Blog Tour + Excerpt & Giveaway: Hard to Come By by Laura Kaye

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Welcome to today’s stop on the tour for Hard to Come By by Laura Kaye! I’m so excited to share an excerpt from the book – which releases next week on November 25th!

Hard to Come By by Laura Kaye

Hard to Come By by Laura Kaye
Series: Hard Ink #3 (full reading order below)
Release Date: November 25th 2014
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Caught between desire and loyalty…

Derek DiMarzio would do anything for the members of his disgraced Special Forces team—sacrifice his body, help a former teammate with a covert operation to restore their honor, and even go behind enemy lines. He just never expected to want the beautiful woman he found there.

When a sexy stranger asks questions about her brother, Emilie Garza is torn between loyalty to the brother she once idolized and fear of the war-changed man he’s become. Derek’s easy smile and quiet strength tempt Emilie to open up, igniting the desire between them and leading Derek to crave a woman he shouldn’t trust.

As the team’s investigation reveals how powerful their enemies are, Derek and Emilie must prove where their loyalties lie before hearts are broken and lives are lost. Because love is too hard to come by to let slip away…

Preorder Links:
Amazon • Amazon CA • Amazon UK • B&N • iTunes • Kobo

Preorder or purchase before December 2, and get awesome bonus content!

Now here’s an excerpt from Hard to Come By! ❤

excerpt

Emilie stood between Marz’s knees, her face so close to his that the fallen tendrils of hair from her braid created a thin curtain around them.

And inside that bubble, the air suddenly sparked red hot. Marz held back, not wanting to take anything she wasn’t ready to give.

But then she whispered, “Kiss me.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.

The kiss was blistering in its intensity. They clutched at one another tightly, lips crashing and sucking and pulling, swallowing each other’s gasps and moans. Marz was rock hard in an instant, and nearly out of his mind with desire. Every masculine urge within him demanded that he bury himself deep inside her and never let go.

“God, Emilie,” he rasped, pulling away from her lips to taste her neck, her collarbone, the skin along the vee of her shirt. His hands dragged down her back, landing on her ass. “Do you know how fucking crazy this skirt has made me all day?”

She shook her head and pressed herself closer. “No,” she said, rubbing her thighs together.

His fingers bunched the soft material higher and higher, until his hands landed on totally bare skin. “Oh, fuck. Tell me you’re wearing panties.”

Her nails lightly scratched down his back, and even over the T-shirt, it set every one of his nerve endings alive. “Thong.”

“Yeah,” he said, his fingers finding and tracing the thin silky line downward, to where her cheeks met.

Emilie moaned. “Derek,” she said, her hips jerking toward him.

“What, baby?” He massaged and lifted the round globes of her ass, allowing his fingers to inch closer and closer to her heat with each teasing squeeze. He licked up her neck. “What?”

“I know we don’t have time,” she whispered as she pressed herself backward toward his exploring fingers.

“Time for what?” he asked, kissing up over her jaw and claiming her mouth again. The pads of his fingertips caressed her opening.

“Oh,” she moaned, her face a mask of pleasured torment. “Time for you to get inside me.”

Fuck. That.

In a few quick moves, he pushed her from between his legs, crossed to shut the door, and plastered her front against the window looking out over a vast black nothingness.

“Oh, God, oh, God. Hurry,” she whined, helping him tug up her skirt and push down her thong.

Marz tore open the front of his jeans and shoved down his boxers, and his cock spilled out in his hand, long, hard, and inked with the heavy black lines of two Chinese characters. “Fuck.” He pulled back and his muscles ached at the retreat. “Do you have a condom?”

Emilie pointed behind them. “In floral bag on top the suitcase.”

He tore open the zipper and grabbed one, and then he was all about tearing the wrapper open and rolling the rubber up his length. He returned to her heat again, his weight pushing her up against the glass. “Are you sure, Emilie?”

“Never been more sure in my life,” she said, peering over her shoulder.

