by Sarah | Mar 13, 2014 | Book Release, Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Writing
| Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks | ARe | SCP |
Blurb:
Sheilagh McCullough has been pretending to be someone else her entire life. When she takes her rebellious act too far, her overbearing brothers decide it’s time for her to grow up and face her future. After six years of procrastination and parties, Sheilagh is finally going to college.
Dr. Alec Devereux is an ethical man, but when Sheilagh McCullough enrolls in his class, his morals as a professor are put to the test. Brilliant, tenacious, and a contradiction to herself in so many ways, Alec is enchanted by his new student and unable to resist temptation. Persistent and logical, Alec unravels the mysterious woman who has captured his heart only to discover the greatest threat to their future might be her past.
A courageous journey of the soul that confronts one woman’s fears of love and embraces the truth in her heart.
Excerpt:
“You have no right!”
“Shut up!” the three of them shouted at once.
Her eyes prickled with unshed tears as they drove. Under the passing shadows she saw each one of them staring away from her, fury stamped into their set jaws. She kicked the seat in front of her and Tristan grunted.
After she discovered Luke and Tristan’s affair, Tristan handled her with kid gloves. Sheilagh didn’t want his pity. She was tougher than that. She was a McCullough, for Christ’s sake. She had five crazy brothers and she could hold her own with every single one of them.
The farther they drove out of town, the more self-doubt crept in. “Where are we going?”
No one answered. The commercial storefronts faded away as Kelly turned the SUV onto the highway leading out of town. As they took the jug handle onto the interstate her concern doubled. Their anger was so thick it seemed to siphon the air right out of the car.
Her concern for herself doubled as her eyes rapidly blinked back tears, forcing those telling little spills to stay put where others couldn’t see. Her entire existence focused on hiding those telltale signs of weakness from the world.
She hated that her stupid, childish heart was permanently damaged and her life derailed. Since the day she’d discovered Luke and Tristan, she’d been going at the world like a runaway train, making one poor choice after another and leaving nothing but self-destruction in her wake. It was the only way she knew to control the pain, control herself. But in truth, over the last few years she felt out of control and with every stupid transgression came another reason to hate herself.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever be normal again. She wasn’t breaking hearts, just breaking herself, battering pieces of her broken heart, little by little, with each poor decision.
Suddenly the car swerved. She slammed into Luke and he pushed her off. Gravel spewed under the tires as Kelly tore onto the shoulder and threw the SUV in park.
It was dark and no one said a word. Fear tickled her spine. Why were they there? It was completely dark and eerie and she wondered if this was their version of some kind of confessional.
The sound of their breathing sawed out of their lungs and she waited. Luke, of course, broke the silence. “Are you out of your god damn mind?”
She turned to unleash the fury inside of her. “Oh, shut up, Luke! You have no right to pass judgment on me!”
Kelly swiveled in his seat, his blue eyes boring into her through the dark. “What did you suspect people would do after you bared your titties for the town? Praise you? Christ, Sheilagh, use your fucking head!”
“Like you have any room to talk, Kelly! There isn’t a woman in Center County who hasn’t seen your wank!”
“And do you think I didn’t pay a price for my actions, Sheilagh?” Kelly stormed.
No, she didn’t. Kelly lived the high life and still managed to find his soul mate. No one in this car had a right to even pretend they understood what it felt like to be invisible.
“It’s like the sheep fucker!” Kelly snarled and turned toward the windshield.
What? “What?”
“Shamus the sheep fucker!” her brother snapped. “The old Irishman in the bar that built the church and sailed the sea, but no one remembers that because he fucked one sheep.”
“No one’s fucking a sheep, you moron!”
“Well, what do you think people would say if you started stripping? You wouldn’t be Sheilagh the beautiful McCullough or Sheilagh the genius. No, you’d only be Sheilagh the stripper. Do you want that kind of reputation?”
She crossed her arms over her breasts and glared out the window.
Tristan turned. “Why would you do this, Shei?”
