Review: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Mass Market Paperback, 850 pages

Published July 26th 2005 by Dell Publishing Company (first published June 1st 1991)

Terri's Thoughts

Judging by the fact that there are over 35,000 reviews of this book on Goodreads, I think I may officially be the last person remaining to finally read this story.  Truth be told, it has been on my to be read pile for a very long time and I just couldn't find the time to pick it up.  I finally decided the best thing to do is to listen to the audio book so that I could multi-task while listening to the book.  And truthfully, now that there is a television series for this series, I felt it was only right to read the book before tuning in.

As there have been so many reviews, I feel that there is not a whole lot more that I can offer regarding the story.  Since I loved the story, as clearly others have as well,I will instead focus mainly on my opinion of the audio book.

While my foray in to audio books is a fairly recent one, this being only the third, I have to say that this was the best one I have experienced thus far.  The narrator, and forgive me I forget her name, was absolutely outstanding.  She captured the essence of the story and the voices of the characters better than any of the other books I have listened to thus far.  I was completely impressed with the choice of narrator and have to commend whoever it was that made the decision to use her.

That being said, the foray in to audiobooks is not without pain.  One must have extreme patience as this story was extremely long with many chapters being over two hours.  I could have read the book five times over (at least) in the amount of time it took to listen to it.  Admittedly, I do have access to a paper copy however once I started listening to it I could not stop.

This was a fantastic book and since it is part of a series I know I will be tuning in or reading the rest of the series.  To keep my review objective, I will admit that I found there was an abundance of gratuitous sex in the story that grated on my nerves after a while.  I am not opposed to it in a book, I read a lot of adult contemporary, aside from that I was hooked. I also was anxious to see the end of the book by the time

If you have lived under a rock and not heard of this book, I urge you to experience it for yourself.  You will be caught up in the story as I was.  Now I can watch the TV series (at least season one) without guilt!

About the Author

Diana Jean Gabaldon Watkins grew up in Flagstaff, Arizona and is of Mexican-American and English descent. She has earned three degrees: a B.S. in Zoology, a M.S. in Marine Biology, and a Ph.D in Ecology.

She currently lives in Scottsdale, Arizona .

Website

          

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Fearless by Stephanie St. Klaire

Fearless

By Stephanie St. Klaire

Blurb:

When tragedy strikes the small mountain town of McKenzie Ridge, lives are left hanging in the balance.

Everly Shaw takes a direct hit, leaving her battling demons she thought she buried long ago. Doing her best to move on, life tosses her a curveball…or two. Everly now must face her past in order to have the future she never knew she wanted. A spontaneous girl at heart who throws caution to the wind, the only risk she won’t gamble on…love.

Doctor Mason Charles knows exactly what he wants and it’s Nurse Everly Shaw. The only problem, she doesn’t do love or relationships, but she will do late nights and secret rendezvous. Doc is a patient man, but is he patient enough to wait for her change of heart that may or may not come?

Twists of fate, destiny, and maybe a little luck are all he needs to be a hero to the one person who ends up needing him most. He saved lives in the emergency room, but could he heal old wounds and a broken heart?  

Wrongs become right, relationships unfold, and mysteries resolve only to find that good is being threatened by evil. Lives are at risk when danger hides under the cloak of friendship – will McKenzie Ridge be planning a wedding, or will they suffer yet another heart breaking funeral?

BUY LINKS:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rsIs5J Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fearless-119 iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fearless/id1230482023 Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fearless-stephanie-st-klaire/1126286152

About Stephanie St. Klaire

Stephanie St. Klaire debuted in 2016, launching her writing career with Rescued, the first book in the widely popular, five book series known as McKenzie Ridge. Stephanie is a Pacific Northwest native currently living in Oregon with her husband, five children, and two ferocious lap dogs.  

As a writer, Stephanie brings realistic circumstances to the pages, and fills them with real emotion, reactions, and outcomes. Her characters are passionate, have bold personalities, and full of life. She writes happily ever after’s, with plenty of twists, turns, drama, and of course, steamy romance.  