On a groan, Marz penetrated her opening, gliding all the way home on one long, slow thrust. She was so wet it was a fucking dream, and the tight heat of her made him tune out everything else. He didn’t hear the rain battering the window. He didn’t feel the weight of the ticking clock. He didn’t know anything except his cock inside the tight welcome of her body.

“Oh, Derek. Yes, yes, yes.”

His balls already ached with heaviness, and he bit down on the tendon that sloped upward to her neck.

Her cry made him harder, and he reached around to the front of her dress and tugged at the neckline until he freed her breasts to the glass. “I’m not going to be able to go slow, Emilie. I’m strung too tight for wanting you.”

“Do it,” she rasped. “Take me however you want.”

“Oh, baby. Hands on the fucking glass.”

Praise for Hard to Come By:

“Rough sex and explosive fights power Kaye’s third Hard Ink novel, a thrilling adventure that feels more like an action movie with a romantic subplot than a typical contemporary romance. New readers will head straight for Kaye’s backlist after powering through this installment.” ~Publishers Weekly Starred Review

“TOP PICK! If you’re looking for danger, gritty action, and sizzling passion, then Kaye has just the book and the series for you.” ~RT Book Reviews Magazine

Reading Order: Hard Ink series

Hard As It Gets by Laura Kaye Hard As You Can by Laura Kaye Hard to Hold On by Laura Kaye Hard to Come By by Laura Kaye

#1 ~ Hard as It Gets: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Hard as You Can: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Hard to Hold On To: Ebook • Goodreads
#3 ~ Hard to Come By: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (Nov. 25, 2014)
#4 ~ Hard to Be Good: Ebook • Goodreads (March 10, 2015)

about the author

Laura KayeLaura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

Website • Blog • Facebook • Twitter • Newsletter SignUp

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3 Marz Tote bags with a signed HARD TO COME BY and swag

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Tour Schedule

November 20
Deluged with Books Café-Excerpt
No BS Book Reviews-Excerpt
The Brunette Bookworm-Excerpt
Angie and Jessica’s Dreamy Reads-Review
Love Affair with an EReader-Review
Love Drug Book Blog-Review

November 21
Booklovers for Life-Excerpt
Friends Til The End Book Blog-Excerpt
What I’m Reading-Review
Chris Book Blog Emporium-Review
Kelsey’s Corner Time-Review
Typical Distractions-Review

November 22
Dr. Pepper Diva-Excerpt
Fandomly Bookish-Excerpt
Sisters of Sass-Excerpt
Hot Guys in Books-Review
Red Hot + Blue Reads-Review
Turn the Page-Review

November 23
Book Lovin Mamas-Review
RhiReading-Excerpt
Rumpled Sheets Blog-Excerpt
Becky on Books-Review
The Geekery Book Review-Review
Truly Simply Pink-Review

November 24
Garden of REden-Excerpt
Twin Sisters Rockin Book Reviews-Review
Chelle’s Book Reports-Excerpt
Cris Conquers-Review
Mignon Mykel: Reviews-Review
Read-Love-Blog-Review
Talking Books Blog-Review

November 25
Riverina Romantics-Excerpt
Snoopy Doos Book Reviews-Excerpt
The Book Whisperer-Review
Wicked Reads-Excerpt
Fangs Wands and Fairy Dust-Review
My Favorite Things-Review

November 26
Made for You Book Reviews-Review
Alexandria’s Book Blog-Excerpt
Nette’s Bookshelf Reviews-Excerpt
Romance Reads to Love-Excerpt
Always YA at Heart-Review
Reviews by Tammy & Kim-Review
The Bookish and the Romantic-Review

November 27
The To Be Read List-Review
Book Lovers Obsession-Excerpt
Kate George-Excerpt
Those Crazy Book Chicks-Excerpt
Nose Stuck in a Book-Review
Sofia Loves Books-Review

November 28
Booklover Sue-Excerpt
Nancy Romance Reads-Excerpt
Fire and Ice Book Reviews-Excerpt
Inner Goddess-Review
Jodie’s WINE List-Review
Sweet Spot Book Blog-Review

November 29
Naughty Book Eden-Excerpt
All in a Book-Excerpt
Ramblings From This Chick-Excerpt
Book Nook Nuts-Review
Renee Entress’s Blog-Review
Sassy Divas Book Blog-Review

Release Day Blitz + Excerpt & Giveaway: Light Shadows by S.L. Jennings

Happy release day to S.L. Jennings! Light Shadows is LIVE!