She blinked repeatedly. Because no one notices me anymore. Forcing an expression of indifference, she shrugged. “Why not?”
“You’re better than that. You know you are,” he said in a soft voice.
She didn’t know what to say back. Maybe she wasn’t better than that. Maybe that’s all she was meant to be, a stripper in some Podunk town.
Luke wouldn’t look at her, but she still heard him growl. “This is bullshit. When are you going to grow up?”
She pivoted and turned her glare on him. “Me? How about you, Luke? When are you going to grow up? You have an awful lot to say about how everyone lives their life, when you don’t have the balls to let the world see who you really are!”
The car grew deathly silent. Kelly said her name in warning and she snapped. “No! I’m sick of it! Just say it! Say it!”
“What do you want me to say?” Luke roared.
Tristan’s stare cut to her and she felt a pinch of regret much like the lament she saw in his eyes. Why couldn’t they just come out and let everyone know they were in love?
“This isn’t about Luke,” Tristan said quietly. “It never was. I’m sorry, Sheilagh. I know this isn’t what you asked for, but sometimes life is unfair.”
She fumed as she glared back at him. “I wanna go home.”
No one said anything for quite some time. “You’re going away,” Kelly finally announced.
“What?”
“You’re going to college. There’s nothing for you here and you know it. It’s time for you to get on with your life and make something of yourself.”
Author Bio:
Bestselling author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampyres, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on love.
Lydia Michaels loves to hear from readers! She can be contacted by email at Lydia@LydiaMichaels.org
Webpage: www.LydiaMichaels.org
Other Titles by Lydia Michaels:
[amazon_link id=”B00BSY6UAQ” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Falling In[/amazon_link][amazon_link id=”B00BSY6UE2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Breaking Out[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00CLFCOVA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Coming Home[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00DU10GW8″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Sacred Waters[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00ESLV1DW” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Skin[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00ICOXAI0″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Chaste[/amazon_link]
Faking It
Forsaking Truth (Coming Soon)
As Tears Go By (Coming Soon)
[amazon_link id=”B00G9Q09S2″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Simple Man[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00CRJ0K0M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Breaking Perfect[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B0092T5OGK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]White Chocolate[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B009NLIQ6C” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]All 4 You[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00AY4T8KA” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]To Catch a Wolfe[/amazon_link]
[amazon_link id=”B00BSEWZY6″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Chasing Feathers[/amazon_link]
Called to Order
Calling for a Miracle
Destiny Calls
[amazon_link id=”B00HQ5N82O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Call Her Mine[/amazon_link]
McCullough Mountain: Family Tree
by Sarah | Mar 7, 2014 | Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Saturday Spotlight, Writing
| [amazon_link id=”B00CJ11K8O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | Jupiter Garden Press | Kobo | BN | Smashwords | ARe |
Lily Fain’s life as a horror novelist isn’t perfect, but it suits her, even if she has written off true love in exchange for her fictional world of monsters. Then her imagined world comes to life when she discovers she has a stalker who isn’t the average fan, but a real vampire who wants her dead.
Griffyd Fychan is a vampire-killer who is seven feet of lithe muscles, quick reflexes, and an explosion of ferocity that strikes terror in those he hunts, even those he rescues. But when the slayer steps between Lily and her vampire stalker, Griffyd’s instincts not only compel him to protect her from their mutual enemy, but to bond with her, as well.
The problem? Griffyd isn’t human–he belongs within the pages of Lily’s horror novels.
Faced with the menacing vampire-killer’s affections, will Lily retreat in fear to her author’s life? Or will she surrender to her dark passion for Griffyd, whose bonding to her could alter her in ways neither one could have ever foreseen?
*~*
EXCERPT:
Griffyd couldn’t stand it any longer. He had been spying on the human woman while she slept, and had found himself inching closer to where she lay, snuggled comfortably in his bed. Yet one of her arms escaped her cocoon, where it draped over the edge of the mattress as if beckoning him, inviting him to run one of his fingers along the soft skin of her inner wrist.