Stephanie has always been a story teller, with the gift of “gab”, and a life-long goal to be a writer. Unfortunate circumstances with her health, finally afforded her the time to do so. Irony at its best, she began writing her first novel at an adverse time, to escape her circumstance and explore the stories in her imagination for relief. She is happy to share those stories with her readers, and bring a little fun, entertainment, and of course smexy characters to the pages.

Follow Stephanie St. Klaire on Social media to learn more about her, and to keep up with her work.

Website: www.stephaniestklaire.com

Newsletter: www.stephaniestklaire.com/newsletter

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stephaniestklaireauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StephStKlaire

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephanie_st._klaire

BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/stephanie-st-klaire

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15075177.Stephanie_St_Klaire

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Release Blast & Giveaway: Lightstruck by Liz Crowe

Brewer Ross has given up on love…until he meets a woman who turns his life—and brewery—upside down.

LIGHTSTRUCK

The Brewing Passion Series #2

Liz Crowe

Releasing May 30, 2017

Totally Bound

Brewer Ross has given up on love…until he meets a woman who turns his life—and brewery—upside down.

Ross Hoffman held the potential for a perfect life in his hands—a life with Evelyn, the only woman he’d ever allowed himself to love, their baby and…her husband, Austin Fitzgerald, who also happened to be his best friend. But the challenge of trying to make a threesome into something acceptable—let alone the thought of actually sharing Evelyn with anyone—forces him to bolt. Determined to put all thoughts of their relationship behind him, Ross jumps headfirst into a new brewery job in Colorado, and back into the sort of sexual decadence that he hopes will distract him from his misery.

When he agrees to assist Austin through a spate of brewery mishaps, he lays eyes on his true fate—in the form of the petite, mysterious and exotic Elisa Nagel. Hired as assistant brewer, Elisa is absolutely everything he believes he doesn’t want in a woman. But he’s drawn to her in ways he can’t explain, and he can’t help but fall hard, fast and deep, which places him square in the middle of her horrific, until now secret backstory.

Ross is determined that his love will conquer and overcome the horrors of Elisa’s past, allowing her to trust him with the only thing he desires—her heart.

Reader Advisory: This book contains a scene with attempted rape and violence, as well as a brief scene alluding to person being drugged and raped.

She’d parked in front of the building where Ross, apparently, had a set of rooms at the top of a single flight of wooden steps. She stared up them, contemplating how drastically she wanted her life to change, and the fact that if she walked up those steps, it most definitely would.
She went up fast, not giving herself a chance to turn and run away. But when she raised her fist to knock, she hesitated. The voice was screaming at her now, blocking out the sound of the rain. She put the bags down and slammed her hands over her ears, crouching for a few seconds, willing it silent. Finally, her mind cleared, and she stood. Taking a deep breath, she raised her fist and banged hard on the door. “Hoffman! Open up!”
By the time he finally did open the door, she was soaked all the way to the skin but she felt energized—reborn. Slick and wet and eager in ways that confused her. Even the line of stubborn between Ross’ eyes didn’t deter her. She smiled, held out her arms and yelled, “Can I come in? It’s a tad damp out here.”
He stood inside the door, arms crossed over his bare chest. She stared at his pecs, at the thick black hop vine tattoo that matched hers, at his visible ab muscles. “Eyes up here, please, ma’am,” he said. “I’m not a piece of meat, you know.”
She held up the bags of food. “Do you have a microwave?”
He nodded, but didn’t move, continuing to block her way in. She dropped her arms, letting the rain pelt her, sensing his gaze taking her in from her dripping hair to her wet shoes. “You are a crazy bitch,” he said, conversationally, as if she weren’t standing right there, getting pelted in the rain while he remained dry less than a foot from her. “I’m not positive I want any part of you.”
She blinked, then forced herself forward and into his arms, dropping the bags as she wrapped herself around him. “That’s okay. I want us enough to make up for your lack of enthusiasm.”
He yelped. “Shit, you’re—”
“Yes, wet to the skin. I know. We seem to be like this a lot, don’t we? Now, shut up and kiss me before I—oh”
He did just that, transporting her to what she’d come to think of as her only happy place—in his arms, with his mouth on hers, his tongue breeching her lips, forcing her to give in to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him drag her inside. He picked her up, soaking clothes and all, continuing to kiss her all the way to the bedroom at the back of the mini-apartment.
He was gentle and tender as he undressed her, kissing every inch of skin he revealed, teasing her at the back of her neck and along her bare shoulders with his lips and teeth. He turned her this way and that, taking her all in, running his long fingers down her torso, cupping her breasts, licking each of her nipples, giving extra care to the still deformed one all the while muttering to himself in German.
He seemed especially fascinated with her piercings. He kissed her nose, her eyebrow, sucked the tiny ball in her lip into his mouth for a few seconds, rolled his tongue against the metal she’d placed there.
The line of balls in her ear cartilage got special attention. Each one of them touched with his fingertip, and his tongue.
Elle stood, eyes closed, letting him do what he wanted and loving it, loving him, if she were honest with herself. He ran his hands down her hips, around to her ass, across the evil puckered skin where she’d been burned. He was on knees now, his lips pressed to her stomach, then lower as his hands slid down the outside of both legs. His touch tickled, taunted, made her breathe fast as she tried to relax.
With shaking hands, she untied the leather string holding his hair back and slid her fingers into its silky depths, grazing his scalp with her short fingernails. He looked up at her. His eyes were bright with emotion. “You all right?” he whispered. “This is okay?”
“It’s very much okay. Please…more?”