Light Shadows by S.L. Jennings

Light Shadows by S.L. Jennings
Series: Dark Light #3 (full reading order below)
Release Date: November 20th 2014
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Twenty-one years ago, Gabriella’s life was stolen from her before it even began.

Orphaned at birth and encompassed in a fortress of lies to protect her identity, she never truly understood her purpose on this earth. But now that she has ascended, embracing her destiny, the ghosts of her past have come back to haunt her.

Even with insurmountable power running through her veins, part of Gabriella is irreparably broken. And with old enemies working to destroy the tiny shred of normalcy she has left, she’ll be forced to face the ugly truth about Dorian, the man she chose to love despite his darkness.

Everything she loved is a lie, and everyone she thought she knew is a stranger. And now that Gabriella is about to be thrust into the battle of her life, she discovers that she may be fighting for the wrong side.

*This is book 3 of The Dark Light Series, the highly anticipated conclusion to Gabriella and Dorian’s beautifully tragic love story.

Purchase:
Amazon

Now here’s an excerpt from Light Shadows! ❤

excerpt

Without warning, we’re on the bed, wisps of charcoal vapors swirling around our bodies. I’m flat on my back with Dorian hovering over me, watching, waiting for his influence to overtake my consciousness. While his body doesn’t touch mine, his mind—his beautiful-fucking-mind—begins to infiltrate every part of me. Sliding over the surface of my skin, so soft and light, like the silkiest feather. Pinching my sensitive nipples and raking down my belly. Igniting heat between my thighs until my panties are damp with desire.

I feel him all over me—teasing my pleasure points with his phantom touches. He moves in closer, so close that our lips nearly meet, yet he still won’t kiss me. He still won’t let me taste the sweet longing that is undoubtedly tempting his tongue. I lift my head to take it from him only to find that I am bound to the bed, completely under his control.

I’ve been here before. I’ve been under Dorian’s spell enough times to know how this will play out. He’s a man of dominating control, and today has been nothing short of chaos. He’s taking it back. He’s taking me back.

“Touch me,” I beg, my voice breathless with agony.

“No.” His eyes spark with white fire on that single word, showing the torment of his restraint.

“Please,” I whimper. “I need you to touch me. I need to feel you.”

“You feel me now,” he rasps.

“No. That’s not enough.”

“Oh? Not enough?” Pressure spikes in my core and I cry out as sensation snakes through my swollen sex. He doesn’t move, but I feel him there—touching, licking, even biting. Soft and hard, hot and wet, all at the same time.

“I can feel you throbbing, Gabriella. It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” My voice is an intelligible squeak. It does hurt, yet it feels oh-so-incredibly good. Dorian’s pain is the most potent form of pleasure.

“I feel the hardness of your nipples—how they ache to be licked and sucked. You want me to do that, Gabriella? You want me cover your nipples with my mouth and run my tongue over them? You want me to squeeze them between my teeth right before I suck them, baby?”

“Yes, Dorian,” I manage through a sob.

“And when I’m done teasing your nipples, you want me to run my tongue down…” Another jolt of electricity stings my sensitive flesh. “…down…down…until it meets that soft, sweet place that hurts you so bad? You want me to kiss it and make it better?”

I try to nod through the haze of lust and agony, but I can’t move. I can only feel him owning my body in the most delicious way.

Reading Order: Dark Light series

Dark Light by S.L. Jennings The Dark Prince by S.L. Jennings Nikolai by SL Jennings Light Shadows by S.L. Jennings

#1 ~ Dark Light: Ebook • PaperbackGoodreads
#2 ~ The Dark Prince: Ebook • PaperbackGoodreads
#2.5 ~ Nikolai: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Light Shadows: EbookGoodreads

about the author

S.L. JenningsS.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy

Facebook • Twitter • Website

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$100 Amazon card

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Blog Tour + Excerpt & Giveaway: First Debt by Pepper Winters

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Congrats to Pepper Winters on her new release – First Debt is LIVE!