He felt a purr flutter up through his chest, which surprised him. He had never purred before, and the sensation of it thrilled him, flurried his heart rate. As did the sight he drank in with his obsidian eyes.
His faemne had curled up like a little nestling and had burrowed deeper into the downy folds of his bed. Yes, he liked the sight of that a lot. She looked so peaceful buried in amongst his bedding, so utterly at home, that it sped his breathing so that his chest clenched.
Damn him for what he had the undeniable urge to do. Running his finger along her tender, forbidden skin only heightened his need to touch. He wanted to feel more of her, he desired to feel the weight of her body in his arms, upon his stomach; he desperately wanted to snuffle the dip of her neck where it met her collarbone.
Griffyd the vampire-killer, the monster he knew she thought him to be, got up off his knees and slipped himself beneath her sleeping form to cradle her like she was but a fragile fawn.
And squeezed his eyes shut against the bliss of it.
Min modlufu, he purred.
If she woke at that moment, he would never forgive himself this moment of weakness, and for a breathless second he thought she had. But she only squirmed herself tighter against him, nuzzling her face along his chest, then sighed, and he felt her grow heavier as she drifted deeper into unconsciousness.
Gaestlufe–my soul’s love.
He couldn’t part with her, had to find a way to make her see him beyond the fangs, the horns, the claws. They were weapons, yes, but he could be gentle, he could be gentled. If he could help her to see all of him, perhaps then she would not be so frightened, would understand that the violence in his life took up only a part.
Which encroached with the coming twilight. He could leave her now, knowing she rested safely in his lair, that her wound had grown no worse, nor had she from the toxins entering through it. Her human body would take a while to heal, but he counted on that, hoped she would not prove to be too healthy in that respect. Selfish, yes, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed time.
And for once in the long centuries of his life, he didn’t think he had enough of it.
| [amazon_link id=”B00CJ11K8O” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | Jupiter Garden Press | Kobo | BN | Smashwords | ARe |
by Sarah | Mar 6, 2014 | Book Release, Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Writing
ONE COMMENTER WILL WIN AN EBOOK COPY OF WITHOUT A TRACE! So leave your comment for a chance to win!!
Thanks for hosting me, Sarah! It is always nice to guest on a fellow author’s blog. I write romantic suspense, which is also my favorite genre to read…I just love that combination of danger and passion, and it’s pretty fun coming up with a nasty, evil villain in addition to a smoldering, seductive hero and a feisty, sexy heroine! Rachel and Matt are both trying to put tragic pasts behind them, yet are drawn to each other despite their misgivings. I do hope your blog readers will check out WITHOUT A TRACE!
| [amazon_link id=”B00I88DFLC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | BN | SCP | ARe |
Magazine journalist Rachel Bennett has a reputation for getting to the heart of a story. However, when her sister disappears and is suspected of embezzling from her employer, the story has suddenly become personal. The last thing Rachel wants right now is the distraction of Matt Romero, the detective assigned to the case. She wants a “safe” man…and Matt is anything but that.
Matt accepts the risk that goes with his job. Two years ago, his wife was murdered, a tragedy he blames himself for. He’s vowed to protect his family and friends because he doesn’t want to go through the pain of loss again. However, the lovely journalist soon begins breaking through the icy wall around his heart.
As Rachel and Matt search for answers in order to find her sister, they uncover a corruption that puts them both in danger – and a passion that puts both their hearts at risk.
*~*
EXCERPT:
Something wasn’t right.
Rachel Bennett felt uneasy from the moment she’d set foot in her sister’s apartment. A bead of perspiration trickled between her shoulder blades.
She’d been unable to reach her younger sister Paige for the past three days. She hadn’t even shown up at work. Rachel cut short a long-awaited Palm Springs vacation out of concern for her. The three-hour drive back to Los Angeles this morning was a blur.
“Paige?”
Something made her almost whisper the word. She paused outside Paige’s half-open bedroom door before peering into the sun-splashed room. A hint of Paige’s signature scent, Ed Hardy, hung in the air. The bed, normally covered with a cheerful floral comforter, sat unmade in the messy room. Unusual for her neatnik sister.