Now Available for Pre-Order

CONDITIONED

Brewing Passions Book Three

Amazon best-selling author, mom of three, Realtor, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance: Worth the Risk,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”).

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

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Review: Positively Pippa (Ghost Falls #1) by Sarah Hegger

rom author Sarah Hegger comes an exciting new series set in small-town Utah, where secrets don t keep for long and love turns up in the most unexpected places.

For Pippa Turner there s only one place to go when her life self-destructs on national TV home to Ghost Falls, and her heavily perfumed, overly dramatic, but supremely loving grandmother, Philomene. If anyone will understand how Pippa s hit makeover show was sabotaged by her vengeful ex, it s Phi. But she s not the only one who s happy to see her and Pippa can t help but wonder if Matt Evans, her gorgeous high-school crush turned Phi s contractor, is game for a steamy close-up
Matt owes his whole career to Phi and her constant demands to embellish the gothically ridiculous house he built for her. Getting to see red-headed, red-hot Pippa is a bonus, especially now that she s no longer the troublesome teenager he remembers. He s willing to stay behind the scenes while she gives her own life a much-needed makeover, but not forever. As far as he s concerned, their connection is too electric to ignore. And the chance to build something lasting between them before she can high-tail it back to Hollywood is going to the top of his to-do list

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: May 30th 2017 by Zebra

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!  The release date is slated for May 30th.

This story is the first in a new series for Hegger.  As I had been previously introduced to her work, I was excited to see what she had in story for us with this new series.

This story sticks pretty much to the formula one is familiar with in this genre, there is not too much to surprise the reader.  In other words you get exactly what you expect from this genre when you pick this book up.  Solid characters, hot men, steamy bedroom scenes, and just enough angst to keep the story moving along.

What I enjoyed the most about this story was some of the eccentric characters that were along for the ride.  From the "Diva" Phi, to the perky Bella, there were a lot of fun characters to get behind.  Then there is the whole Evan's clan.  An entire family of hot men?  Yes please!  Take their mother out of the picture (talk about train wreck) and I could focus in on these brothers all day long. 

As the first in a series, I think this has given me enough of a taste to keep an eye out for the future instalments of the Ghost Falls series.  A sneak peak of the next story, featuring Bella and another one of the Evan's brothers) was provided at the completion of this one and it looks like it will be good.   I look forward to it

About the Author

Born British and raised in South Africa, Sarah Hegger suffers from an incurable case of wanderlust. Her match? A hot Canadian engineer, whose marriage proposal she accepted six short weeks after they first met. Together they’ve made homes in seven different cities across three different continents (and back again once or twice). If only it made her multilingual, but the best she can manage is idiosyncratic English, fluent Afrikaans, conversant Russian, pigeon Portuguese, even worse Zulu and enough French to get herself into trouble.