First Debt by Pepper Winters

First Debt by Pepper Winters
Series: Indebted #2
Release date: November 14th 2014
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“You say I’ll never own you. If I win—you willingly give me that right. You sign not only the debt agreement, but another—one that makes me your master until your last breath is taken. You do that, and I’ll give you this.”

Nila Weaver’s family is indebted. Stolen, taken, and bound not by monsters but by an agreement written over six hundred years ago, she has no way out.

She belongs to Jethro as much as she denies it.

Jethro Hawk’s patience is running out. His inheritance gift tests, challenges, and surprises him—and not in good ways. He hasn’t leashed her but he thinks he might’ve found a way to bind her forever.

Debts are mounting. Payment waiting.

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Barnes & Noble • Kobo • iTunes

Now here’s an excerpt from First Debt! ❤

excerpt

A small gasp fell from my lips as his fingers kissed the paper-thin skin. His eyes held me hostage. The golden brown was now a swirling bronze, raging with the same demanding hunger I knew reflected in mine.

“This sort of reminds me of the forest,” I whispered. “The trees around us—no one else.” My words fell like petals, waiting for Jethro to crush them beneath his glossy shoe.

But…he didn’t.

Tracing one hand from my wrist, along the inside of my arm, and right to my throat, he fisted my ponytail. With intensity that stripped my soul to the very essence of who I was, he pulled my head back slowly, sensually, full of sexual power.

His eyes dropped to my mouth. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, Ms. Weaver.”

I panted, my neck straining against his hold, but I made no move to break the poignant awareness.

“You won that night, but I lied when I said it pissed me off.” His mouth dropped, his tongue licked my bottom lip with the barest of grazes.

Debt Inheritance
Debt Inheritance by Pepper Winters
Amazon

about the author

Pepper Winters

Pepper Winters wears many roles. Some of them include writer, reader, sometimes wife. She loves dark, taboo stories that twist with your head. The more tortured the hero, the better, and she constantly thinks up ways to break and fix her characters. Oh, and sex… her books have sex.

She loves to travel and has an amazing, fabulous hubby who puts up with her love affair with her book boyfriends.

Her Dark Erotica books include:
Tears of Tess (Monsters in the Dark #1)
Quintessentially Q (Monsters in the Dark #2)

Her Grey Romance books include:
Destroyed

Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads • Pinterest

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Signed Swag Packs (2 Winners)

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Release Day Blitz + Excerpt & Giveaway: Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always by Jessica Sorensen

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Happy Release Day to Jessica Sorensen! Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always is LIVE!

Ella and Micha- Infinitely and Always by Jessica Sorensen

Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always by Jessica Sorensen
Series: The Secret #4.6 (full reading order below)
Release Date: November 18th 2014
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**A Secret Series Novella**

After five years of marriage, Ella couldn’t be happier. Her job is great. Her marriage is amazing. But when she receives some surprising news, her world is turned upside down.

Micha loves being a musician, but being on the road, and away from Ella, is difficult. When the industry begins to put pressure on him to change his image, he makes a choice; one he fears is going to drastically change Ella’s and his future forever. That is until he learns Ella has a secret, one that makes his career choice seem hugely insignificant.

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Smashwords • iTunes • Kobo

Now here’s an excerpt from Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always! ❤

excerpt

A slow breath eases from his lips as his gaze collides with mine. “Sorry. I’m being a downer, aren’t I?” He leans toward me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “That isn’t fair to you after you flew across the country to see me.”

“Micha, you should know by now”—I press my lips together, trying not to laugh as I prepare to quote a line from one of his songs—“that I would travel to hell and back just to be with you.”

“Ha, ha,” he says playfully, sticking out his tongue. “You wound my heart, Ella May. I wrote those lyrics for you and you mock me with them.”

