tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91011169579714810192024-03-13T05:49:04.208-05:00Love MusingsRandom musings on life, love and writing romanceTracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.comBlogger362125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-89839063564057901932014-07-15T06:55:00.001-05:002014-07-15T06:55:40.782-05:00Addicted Comes Out Today!!!!!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Lp9ua4IimY/U8UWnclc2WI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/GBRkyLr4pqI/s1600/Addicted_new+cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Lp9ua4IimY/U8UWnclc2WI/AAAAAAAAAlQ/GBRkyLr4pqI/s1600/Addicted_new+cvr.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>Yay! I am so, so, so excited that today is finally here. It feels like I've been waiting for Addicted to<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/241779/addicted-by-tracy-wolff" target="_blank">link</a> to all the places you can get it :)<br />
release ever since I wrote Ruined, LOL. Here's a <br />
<br />
Anyway, in honor of Addicted's release, I'm putting up an exclusive snippet. And for those of you who can't get enough Ethan-- never fear. This isn't the last you'll see of him and Chloe ... I can't give details yet, but they'll definitely be around in the future!<br />
<br />
Thanks so much for helping me celebrate release day! And there are two great giveaways going on right now to help celebrate Addicted's release-- one from my publisher and one from me-- so make sure you check those out as well!<br />
<br />
Happy Reading!<br />
<br />
<u>Blurb</u><br />
<b><b>Ethan Frost returns in the breathtaking conclusion to <i>New York Times </i>and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author Tracy Wolff’s seductive novel<i> Ruined</i>—perfect for fans of <i>Release Me </i>and <i>Bared to You</i>.</b></b> <br /> <i>As Chloe Girard discovers, there’s love . . . and then there’s addiction.</i><br /> <br />
Ethan Frost is everything a woman could want in a man. He’s rich,
gorgeous, powerful, one of the most eligible bachelors in the world.<br /> <br /> But that’s not why I’m with him.<br /> <br />
I love Ethan for all the things no one else gets to see: his innate
kindness, his reckless spontaneity, his unwavering determination to use
his brilliance for good. I love the way he looks at me, the way he
touches me. The way he makes me forget the wreckage of my past and the
twisted fear that still lives inside me.<br /> <br />
Excerpt:<br />
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<br />
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“So, I guess I’m heading back upstairs,” Tori says
after a minute. “Unless you need me for something?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“No. I’m good. Thanks, Tor.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“No problem. Knock him dead, Chlo.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“I’m not even going to see him today,” I protest.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">She smiles wryly. “Of course you’re not.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“I’m not.” I can’t. Just the thought of seeing
Ethan makes me shaky. I may not be angry at him, but that’s a far cry from wanting
to see him. And I don’t. I really don’t. Not now, when all I can see is Brandon’s
mocking grin. When all I can hear is him calling Ethan his brother. <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">His brother</span></span></span>.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Maybe it’s cowardly, maybe it’s self-preservation.
To be honest, I don’t really care. All I want to do is get through the day
without any more casualties.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Surely that’s not too much to ask.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Except obviously, it is. Because as I move to set
my briefcase on the passenger seat, I see a thick, cream envelope on the
passenger side floorboard. It’s facedown, but I don’t need to see the Frost
Industries return address to recognize Ethan’s stationery. He’s sent me so many
letters and packages over the last few weeks—all on or accompanied by official
company letterhead—that I’m pretty sure I’d recognize it in my sleep.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">For a second, I’m tempted to take the coward’s way
out. To leave the envelope where it lies and pretend I never saw it.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Except I’ve never been a coward. And though there’s
a part of me that thinks there’s no excuse Ethan can make, no story he can
tell, that will make what happened yesterday okay, there’s another part of me
that wants him to try. That wants to see what he has to say.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">It’s a double-edged sword, one I’m afraid I don’t
have the skill—or the heart—to keep balanced on. And yet, even knowing how
dangerous it is to my own mental health, I reach for the envelope.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">For long seconds, I just hold it in my hands,
watching it like I expect it to spontaneously combust. When it doesn’t, I
eventually lift it to my nose and breathe in the elusive, barely there scent of
it.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Like rain on a sunny, summer day.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Like blueberries and warm, sweet maple syrup.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">It smells like Ethan and the truth of that nearly
brings me to my knees.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Again, I almost set the envelope aside unopened. Again,
I think about shredding it, burning it, throwing it away whole. About doing
anything and everything to it but the one thing Ethan intended—opening it.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">And yet, knowing Ethan wrote whatever is in there
exclusively for me, makes it impossible for me to do anything but run my
fingertips along the envelope seams in an effort to pry it open.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Eventually I get it open and the first thing that
falls out is a picture of the two of us.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Just looking at it gets the tears burning behind
my eyes</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" name="_msoanchor_1"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span lang="X-NONE">all over again, but I clear my throat, blink</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> several times</span><span lang="X-NONE">. I’ve
cried too much in the last twenty-four hours and I’m not going to do it
anymore. Not now. Not today.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">It’s hard though, very hard, because I remember
the day this picture was taken. It was right at the beginning, right after
Ethan and I first met. It was a charity event on the beach benefiting the
environment and I’d been trying, hopelessly I might add, to build a sand castle.