Mimicking her globe trotting adventures, Sarah’s career path began as a gainfully employed actress, drifted into public relations, settled a moment in advertising, and eventually took root in the fertile soil of her first love, writing. She also moonlights as a wife and mother.

She currently lives in Draper, Utah, with her teenage daughters, two Golden Retrievers and aforementioned husband. Part footloose buccaneer, part quixotic observer of life, Sarah’s restless heart is most content when reading or writing books

Website

Review: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Risk everything . . . for love.

What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In Everything, Everything, Maddy is a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly is the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken.

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Everything, Everything will make you laugh, cry, and feel everything in between. It's an innovative, inspiring, and heartbreakingly romantic debut novel that unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, illustrations, and more.

Kindle Edition, 322 pages

Published September 1st 2015 by Delacorte Press 

Genre: YA/Contemporary/Romance

Kristine's Thoughts:

I know I'm really behind in reading this book. When my daughter told me that she wants us to go see this movie I knew I had to pick it up. It would be a crime to watch the movie before reading the book. How could I hold my head up high and consider myself a true book lover if I did that. So I picked it up and didn't put it down until I was finished. Yes, I read it in one sitting.

What did I think?

Well I won't re-tell the story because this book is not new and with the movie coming out (it will be out by the time this post goes live) I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

This book was very simply written and used different methods to tell the story.  It was easy to understand and even easier to get hooked. Who doesn't love a forbidden and impossible love story? Its targeted audience was young adult and it was young adult through and through. From the style, writing, plot and characters it all was geared to appeal to the YA audience.  Having said that, I am older than that audience and I still enjoyed it tremendously. I thought it was really cute.

If you really wanted to you could find reasons to pick it apart but you have to remember that it is a story with the sole purpose of entertaining. It may have been unrealistic or over the top or unlike someone Else's experience with a similar disease but again it was a story. It may or may not have the outcome that some readers want or wanted but it still kept me turning the pages and enjoying every second of it.

I am excited to see if the movie lives up to the book and if I'll love Olly and Maddy as much as I did in the book.

About the Author

Nicola Yoon grew up in Jamaica (the island) and Brooklyn (part of Long Island). She currently resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and daughter, both of whom she loves beyond all reason. Everything, Everything was her first novel. 

Connect with Nicola

Website/Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram/Goodreads

 

Review: Summer Dance (Nantucket #2) by Nan Rossiter

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter brings together characters from her acclaimed novel Nantucket in a powerful, heartwarming love story that bridges past and present.
When Liam Tate was seven years old, his uncle Cooper opened his heart and his Nantucket home to him. In the intervening decades, Liam has found both love and loss on the island, and since learning of his son Levi's existence, a new kind of happiness. Yet one piece of his family history remains elusive--the long-ago romance between his uncle and Sally Adams. Now Sally has a revelation that sets the whole town abuzz: She's publishing a book about what happened during the summer when she and Cooper first met, painting a picture so vivid it feels like yesterday . . .
In 1969, Winston Ellis Cooper III lands on Nantucket with only a duffel bag and a bottle of Jack Daniels. He finds a sparsely furnished beach cottage, about as far from Vietnam as he can get. But even here, Cooper can't withdraw from the world entirely. Especially once his eyes meet Sally's in the flickering lights of a summer dance. The effects of that fiery affair can still be felt decades later. And as the story unfolds, there are new lessons for all to learn about life's triumphs and heartaches, and about loving enough to let go.

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: May 30th 2017 by Kensington Publishing Corporation

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!  It is set to be released on May 30th.

This is the second story in the Nantucket series by Nan Rossiter.  I did not release this and therefore had not read the first story.  This was ok, as it was not necessary in order to follow and enjoy this storyline.  It would have given more context in to the story of Liam however since this was Sally's story it was not required.

High level, this was an easy to read story that focusses on relationships and the obstacles of the constraints that society, in particular the church, imposes on said relationships.  Set in the ideal background of Nantucket, it offers a lot of detail about the charming island.