“I’m not mocking, just having fun—”

He cuts me off as he nips at my bottom lip, eliciting a soul-bearing groan from me. He slowly starts unbuttoning my shirt, picking up the pace the farther down he gets until he finally becomes so impatient he rips the fabric off.

“I miss your kisses the most.” I willingly lean against the piano as he unfastens my bra and urges me back.

He quickly stands up to tug his shirt over his head and then places an arm on each side of me as his body hovers over mine. “I miss everything the most,” he says before he kisses me. “All the fucking time. I swear to God, I need to see you more.”

My legs fasten around his waist as the ivory keys dig into my flesh. My fingers trace the outlines of his muscular stomach, the inscription of his tattoos, feeling his heart slamming erratically against his chest.

Excitement bursts to the surface when he pushes back to undo the button on my jeans.

“Micha, wait.” I pant. “Are we really going to do this?”

“Do what?” He teases me with a cock of his brow as he gradually unzips my jeans.

I kick off my shoes while I gasp for air. “Have sex on a piano.”

He pulls my jeans and panties off, his passionate gaze skimming every inch of my flesh, stifling my eager body with overpowering heat.

“You sound so excited about the idea,” he says as I reach for the top of his pants and unflick the button.

“I’ll take it wherever I can get it.” I sit up and yank his jeans down. “Besides, we can add it to our growing list of strange places we’ve had sex. I think this one might earn the number three spot, right below backstage at a concert, wrapped in the curtain.”

Instead of smiling, his happiness falters. “I promise I’m going to find a way to change all this, pretty girl. You deserve so much better than this.”

Reading Order: The Secret series

The Prelude of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen The Forever of Ella and Micha Jessica Sorensen
The Temptation of Lila and Ethan by Jessica Sorensen The Ever After of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen Taking Chances by Jessica Sorensen Ella and Micha- Infinitely and Always by Jessica Sorensen

#0.5 ~ The Prelude of Ella and Micha: Ebook • Goodreads
#1 ~ The Secret of Ella and Micha: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Forever of Ella and Micha: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Temptation of Lila and Ethan: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ The Ever After of Ella and Micha: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4.5 ~ Lila and Ethan: Forever and Always: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#4.6 ~ Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

about the author

Jessica SorensenJessica Sorensen is a #1 New York Times and USA Todaybestselling author who lives with her husband and three kids in Idaho. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

Social Media Links:
Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

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5 ebooks of Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always
1 winner for The Secret series ebook set

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Release Day Blitz + Excerpt & Giveaway: Wild by Sophie Jordan

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Happy Release Day to Sophie Jordan! Wild is LIVE!

Wild by Sophie Jordan

Wild by Sophie Jordan
Series: The Ivy Chronicles #3 (full reading order below)
Release Date: November 18th 2014
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A good girl goes bad in the third and final book in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s sexy New Adult romance series—where three Ivy League suite-mates testing their boundaries as they seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.

Months after her boyfriend dumped her, Georgia can still hear the insults he hurled at her. Boring. Predictable. Tame. Tired of feeling bad, she’s ready to change her image, and go a little wild. What better way to prove her ex wrong than a hot night of adventure at the secret campus kink club?

In the shadowy den of the club, she unexpectedly runs into Logan Mulvaney, her friend’s little brother. A player extraordinaire too hot for his own good, he may be younger, but the guy is light years ahead when it comes to the opposite sex. Now he’s telling her to go home-”good girls” don’t belong here!

Georgia is tired of having others define her. She’s going to teach Logan a lesson he won’t forget-one white hot, mind-wrecking kiss . . . that leads to another . . . and another . . . and. . . . Realizing she’s way in over her head, Georgia runs.

Only Logan won’t let her go. Everywhere she goes he’s there, making her want every inch of him. Making her forget who she is. Who he is. And just how wrong they are for each other.