She would never just take off like this. At least not willingly.
What’s happened to my sister?
Rachel noticed several black smudges on the wall by the window. A nervous feeling gnawed at her. Slowly, she stepped into the bedroom, toward the telephone. She needed to call for help.
“Police! Stop right there.”
The resonant male voice was strong and authoritative. Rachel froze, confused, blood pounding in her head. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. “I’m Rachel Bennett. My sister, Paige Bennett, lives here. I have a key.”
“Okay. Turn around.”
In slow, careful movements, Rachel complied. Her pulse thrummed even harder as she came face-to-face with the most overwhelming man she’d ever laid eyes on. His features were rugged and darkly handsome, his hair black as sin. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
A twinge of wariness assailed Rachel as her gaze took in the man. All in all, he made a dangerously sexy package despite his ordinary dark gray suit and tie. He looked like no cop she’d ever seen, but his open-legged stance and the familiarity with which he held his pistol—aimed at her—seemed to show years of experience on the force. Or simply a lot of practice using a gun.
Certainly he won’t shoot, she told herself, heart crashing hard against her chest. “Can I see your ID?”
The man’s steely dark eyes never left hers as he unclipped the gold badge from his belt and held it out to her.
“Matt Romero, LAPD Detective Support and Vice,” he said.
Rachel studied the badge. In her work as a writer for Southland Life magazine, she’d seen enough cop badges to know this was the real thing. What sort of trouble could Paige be in?
“How did you…”
“The apartment manager let us in. We had a search warrant.” He lowered his gun, then clipped his badge back onto his belt.
“Search warrant? Has something happened to Paige?” A cold knot formed in the pit of her stomach. Although a part of her didn’t want to know, her reporter’s instinct demanded answers.
Skepticism flickered across Romero’s face, but as he studied her he seemed to relax. He holstered his weapon. “I saw a photo on the desk over there of you with your sister. You resemble each other very much. Why don’t we sit down?” He motioned toward the living room.
Rachel trudged down the hallway, struggling to prepare herself for whatever this man was about to tell her. Horrifying possibilities whirled in her mind. Had Paige been arrested for some reason? Worse yet, badly hurt or even—no, she couldn’t allow herself to think about that last one. A shudder rippled through her.
Then she felt one of the detective’s large hands on the center of her back. The guiding gesture, although gentle, unnerved her. The heat from his palm burned through the thin fabric of her blouse. She walked a bit faster.
In the living room, Rachel sank into Paige’s comfortable powder blue sofa. She took a deep breath to calm herself, but her stomach knotted up when Romero settled into the chair beside the sofa, right next to her.
“Why are you here, Detective? Where is Paige?”
“That’s what my partner and I are trying to find out, Ms. Bennett.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, managing to sound a lot less anxious—and a lot less aware of the man across from her—than she really was.
He looked her dead in the eye. “Your sister is missing, Ms. Bennett.”
*~*
ABOUT LAURIE:
Laurie White is the author of two romantic suspense novels from Sweet Cravings Publishing. Her latest novel, WITHOUT A TRACE, was released January 30, 2014 from Secret Cravings Publishing. Laurie is a member of Romance Writers of America and Georgia Romance Writers. Aside from writing, she enjoys reading, spending time with family, traveling, and watching movies. She is the proud mama of four adorable cats and lives in the hills of Tennessee.
PUBLISHED NOVELS:
WITHOUT A TRACE – Available NOW from Secret Cravings Publishing!
TWIST OF FATE – February 2013 from Sweet Cravings Publishing
DESERT HEAT – October 2012 from Sweet Cravings Publishing
by Sarah | Feb 24, 2014 | Book Release, Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Writing
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CHASE!
THE CHASE by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
Bantam – Random House
On sale: February 25, 2014
978-0-345-54308-0
THE CHASE at your favorite retailers
Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O’Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line.
Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O’Hare. Together they’ll go undercover to swindle and catch the world’s most wanted—and untouchable—criminals.
Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U.S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar—and against the clock—to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove’s elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate’s dad.
A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D.C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it’ll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty’s priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O’Hare.
WATCH THE CHASE COMMERCIAL
ENTER THE CHASE GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MjM1YmFiZTdlYjI3MzI3YWI0NTU3Mjk0OWM3MTIyOjQw/
ABOUT JANET EVANOVICH
Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and Trouble Maker graphic novel, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, as well as the Fox and O’Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg.
Connect with Janet
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Google + | Fancorps
ABOUT LEE GOLDBERG
Lee Goldberg is a screenwriter, TV producer, and the author of several books, including King City, The Walk, and the bestselling Monk series of mysteries. He has earned two Edgar Award nominations and was the 2012 recipient of the Poirot Award from Malice Domestic.
Connect with Lee
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Google +
by Sarah | Feb 21, 2014 | Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Saturday Spotlight, Writing
| [amazon_link id=”B00DV0XJ9U” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Amazon[/amazon_link] | Crimson Romance | BN | iTunes |
Viking Fire Blurb: In 856 CE, Ireland is a land of myth, magic, and blood. Viking raiders have fought the Irish for over half a century. Rival Irish clans promise only betrayal and carnage.
Kaireen, daughter of Laird Liannon, is suddenly forced into an arranged marriage with her sworn enemy, a Viking. She refuses to submit. With no mention of love, only land and the protection of her clan, she endeavors to get her betrothed banished from her country. Will love find its way around her stubborn heart?
Bram, the Viking, finds himself without future or inheritance as a younger son in his family. A marriage to the Laird’s daughter would grant him land if he swears fidelity and if his men will fight along with the Liannons against any foe—Irish or Viking. However, the Laird’s feisty daughter only holds animosity for him and his kind. Is marriage worth the battle scars of such a relentless opponent?
With the blame for a rival laird’s death treacherously set against the Liannons, Kaireen and Bram must find a way to lay aside their differences as an unforeseen darkness sends death snapping at their heels.
*~*~*
Viking Fire Excerpt
Chapter One Ireland 856 CE
“I renounce Father for this.” Kaireen threw the elderberry gown. Dressed only in her
leine, she glared at the new gown on the stone floor.
“Shame on you and your children for speaking such.” Her handmaid, Elva, gathered the damask and then dusted off the rushes. “It’s a wonder one of the clim has not scolded you from your hearth for such talk.” She wore her white hair twisted in a chignon, underneath a linen head cloth. Strands of white hair poked out the sides of her covering.
“No, curse Father for a fool.” She plopped on her bed and a goose feather floated away. With a huff, she leaned against the oak headboard. Red curtains puffed like a robin’s chest around oak poles supporting her wooden canopy.
Her bare feet brushed against the stone floor. Why was she not born plain like her two older sisters? Already they had married and expected their second bairns by spring. Well, at least so far she had enjoyed twenty years of freedom. Neither of her sisters had had matrimonial dreams of love matches. Both were arranged marriages.
“You know your da arranged a marriage within a season.” Elva smirked.
Kaireen shook her head. “To another land holder,” and waved a hand in disgust, “not t-this heathen. Twice they raided our land in the last month alone. Many a raid has come from them. Now father wants me as wife to one of them?” She clenched her fists. “No, I will not marry this Viking.”
Elva smiled, reminding Kaireen of the rumors of her handmaid’s uncanny foresight.
Whispers of Elva making strange things happen and often blamed as the cause of Kaireen’s stubborn refusal to behave as a laird’s daughter should.
“You’ve not seen him yet.” Elva wiggled her brows.
“So?” Kaireen shrugged. “I would like to never see him.”
“Well then, would you not like to know if you have a handsome husband or not?” She waited for her response, but Kaireen scowled at her. Elva chuckled. “I would rather get a good look at him now than the morning after.”
Kaireen’s ears heated. “I am not marrying.” She shook her head for emphasis. “So there will be no morning, nor night, nor wedding.”