I will not divulge the plot however I am going to go on a little bit of a rant.  Said rant is why this story would make a good book club submission as I feel that there is a lot to be discussed/debated.  My rant begins with the Church.  The timing is funny as I just had this particular discussion over dinner with my family.  While I try to refrain from expressing views that may not shared or understood by my followers, here I go anyway.

I have a serious issue with the Church dictating unrealistic constraints on peoples lives particularly when it negatively impacts them.  In this story, Sally's entire secret and conflict is due to her stringent belief in the doctrine of her church and that to go against it would be a mortal sin.  As a result, she lived her life with guilt and regret as she could not be free to live the life she wanted.  For this exact reason, I have a serious issue with the institution of the church when it adds a burden to someone's life.  Don't get me wrong, I believe in faith and spirituality, however I do not believe that one must live with something that negatively impacts their life and potentially ruins it for the sake of a religion.  I believe that everyone should be free to make decisions (within reason) that betters their life without the interference of judgement (particularly by the church) so long as these decisions do not negatively influence any other life.  By this I get angry with people using the Church as an excuse for behavior as opposed to using it as a guiding influence on the good they do.  Enough on this, I sugar coated my opinions here however I think I roughly got the message across.

That being said, without this theme there would not have been a story.  Although Sally's secret was not a big one, nor really that secret to those surrounding her however it did make an interesting story.  For those who may have read the first story, I believe it would close the loop on the characters featured in it.  For those who have not such as myself, it made an interesting read.

This is not the first book that I have read by Rossiter and I am sure it will not be the last.  I enjoy her work.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter's adult fiction is often compared to the work of Nicholas Sparks - especially her first novel, THE GIN & CHOWDER CLUB. Nan's second novel, WORDS GET IN THE WAY, is an uplifting story about a single mom whose young son has autism. Her third novel, MORE THAN YOU KNOW, touches on the bonds of sisterhood and the tragedy and despair of Alzheimer's. UNDER A SUMMER SKY ties the first three books together in an unexpected way, and NANTUCKET touches on the difference time can make, the truths that never alter, and the bittersweet second chances that arrive just in time to steer a heart back home. Her new novel FIREFLY SUMMER is an uplifting story of the resilience of sisterhood and the bright glimpses of joy and solace that, like fireflies after rain, can follow the deepest heartaches.

Nan is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and is also the author-illustrator of several books for children including, most recently, THE FO'C'SLE: HENRY BESTON'S OUTERMOST HOUSE, called "a lovely vision of one man's communion with nature" by Publisher's Weekly.

Nan lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, two handsome sons and a black Lab named Finnegan.

Website

Book Blitz: The Irish Prince by Virginia Nelson

The Irish Prince

By Virginia Nelson

Blurb:

CEO Aiden Kelley’s life of billionaire extravagance is flipped upside down when his ex shows up with a ten-year-old she claims is his. Totally out of his element and losing the control so integral to his success, he needs help. To top it all off, the only constant woman in his life, his executive assistant, has given notice just when he needs her help to survive his newfound fatherhood.

Chelsea Houston is an executive assistant, not a nanny. The only person more clueless about kids is her boss. Helping him on a daddy-daughter road trip is her last task before he’ll accept her two weeks’ notice and she can be free of the infuriating man she’s had a crush on for longer than she’d admit. Aiden’s carefully ordered life has never been so disorganized, and he’s suddenly tempted by the things he thought he could never have. Things like love and family. Who knew chaos could be so damn fun?

Buy Links

Amazon - http://amzn.to/2qU1tx9

Print - http://amzn.to/2q9F1Ra

AmazonUK - http://amzn.to/2pLckbZ

Amazon Canada - http://amzn.to/2p9ZJuV

B&N - http://bit.ly/2oNWJVR

Kobo - http://bit.ly/2pnNq1Y

Google - http://bit.ly/2qa265D

iTunes - http://apple.co/2qgIjO3

EXCERPT #1 

 This close, he could smell her. He could see the way her pupils dilated when he touched her. He could hear the quick intake of breath as she otherwise went very, very still.

“I can’t begin to thank you enough for your quick thinking and willingness to help make all of these bumps in the road smooth for Waverley,” he said.