Buy Links:
Amazon • B&N • iTunes • Books-A-Million • IndieBound

Now here’s an chapter one of Wild! ❤

excerpt

Chapter One

“I’m sorry, Georgia, it’s just, just …”

I waited, staring at his handsome face and too white teeth, feeling an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. I chafed my suddenly sweating palms against my jeans and told myself it wasn’t possible.

This was how the conversation started when Harris broke up with me months ago. The only difference in this scenario was that this guy wasn’t Harris. Not even close. Joshua wasn’t my boyfriend. We’d been on four dates. Four. So why was he looking at me with that familiar pitying expression? And speaking in that condescending tone? And using those words?

This couldn’t be happening. Not again. 

I shifted on the plush leather seat of his car and played with my pearl necklace, wishing suddenly I was anywhere but here. Since our first date, I knew there weren’t any sparks, but I agreed to a second date and a third because he was the kind of guy I wanted. On paper anyway. A senior at Dartford, he was already accepted into optometry school. He came from a good family. His father was a church deacon. Joshua volunteered at the local food bank. I couldn’t have found a better guy. I convinced myself that chemistry wasn’t everything. Lasting relationships weren’t built on chemistry. Common interests. Like goals. Similar backgrounds. That’s what counted.

My phone rang inside my purse. I quickly peeked inside. Mom. Pushing it to silent and returned to the hot awkwardness of the moment. I’d call her back later. After whatever this was wrapped up. I refused to think of it as a break-up. I wasn’t invested enough.

I wasn’t being dumped again.

Joshua leaned in closer, sliding his arm along the back of my seat. Like he had to get closer to impart whatever he was about to say. A cloud of expensive-smelling cologne engulfed me, stinging my nostrils.

“I’m sorry, Georgia,” he uttered, making a tsking sound with his tongue. “You’ve got marriage written all over your face.”

My cheeks went hot.

He continued, “I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment yet.”

I pulled back until the back of my head bumped the cold glass of the passenger window. Suddenly the pasta primavera I’d had for dinner felt like acid in my stomach. I turned my gaze to stare out the windshield at the lawn of dead grass bordering my dorm. The last of the snow had melted a few weeks ago, and the grass hadn’t quite recovered yet.

I took a long, pained blink and focused on his face again. “Okay,” I began, clearing my throat. “Let’s forget the fact that we’re not even officially a ‘thing’, but … are you breaking up with me?”

He nodded sagely. “Yeah. I am.”

“Is this because I haven’t slept with you?” God knew he’d been trying since the first date. After dinner tonight, he’d invited me back to his apartment. I’d declined. Had he known he was “dumping” me then? If I had slept with him would he still be “breaking” up with me? Jerk.

His face flushed, his tanned skin turning ruddy. “You have a high opinion of yourself.”

“No more than you do.” I snorted. “I mean you think I want to marry you after four dates.” I shook my head. “Ego, much?”

“Look. You told me yourself that you were with your last boyfriend since high school and you thought you were going to marry the guy.” He shook his head and gave me that pitying look again. “I’m not up for being his replacement.”

I fumbled for the door handle. “I’m not looking for a replacement.”

“You should lighten up, Georgia.” He gave my shoulder an obnoxious squeeze. I looked back at him. “C’mon. You’re a pretty girl. Stop being so serious and have some fun.”

I flung open the door and swung my legs out onto the curb.

He grabbed my wrist, stalling me. “Don’t you ever just want to get laid? Try it out with a guy you haven’t been with forever?”

Heat swamped my face. Yeah. I’d thought about it. I thought about it a lot since Harris dumped me. Especially since both my roommates were having marathon sex with their hot and fabulous boyfriends. Unfortunately Joshua’s sloppy kisses and pasty palms hadn’t exactly turned me on. I just kept agreeing to go out with him when he asked, telling myself I was being too picky. Too superficial. That sex was overrated. And now I was angry with myself for not trusting my instincts.

Leaning across the console, I toyed with the corner of his crisp collar. His eyes went fuzzy.

“What about it, Georgia?” His voice got all husky. “Want to knock the cobwebs off it?”

Charming.