“If he is handsome, I may fight you for him.” Elva smiled, deepening the wrinkles around her eyes.
“Welcome to him either way.” Kaireen laughed.
*~*
Andrea’s Bio: Growing up in Houston, Texas, Andrea has always created characters and stories. But it wasn’t until she was in her late twenties that she started writing novels.
What happened that ignited the writing flame in her fingers? Divorced, and disillusioned by love songs and stories. They exaggerate. She thought. Love and Romance are not like that in the real world. Then she met her husband and realized, yes love and romance are exactly like the songs and stories say. She is now a happy wife, and a mom to three kids (two boys and a girl).
Andrea writes paranormal and historical romance. When not writing or reading, one may find Andrea dancing in Zumba.
She believes in the power of change and counting each moment as a blessing. But most importantly, she believes in love.
Viking Fire Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/m1bPZ3nUyzs
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreaRCooper.author
Twitter: @AndreaRCooper
Author Website: www.AndreaRCooper.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6934877.Andrea_R_Cooper
Blog: http://andrearcooperauthorblog.wordpress.com/
by Sarah | Feb 12, 2014 | Book Spotlight, Guest Authors, Writing
Chaste is currently the #1 Bestseller
on the publisher’s site,
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
| Amazon | BN | iBooks | Kobo | ARe | SCP |
Blurb:
Kelly McCullough has always gotten every woman he’s wanted. Of all the McCullough men, his charm and magnetism is unmatched. However, there is one woman he cannot have.
Ashlynn Fisher is everything Kelly McCullough is not. She is quiet, shy, and—above all—virginal. After losing her heart to Kelly in grade school, no other man compares. Paths cross and temperance is put to the test when Ashlynn decides it’s time for her to find love. Kelly offers Center County’s sweetest brown-eyed girl all the guidance he can, but finds himself in a situation he never expected to face. Through chaste kisses and stolen secrets, his virility is tested and he must learn what love truly means as his selfish ways are transformed in the face of a selfless need to give her everything she wants.
*~*
Excerpt:
His body nudged closer. She sucked in a breath and tried to focus on speaking, but the press of him was incredibly distracting.
“That’s the…um…” She caught her breath. “Um…” Her eyes shut. What was the question? “I can’t concentrate when you touch me,” she blurted.
He didn’t move. His breath tickled the back of her neck, as the soft press of his tongue traced over the curve leading to her shoulder. Her spine stretched as her skin drew tight. His lips made a smooching sound. “Mmm, you taste like hard work and sunshine.”
“Kelly…” she rasped, silently panting. Her insides vibrated so rapidly she worried she’d shatter into a thousand pieces of flesh and bones. Never had anyone aroused her the way he did.
He nuzzled her ear with his nose. “Have I ever told you how sexy you are? The glasses make me crazy. And I love the way your hair looks different every day. You remind me of a little garden nymph.” The weight of his palms closed over her baggy overalls, low on her hips, and she grew aware of every part of her body.
His lips sealed over her ear and she quivered, her body tightening and trembling. Her hands gripped the edge of the worktable with her leather-clad fingers, her knees turning unstable, as he proceeded to do wonderful things to her earlobe.
It amazed her that he found her hair nice. She’d cut it off after she graduated, finding the long locks dreadfully annoying. When her hair had been long it was always in her face. And she wore glasses because contacts were too much trouble with the dust from the gardens.
Oh my goodness! Is that his tongue in my ear?
Her knees buckled as he kissed over her racing pulse. Strong fingers dug into her hips, massaging beneath her overalls deep into her flesh. His hands had slipped into the gaping sides of her clothes where her tank top met the waist of her panties. No one had ever touched her so intimately.
“Let’s go inside,” he whispered.
Somehow she managed to shake her head. “I…I need to finish this.”
“Ashlynn…”
His mouth. He had a wicked mouth. She formed some sort of response in her throat as the tip of his finger toyed with the hem of her tank top next to her navel.
