Excerpt
Karmen stands next to the
kitchen table looking at something. In just a towel, I walk past her
towards the coffee pot. As I pour my steaming cup of Holy goodness,
she says, “Well…I’m just going to come out and say it, okay?”
I turn around, one hand
clutches the end of my towel to hold it in place. My eyes find hers
over the rim of my coffee cup. I nod as I blow on the steaming
liquid. I watch as she focuses in on my lips, so I purposely blow a
little harder.
She drops her eyes and looks
down at her fingers, concentrating on picking at the red nail polish
on her nails. “I want us to be friends not just at work but out of
work too,” she blurts out.
At this I laugh.
Her head snaps up and she
glares daggers at me from across the few feet separating us. “Is it
so funny to think of us being friends?” The sharp tone of her voice
tells me she really thinks that I wouldn’t want to be friends with
her. I do. But I want more, much more.
“No, Karmen.”
“Then why laugh at me?”
“Well, I kind of already
thought we were
friends.” I shrug. “And after that kiss, maybe even a little
more.”
I watch as her body sags in
relief, and hope begins to build that maybe she might want more, too.
“Brayden, I already told you we cannot go there.”
“Well seeing as we already
did ‘go there,' I don’t see what the problem is. You
kissed me, Karmen. I know you felt what I felt in that kiss.” I
place my mug on the counter, my coffee is forgotten as I take a step
in her direction. My tone drops to one of seduction. Like yesterday,
I pull her back under my spell. “You can’t tell me you didn’t
feel the fire.” Another step. “The heat.” I drop my voice
another octave as I close the distance between us. My face closes in
on hers. Instead of claiming her lips like I want, I skim the tip of
my nose along her jaw, up her neck in agonizingly slow strokes,
before growling in her ear, “The hunger.” I look down, her chest
rises and falls in rapid breaths that fan out against my own neck.
Blood rages through my veins like an addict getting the first hit of
the rush they so much crave. My hand lands on her back. I pull her
flush against my body, the towel separates my skin from touching
hers. The contact forces an erotic groan past those luscious lips I’m
dying to kiss again. “Things could be so good between us. Even now,
I can feel the tremble of your body against mine.” I nip at her
earlobe and murmur, “The way your heavy breaths hit my neck, I can
feel how hard your nipples are. They’re begging to be sucked,
right? Do you want me to touch you? Put you out of your misery?” I
groan, and she nods her head like the wanton woman she is. Slowly, I
glide my hand up along her side, and with the briefest of touches I
let my thumb graze across her tight nipple. She whimpers and I add,
“You want me and I want you.” Absentmindedly, she nods her head
vigorously, and at that moment I know I’ve got her. I pull back to
see her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted. “But since you
only want to be friends
then that’s what we’ll be.”
I know as soon as my words
sink in. Karmen’s eyes pop open and she gasps in shock. I tilt my
head to the side and stare back at her.
“You’re an ass,” she
snaps, flustered.
“Maybe. But I proved my
point. We’ll be friends.” I drop my hands from around her waist
and step away from her. “I’m giving you what you want. I’m a
very giving man.” I grin at her and wink. “You should remember
that.” I grip the towel tighter, to keep from reaching out to her.
My feet carry me towards my room to get dressed, but her parting
words halt my movements.
“That kiss didn’t mean
anything,” she says nonchalantly.
I look back at her over my
shoulder, and my grin turns into a full-blown smile. “You keep
telling yourself that, babe. Your body doesn’t lie. It didn’t lie
yesterday when your hands were fisted in my shirt, and it didn’t
lie a second ago when you were putty in my hands.”
I don’t give her a chance
to refute what I’ve said. We both know I’m right. I’ll play her
friends card. But just like a spark eventually becomes a flame, that
flame will sooner or later turn into an inferno. I’m betting
whatever this is between us will be ablaze in no time.
Nikki's 5 Star Review
This is my first time reading anything my Tiffany Aleman and the abundance of emotions that this book put me through were unreal.
Karmen and Brayden ate both broken souls but for different reasons. During high school Karmen suffered at the hands of bullies and with a mother on drugs and a drunken father her home life was no better. Although Brayden wasn't always active in Karmen's bullying he stood by on the side lines has his friends made Karmen's life an absolute hell feeling his reputation was more important, Brayden had his own demons to contend with been physically abused by his father. After graduation Karmen and Brayden both took different paths, but what happens when their paths lead them back to where it all began. Can Brayden make Karmen see he's a changed man from his high school days, will Karmen find it in herself to forgive Brayden for everything she went through? Are Brayden's demons really in his past or will they ruin any sort of future he and Karmen could have?
5 stars are just not enough for this book in my opinion it just sucked me in from the begining, I'm really hoping its not to long before book 2 is released to see where Brayden and Karmen's story will go.
Buy Links:
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New York Times and USA Today bestselling author M. Leighton is a native of Ohio. She relocated to the warmer climates of the South, where she can be near the water all summer and miss the snow all winter. Possessed of an overactive imagination from early in her childhood, Michelle finally found an acceptable outlet for her fantastical visions: literary fiction. Having written over a dozen novels, these days Michelle enjoys letting her mind wander to more romantic settings with sexy Southern guys, much like the one she married and the ones you'll find in her latest books. When her thoughts aren't roaming in that direction, she'll be riding horses, swimming in ponds and experiencing life on a ranch, all without leaving the cozy comfort of her office.
