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Character
Interview with Devon Lynk of Lynked…
Devon Lynk is already a distinguishable man in his own
right. Having once been a professional, well-known mixed-martial arts fighter
and the owner of a multi-million dollar fighting company, he has certainly had
his successes. It was by some of those same successes where he found his
weakness, as well as his downfall.
Having not given an interview since far before his
release from prison for illegal gambling, I was the first person he allowed to
question him. Even more surprising than his agreement to the interview is his
request that nothing about his arrest or the company he no longer owns be
brought into the interview.
Waving for me to sit across from him in the living
room of his home located in Stoney Plains, Alberta, you almost don’t notice how
imposing of a man Devon is. But, his history in MMA showcases him physically,
lining him rock-solid from top to bottom.
“Nic isn’t joining us?” I ask, sitting.
Devon grins knowingly. “She’s not feeling particularly
well this morning. Maybe she’ll be around later.”
“Can you tell us a little bit about you, and your
story?”
“I grew up in Banff, Alberta as the only child of my
mother and one of the many bastards of my oil baron father. I stumbled into
martial arts pretty young, but the sport and I hit it off right away. After an
unfortunate incident, I was left unable to fight, so my half-brother and I
dreamed up Chaine Lynk. Our patrons happened to have a lot of money, and we
liked to toss it around a little on the fights—I don’t want to get into that.
Leaving it in the past, you know?”
I shrug, but his arrest and the details around it are
foggy in the media. “Okay, how about Nic? How did you meet her?”
Devon shakes his head, pointing to a picture on his
wall of a man in a suit hugging his wife. “Her brother was a fighter of mine.
She came into the venue one night and she was the first thing I noticed in a
room with two-hundred people. You can’t forget eyes that blue.”
“You two hit it off?”
“You could call it that,” he says, chuckling. “I took
her home, lucky me. Her brother got mixed up in the raid that night, leaving
her with nowhere to go. My mother would have been sorely disappointed in me had
I not manned up and helped Nic. That doesn’t mean Nic didn’t make it hard on me
when I tried, though.”
“Your mother—Mia—she died not long before the accident
that ended your fighting career, right?”
“Yeah, I was twenty-three when she died.”
“She was pretty pivotal in your life and choices. Why
is that?”
Devon clears his throat, shifting on the couch. “I
suppose because she was the only parent I really had. Sure, she gave me other
adults to see, to learn from, but she was my constant. She always supported me,
no matter what I wanted to do. Worked her ass off for me. Mia made it her job
to make me a good man. God knows Jeffery Wolfe wasn’t anything to aspire to.”
At the mention of his father, Devon frowns.
“How active is your biological father in your life? Or
has he been, I should ask.”
“None at all. Publically defamed me as his bastard,
but I guess he acknowledged me in some way at least. That was more than he did
for others. No more on him, please. Jeffery doesn’t deserve the attention he
already has.”
Feeling like our conversation has waded into
uncomfortable waters for Devon, I decide to change directions. “How about a few
fun facts about you?”
“Sure,” he responds.
“Cats or dogs?”
“Really?” I nod. “Dogs, then. I really like the
Rottweiler breed. I just need to convince Nic.”
“What can’t you live without?”
“MMA,” Devon states seriously. “It’s my life, my
enjoyment, how I make my money, and what kept me sane for a lot of years. But,
I’d have to toss Nic in there, too. She keeps me pretty grounded, now.”
“Do you have an irrational dislike of something?” I
ask.
“Fruit.” The answer is so immediate and confusing that
I wave for him to explain. “It’s disgusting. I eat it to please Nic, but ick. I
can’t know it is fruit, you know? It’s squishy and horrible.”
“That’s odd,” I point out.
Devon shrugs. “You said irrational.”
“True. Okay, what would you say your most
distinguishable feature is?”
“My hair. It’s crazy curly and I need to keep it cut
at just the right length or it goes nuts and there’s no controlling it.”
“What is your greatest fear?”
Devon scowls. “Returning to prison, but that’ll never
happen.”
“What is your greatest accomplishment?” I ask.
For a moment, Devon thinks about his answer. “You
know, that’s a good question. I’ve done a lot of things in my life that are
worthy of pride and acknowledgment. Gaining a light-heavyweight title at the
young age of twenty-one. Getting my first major fighting sponsor even younger
than that. Opening up a business, keeping it going, and making it hugely
successful in more ways than one…there’s a lot.”
“There are,” I agree. “But, anything specific that
sticks out to you?”
“Falling in love,” he murmurs. “Yeah, finding that
feeling for the first time. At twenty-seven, you would have thought I already
found that, but I was so damned busy being successful and working, running
everyone else around me and keeping it going, that I forgot all about me. So,
when Nic waltzed in, that was it for me. I fell so hard for that girl. I guess
I waited so long that when it finally did happen, I wasn’t expecting it. It
terrified me. I’m so happy it was her, though.”
“Well,” I say with a smile. “I was going to ask who
your favorite person was and why, but I think that’d be a little redundant. How
about your favorite quality in Nic?”
“Her craziness. Is that a quality? It’s gotta be,
because my girl owns that like nothing else. Yeah, her craziness.”
“Thank you for this interview, Devon.”
He smiles, and shrugs once more. “Thank you for
keeping the prison and business nonsense out of it all.”
“Next time?” I dare to ask.
“Maybe.”
* * * * * *
Lynked
Bethany-Kris
Contemporary Erotic Romance
He’d give up everything to keep her, in fact
he did. But will she still be waiting on the other side when it’s over?