“Yeah,” I breathed against his lips. “I think about sex … hot sex … a lot. I think about doing it with a guy until my eyes roll back in my head and I forget my name.”

He groaned and tried to close the tiny bit of space between our lips, but I pulled back, releasing his collar. “So I better go find that guy, huh?”

Feeling somewhat mollified by the stunned look on his face, I pushed out of the car and slammed the door. Without looking back, I marched up the sidewalk to my dorm and punched in the numbers on the keypad, muttering to myself the entire time, vowing that I was done. Finished. No more dates. No more falling for guys who looked good on paper. They all said the right things at first but after a few dates – poof. The prince turned into a frog.

I stopped in front of the elevator and punched the button for the fourth floor. I tapped my boot heel impatiently, eager to get in my room and in a pair of comfy yoga pants. I had the room to myself tonight. Both Pepper and Emerson were with their boyfriends and probably would be all weekend. Sadness filled pinched me at the thought. Then I instantly felt guilty. If two girls ever deserved happiness, they did.

Ironically, a few months ago I was the one with the boyfriend and they were single. I didn’t begrudge them their happiness, but … I was lonely. No Harris. My best friends busy with their own lives. I could only study so much. My grades were better than ever. I’d already finished my Econ project and it wasn’t even due until the end of the semester.

As I waited in front of the elevator, the building’s outside door beeped open and then clanged shut. Annie strolled in wearing a loose, low-cut blouse and tight crop pants.

“Hey, G.” She stopped beside me, slurping from a ridiculously large iced coffee piled high with whipped topping. She eyed me up and down, taking in my outfit. I was dressed to go out in jeans, boots and a light cashmere sweater. “You already go out?”

“Yeah. I had a date.”

“Must not have been a very good date. It’s not even nine and you’re headed home.”

I shrugged. Annie wasn’t my favorite person. She hung out with us a little at the beginning of the year. Until we all figured out she was one of those girls that would tell you to wear an unflattering sweater just so she could look better standing next to you.

“It’s still early. You should come out with me,” she suggested. My mind shot back to when Annie abandoned Em at a biker bar. She wasn’t the kind of girl to have your back when you went out.

The elevator doors slid open and we stepped inside. “Thanks, but I’ve got work to do.”

“On a Friday? Lame.”

“What are you up to?” I went for changing the subject back to Annie – always one of her favorite topics.

“Oh, you know … going to a certain club.” She lowered her voice to a whisper as she toyed with her straw, even though it was just the two of us in the elevator. “It’s going to be funnnn tonight. There are supposed to be some interesting games.”

“You mean your kink club?”

“It’s not my kink club. No one owns it.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s a place to go if you want to really live and experience whatever you want, whatever you feel like without judgment. A safe place to let go and lose control.”

A safe place to lose control? For some reason, an image of my mother frowning and shaking her head rose up in my mind. “There’s no such place,” I said.

Life was judgment. We live. We make choices. If we weren’t judging ourselves, then others were. That’s just the way the world worked. Self-control was everything. It’s what kept us civilized.

Annie chuckled. The elevator slid open and we stepped out. “God, you are repressed. You have my number. Text me if you want to join.”

I watched her for a moment as she turned and headed down the corridor the opposite direction from my suite. Somewhere on our floor someone was playing the latest Bruno Mars at full blast.

I entered my room and closed my door. Bruno fell to a low muffle. Emerson’s side was a mess, littered with clothes. She might have fallen in love and take life a little more seriously now, but her indecision regarding what to wear and her inability to hang clothes back up had not changed.

I flipped on the television and changed clothes, hanging up my sweater and folding my jeans neatly. After tucking my boots into the corner of the closet, I reached for my phone to call Mom back. She hated it when I didn’t call back on the same day.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I watched a cop chase a bad guy across the screen as the phone rang in my ear. On the final ring, Mom picked up. “Georgia, hi!” Her voice was full of energy. Reminiscent of how she sounded on the intercom all those mornings in high school.