But what he was thinking was that kissing her might not be such a bad idea after all. He was thinking of how her lips might taste and how she’d fit into his arms.

“Glermpfh,” she answered, turning away.

Faced with her stiff and poised back, he considered that response. She’d moved to stare at the pump as the numbers ticked upward, but her hand shook.

Just a little. Not something he even would’ve noticed if he hadn’t been so intently studying her. “We should get a room,” he said.

She abruptly yanked the nozzle out of the car, but didn’t stop squeezing the handle, sloshing gas all over the side of the car and onto his legs and shoes. Her scent vanished, washed away in the noxious fumes of fuel.

EXCERPT #2 

“Did you ever play in the street? Like, where traffic was? You know, like kickball or whatever and, when cars came, you yelled ‘Pause!’ and got everyone off the street. When it wasn’t clear, you called ‘game on’?” Another crash of thunder shook the windows, and she wondered how the kid could sleep through it. She closed her eyes, hoping for strength but only finding more fear. She really just needed to get her mind off it…

“Sure,” he said. “We called ‘pause’ when there were cars until we could play again. Still not following you, though. Do you have a point?”

“You know how I work for you and all that?”

He sighed, and she was close enough to him that his breath ruffled her hair. “Of course.”

“Pause,” she said. Before she could talk herself out of it, she went up on tiptoes and touched her lips to his.

He didn’t move, and she didn’t have the bravery to go further with it. They stood there, frozen, his breath whispering across her cheeks and her lips just barely touching his. Between the heat of his body and that coursing through her veins from her impetuous drinking, some warmth managed to seep back into her, and she felt almost safe for a second.

Then another crash from outside and she shuddered, pinching her eyes closed. He must’ve felt it or taken pity on her, or who knew what his motives were, but his arms closed around her and his lips slanted across hers. If she’d thought he would bury her fears and distract her, she was right. Nothing mattered outside that moment.

Lazy hunger curled through the kiss, his experience clear in the slow burn of his mouth dragging across hers. His tongue slipped into her mouth, and she twined her arms around his neck to better brace for the sexy torture of his embrace.

She felt the impact of the wall behind her and wasn’t sure if the crash she heard was her system going into overdrive or the sound of the storm. He tasted like sin, and she was starved for more. His hands gripped her hips and she pressed into his body, thrilling at the sexual tension skating across her flesh like fire.

“Chels,” he whispered, his mouth tracing a path down her neck.

“Game on,” she gasped.

He stilled, backing away to meet her eyes. Another flash illuminated his face. He looked hungry, like he could eat her up in one big bite.

The sight of that look, on his face, made her shiver with want. But he wasn’t for her and this was a ridiculous idea. She couldn’t play on his level, knew it on a bone deep level.

Not that she’d been able to resist a taste.

God. At least in two weeks she would tell him goodbye. Then she wouldn’t have to look at his face and be reminded of her moment of weakness. Or how wonderful his mouth had felt against hers.

She ducked under his arm and fled as fast as her legs could carry her, only stopping once her bedroom door separated them. Leaning on it, she bit her lip. Everything in her, down to the last cell, wanted to go back out there, climb him like a tree, and let him take her in whatever depraved fashion he might want to try.

Tomorrow, she’d probably be full of regrets. She’d crossed a line, stupidly. He was her boss.

Somehow, she half wished she could quit now, so she could—What? Go back to her world while he lived in his, high atop the world in a glass tower of money and power? No, she’d be better off as far away from him as possible, since pursuing anything was an act of masochistic idiocy.

About the Author

USA Today Best-seller Virginia Nelson is the hybrid author of more than 40 novels and novellas. She is also the editor of almost 100 books/novellas for various publishers and authors. Virginia has been a bestseller on Amazon, Bookstrand, Barnes & Noble, iBooks and Kobo. In 2015, Penthouse Prince hit the USA Today Best-Selling list at #50. and in 2017 she hit the list again with “Caged” in the Hot on Ice Anthology. Virginia is also a single mother of three great kids, a graduate of Kent State University, and a current student at Seton Hill University.

Links

Website: http://www.virg-nelson.com

Blog: http://virginianelson.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/virg.nelson

Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/virginia.nelson.author

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