stuff them back in again, after all\u2014and, as sexy as Keane is\u2014and, damn, he\u2019s most definitely sexy\u2014I have no intention of nudging this friendship of ours outside the friend zone.
\nOr do I?
\n\u201cAnd . . ?\u201d Keane prompts again, his face on fire.
\nI exhale a long, shaky breath. \u201cAnd I think,\u201d I begin, my tongue thick and clumsy in my mouth. \u201cUm. It turns out . . . I think Keane Morgan is . . . much . . . sexier . . . than Ball Peen Hammer.\u201d I take a deep breath. \u201cMuch, much sexier.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meet Lauren Rowe:<\/p>\n

USA Today and international bestselling author Lauren Rowe lives in San Diego, California, where, in addition to writing books, she performs with her dance\/party band at events all over Southern California, writes songs, takes embarrassing photos of her Boston terrier, Buster, spends time with her family, and narrates audiobooks. Much to Lauren\u2019s thrill, her books have been translated all over the world in multiple languages and hit multiple domestic and international bestseller lists.<\/p>\n

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Web Tracks:<\/p>\n

Website<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | Goodreads<\/a><\/p>\n

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