“Please…let me in,” he whispered as his tongue traveled over the slope of her shoulder, each word an erotic tattoo on her flesh.
Her feet shifted and his grip tightened. She whimpered. “Kelly, please…”
His whisper had faded to a breath of words. “I want you.”
Her hands closed over his, tightening, stilling his progress. Those last uttered words returned some of her common sense. “If we go inside my work will never get done.”
His fingers squeezed. “Do you know how many fantasies I’ve had about you? The things I could do to you without breaking your vow…” His touch never traveled, but the teasing chills escaping his whirling fingers seemed to go right to her breasts.
Baiting temptation, she breathed out a question she had no business asking. “Like what?”
“Mmm. I could spend days stripping you, unveiling every bit of flesh, anointing each square inch of skin with soft kisses. Only kissing, Ashlynn, but I’d kiss you everywhere.”
Holy Hannah, she needed to put some space between them. They hadn’t discussed boundaries and the line of her virtue was becoming more blurred by the second. Her breath stuttered out of her lungs as his mouth teased over her pulse. She wanted to know what such kisses would feel like, but feared her control would break.
“No naked.” Incapable of forming complete sentences, it was the best she could do.
“Touching?” he whispered.
Oh, God. She wanted to feel his touch, know what it was to be caressed by those strong fingers holding her now. She whimpered. Her promise had never been this difficult. There had never been such a temptation as Kelly and, now, with his hands playing over untried parts of her body, came a nagging desire for relief. “I should say no.”
“But?”
“Maybe.”
His front pressed into her bottom and her neck gave out, drooping her head to his broad shoulder. He growled and his mouth sealed to her throat, his hand sifting under the front of her overalls and holding her stomach, fingers splayed wide, pressing her into his hard form. “So fucking sexy, Ashlynn.”
“Kelly…”
“I want to go inside.”
He was already inside, inside of her head, in her blood, thrumming through her veins, inside every breath filling her lungs. She worried she could die from such over stimulation. She’d never survive sex, at least not with this man. But that was off the table.
Her muscles contracted and strange urges had her body fluttering in unfamiliar ways. It was too much. “No more,” she pleaded and he froze.
It took him a second to answer. “Okay.”
His hand slithered out from under her overalls and he stepped away. She caught her breath and wiped the back of her glove over her heated cheek. She was probably as red as a bell pepper.
She desperately searched for her bearings, but Kelly seemed fine. From the corner of her eye, she watched him slip his gloves back on and pick up the sanding block as she quietly panted. The longing inside of her had transformed into a painful ache. Her throat was thirsty, parched. Yet water did nothing to quench her yearning.
Kelly worked with precision and efficiency. Her concentration was crap. Every move she made was deliberate and clumsy, but Kelly proved to be a master carpenter. She suspected he wanted to be done with the chore and that scared her, because the moment they finished she’d have to come up with another distraction.
The echo of the nail hammering into the wood rattled through the air. “How far can we go, Ashlynn?”
Her hand stilled. Her gaze focused on the head of the nail she’d been about to hammer into the wood. Swallowing repetitively, she struggled to find the honest answer, but the truth seemed to abandon her in that moment. “I don’t know.”
*~*
Author Bio:
Award winning author, Lydia Michaels, writes all forms of hot romance. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they assume they have her stories figured out. From Amish vampyres, to wild Irishmen, to broken heroes, and heroines no man can match, Lydia takes readers on an emotional journey of the heart, mind, and soul with every story she pens. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, always centered on love.
Lydia Michaels loves to hear from readers! She can be contacted by email at Lydia@LydiaMichaels.org
Webpage: www.LydiaMichaels.org
Other Titles by Lydia Michaels:
Falling In
Breaking Out
Coming Home
Sacred Waters
Skin
Chaste
Faking It
Forsaking Truth
As Tears Go By
Simple Man
Breaking Perfect
White Chocolate
All 4 You
To Catch a Wolfe
Chasing Feathers
Called to Order
Calling for a Miracle
Destiny Calls
Call Her Mine
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