Attending the school where your mom worked as a principal had been less than fun. Thankfully, she adored Harris – everyone in my hometown did – or I never would have been asked out on a date. Not too many guys want to date the principal’s kid. Harris had been confidant enough to not let it intimidate him. I’d loved him for that. Of course, his father was a city councilman … and happened to be the current mayor. My mother loved him for that.

“How are you? How’s school?”

“Good, I’m—“

“Did you change your password? I was trying to get online and look at your current GPA.”

“No, Mom, I haven’t.”

I might be twenty years old, but my parents were footing the bill for school and still expected full access to my life – that included online viewing of my grades at any time during the semester.

“Hm. Maybe I hit the caps button. I’ll try again later.” She took a breath and slid into the next topic. “Have you thought more about your summer plans? I’ve been talking with Greg Berenger and he can get you on here at the bank. It would be a great way to get your foot in the door for when you graduate.”

And there it was. The expectation that I’d come home. Eventually. I’d finish college and start my career back in the bustling metropolitan of Muskogee, Alabama.

“Um. I’m not sure yet. Still looking into a few things…”

“Georgia  Parker Robinson.” She must have heard something in my voice because hers just got all principal-mode on me. Not to mention she was whipping out my full name. “This is your future. You need to take this seriously and not wait until the last minute.”

“Of course, Mom. I know.”

A pause fell. “Is this because of Harris? He won’t be here this summer, you know. His mother said he took an internship in Boston.”

“You spoke with his mother?” I couldn’t help it. My voice escaped in a squeak.

“I saw her at the store. What was I supposed to do? Ignore her?”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“We both agree that this is just a phase he’s going through… this other girl is just a fling—“

“Mother! You discussed us … her?”

Her is a girl I’ve never even met, but someone Harris started fooling around with a few weeks before he dumped me. It was such a cliché. But then wasn’t there truth in clichés? That’s why they existed.

“Don’t get upset. You and Harris will work this out—“

“I don’t want to work it out with him, Mom. He cheated on me. He broke up with me.”

“You’re both so young. You don’t understand yet. This will only make your relationship stronger down the road.”

“Mom, this might be hard to believe, but I don’t want to be with Harris anymore.”

“Oh, this is so unlike you, Georgia. You’re not they type to hang onto pointless anger.”

“What do you mean? Why is this so unlike me?” What was I like then? The kind of girl that would let a guy stomp all over her heart and then ask for seconds?

“You’ve never disappointed me before.”

And not marrying Harris would disappoint her? Was that her implication?

She continued, “You always make the right decisions. We raised you to be reliable.”

Boring. Harris’s word drifted through my mind just then. He’d called me boring when he broke up with me. Oh, there had been other words. Other accusations laid at my feet, but that one stuck in my head the most.

I sighed and rubbed at my suddenly aching forehead, like that accusation was in still lodge in there, an annoying pebble I couldn’t shake lose. “I’ll let you know about the job.”

“Please do. The position won’t be available forever. Mr. Berenger will hold it as long as he can as a favor to me. I could have expelled his son that time when he stole the test from Mrs. Morris’s desk and sold the answers to everyone, remember?  I only gave him on campus suspension.”

“Okay, Mom. Tell Dad and Amber hello for me.”

“Good night, honey.”

“Night, Mom.”

Ending the call, I fell back on my bed. Law and Order was starting over again, the familiar theme music racing over the air.

Restlessness hummed through me … and a low undercurrent of anger. Mom. Harris. Joshua. Their voices overlapped through my head, making my stomach churn. All three of them thought they knew me so well. Boring. Reliable. Serious.

All words to describe me. All words I wanted to fling to the floor and stomp on until they were dust beneath me. Holding up my phone again, I scrolled through names, stopping at one at the very bottom. My thumb hovered over the keypad before reaching a decision and typing.

Me: So what does one wear to a kink club?

Annie: Something you can easily take off…

Reading Order: The Ivy Chronicles

Foreplay by Sophie Jordan Tease by Sophie Jordan Wild by Sophie Jordan

#1 ~ Foreplay: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Tease: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Wild: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

about the author

Sophie JordanSophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.

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