Blurb:
When a fighter’s path crosses with a beautiful woman, he’s
positive the meeting will only end in her leaving his penthouse with sex hair
and a smile—until life and the law steps in, inevitably linking their futures
forever.
The accident that ended his fighting career wasn’t enough to
keep former mixed martial arts champion Devon Lynk out of the sport. His new
business, Chaine Lynk, an exclusive fighting company, has made him millions
through illegal gambling. Happy with his life, he never suspected it could be
his downfall … until the morning after leads to something so much more than he
expected, and he’s left with the weight of guilt and responsibility on his
shoulders.
Veronica “Nic” Stacey made her way to Edmonton with the
intention of starting life anew, but her first night in the city lands her in a
stranger’s bed and things don’t quite go as planned. Waking up to find out her
brother is in jail is one thing, but learning the man she slept with is also
his boss is another matter altogether. With no knowledge of the city and
nowhere to go, she’s left taking the only help offered: Devon’s.
With Chaine Lynk’s doors closed and Devon facing possible
jail time for his involvement, reality takes a front row seat. Love and lust
intermingle as he comes to learn what his business and choices have cost the
girl he wants most—now he just has to fix it. But is it already too late?
Excerpt:
“What is your
name, pretty girl?”
*
Something sinful
crawled over every nerve Nic had in the best way at the voice in her ear. She
couldn’t not respond to the hand suddenly holding tight to her waist. The heat
of the man’s palm soaked straight through the fabric of her dress and seeped
into her skin in the best way. She swore it travelled over her flesh with a
tingling dance that had her burning hot instantly. Shooting him with a
simpering grin, Nic turned her head just enough to check him out.
Tall and well
dressed with broad shoulders, a muscled frame, and hazel eyes that seemed to
pierce right into her soul, Nic was stunned for a second. The dark color of his
skin stood out against the cream color of her dress and his fingers tightened,
making her breath catch. Handsome was an understatement. This man was downright
gorgeous in a way that made her pulse pick up and her sex ache.
There was a faint
grin playing on his full lips and her gaze was drawn down to his hand still
holding firm to her waist like it belonged there. No one had so blatantly
approached her like he had throughout the night, not to mention physically
touched her.
Actually, this man
was the first to ever do that at all and not get an instant rejection.
Maybe it should
have bothered Nic, but instead she found herself curious as to why he had
approached her. After all, she hadn’t been actively trying to invite attention
her way.
“Your name?” he
asked again.
The roughness in
his voice was almost mesmerizing. The flecks of green in his eyes seemed to
dance under the lights, sparkling with suggestion and want.
“Nic.”
“What are your
plans in the next five minutes?”
Nic turned to look
back at the fight. The man did the same, watching as Jordan locked down hard to
his opponent, pinning him to the mat with a chokehold that looked like it must
have hurt. She’d thought seeing Jordan fight would turn her inside out with
worry, but instead, Nic only found herself proud.
Maybe making the
choice to come to Alberta had been the right one after all. Change was supposed
to be a good thing, right?
“That depends,”
she finally answered.
“On what?”
Once more, she met
his gaze, feeling his hand gripping tightly to her waist and wanting to become
lost in just the sensation of that action alone. Nic could feel her body
wanting to press harder into his grip. Never had her insides reacted so
strongly to another person. He didn’t let up a bit. Haze yielded behind them,
tapping out hard against the mat. People started to cheer as their hands hit
the cage. Jordan’s name rang out in the crowd louder and louder.
“On that.”
Her brother won.
The tuition was
all but paid now.
Do something different. Those words rung
in her mind like a toll bell.
What would it hurt to go home with this man?
Nic wondered. Who would know what she had done? There wouldn’t be a soul to say
anything bad. There would be no one judging her like they did back home. He
clearly wasn’t a fighter if his clothing and attitude were any indication, so
she was still following along with her brother’s only request.
What could it
really hurt? Nothing. She was grown. Jordan would be celebrating his win. A
single phone call to let him know she was fine would be enough until the
morning.
“Come home with
me,” he said, his eyes seeming to search hers for any sign of indecision.
Nic laughed an
airy sound. “I don’t even know you.”
“I don’t bite.”
“Maybe I’d like
that, though.”
“All right, I bite
a little,” he teased.
She could easily
say no, but she didn’t want to. That should have scared her. Whatever influence
this man seemed to have on her was one she hadn’t experienced before. Nic was
the rational one; a person who didn’t make irresponsible choices that would
shine her in a bad light. Straight and narrow; white as a dove. Whoever this
man was, he made her want to jump headfirst into the filth of sin without even
thinking of possible consequences.
“Married?” he
asked.
“Nope.”
“Escort?” The face
she made must have given away how she felt about that comment. “Sorry,” he
said.
Again, his mouth
came dangerously close to her face, lips ghosting over the shell of her ear. Heat
saturated Nic all over again and she shivered. Who was this man? She didn’t
even care that his name had yet to be uttered. She wet her tongue with her
lips.
“Come home with
me,” he repeated, his voice turning down to a husky tone.
Nic bit her lip,
her eyebrow rising in contemplation. “You’ll get me home in the morning?”
“In a private jet
if you want, sweetheart; just say yes.”
“Yes.”
* * * * * * *
Authors Bio:
Bethany-Kris is a Canadian author, lover, and mother of two young sons, two cats, and two dogs. With a fulltime job, her children underfoot, animals at her side, and a spouse calling over his shoulder, she is nearly always writing something…when she can find the time.
Thank you for hosting me! And for letting me do the interview a little differently. :-)
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