Ethan had come around and—much to my chagrin—sat down next to me. Within half
an hour, we’d <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140618T1218; mso-comment-reference: sg_1;">built</a>
one of the most impressive sand castles on the beach. When one of the judges
came by, she’d given us a perfect score and that’s the moment this picture had
been taken, Ethan’s head and mine tilted backward with laughter as we stand
over our sand castle and the tide slowly rolls in.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">It had been a good night, one of the first nights
we spent time together. I had tried<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140618T1218; mso-comment-reference: sg_1;"> </a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">so </span><span lang="X-NONE">hard to keep Ethan at arm’s length, but I
know that this is one of those times that I can point to and say that this
place, this moment, is when I began to really fall for Ethan.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Though I know I should probably throw the picture
away, I shove it in my purse instead. Then I pull out the only other thing in
the envelope, a folded letter that seems to actually be burning my fingertips.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">For long seconds, I just sit there with the letter
in my hands, eyes squeezed shut and body shaking. Part of me is dying to open
it, dying to know what Ethan has to say. But another part of me is terrified of
what I’ll find, terrified of what his words will do to me. I’m barely hanging
on as it is. The slightest thing—good or bad—might very well send me over the
edge.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">In the end, though, I don’t have a choice. Knowing
what Ethan wrote is a compulsion within me, one I have no shot at not obeying. With
a deep breath, I unfold the paper, smooth my fingers over the creases. And then
I start to read.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">And here are links to the giveaways: </span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE"> <a href="http://www.shebookblogs.com/2014/07/addicted-ethan-frost-2-by-tracy-wolff-blog-tour-giveaway/" target="_blank">Random House Babeland/Ruined giveaway</a></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE"><a href="http://www.iscreambooks.com/release-blitz/release-day-blitz-50-gc-giveaway-addicted-by-tracy-wolff" target="_blank">Tracy Wolff Spa Day giveway</a></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Have a great day!!!!!</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
<hr align="left" class="msocomoff" size="1" width="33%" />
<div style="mso-element: comment;">
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1">
<span style="mso-comment-author: "sue grimshaw";"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_msocom_1"></a></span>
<div class="MsoCommentText">
<span class="MsoCommentReference"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;">\</span></span></span><span lang="X-NONE"></span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br /> <br />Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-75392955744221245652014-07-11T10:52:00.000-05:002014-07-11T10:52:01.716-05:00#Frost on Friday-- Exclusive Excerpt from Addicted<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Es8Aoom05cA/U8AH8Qr_uRI/AAAAAAAAAlA/IEVJE5rt-wk/s1600/Addicted_new+cvr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Es8Aoom05cA/U8AH8Qr_uRI/AAAAAAAAAlA/IEVJE5rt-wk/s1600/Addicted_new+cvr.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>Hi Guys! I know I've been MIA lately, but trying to write as many books as I have in the last few <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Addicted-Ethan-Frost-Loveswept-Romance-ebook/dp/B00IHMEBR6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405092359&sr=8-1&keywords=addicted+tracy+wolff" target="_blank"> Amazon</a> or <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/addicted-tracy-wolff/1118636172?ean=9780553394382" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, in case you're interested. Anyway, I'm so excited and can't wait to hear what you think about Ethan and Chloe :) To celebrate, I'll be posting a few exclusive excerpts that you will only be able to find here. Oh, and if you've been waiting to give Ruined a try, now is the time! It's $1.99 on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ruined-Ethan-Frost-Loveswept-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EGMV24G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405093579&sr=8-1&keywords=ruined+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/ruined-tracy-wolff?store=allproducts&keyword=ruined+tracy+wolff" target="_blank"> Barnes and Noble</a> right now. <br />
months has been keeping me crazy busy. But I'll be around the next couple of weeks, I promise, because Addicted is coming out on Tuesday, July 15th! You can pre-order it right now at<br />
<br />
Hope you enjoy!!!<br />
<br />
<u>Blurb</u><br />
<b><b>Ethan Frost returns in the breathtaking conclusion to <i>New York Times </i>and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author Tracy Wolff’s seductive novel<i> Ruined</i>—perfect for fans of <i>Release Me </i>and <i>Bared to You</i>.</b></b> <br /> <i>As Chloe Girard discovers, there’s love . . . and then there’s addiction.</i><br /> <br />
Ethan Frost is everything a woman could want in a man. He’s rich,
gorgeous, powerful, one of the most eligible bachelors in the world.<br /> <br /> But that’s not why I’m with him.<br /> <br />
I love Ethan for all the things no one else gets to see: his innate
kindness, his reckless spontaneity, his unwavering determination to use
his brilliance for good. I love the way he looks at me, the way he
touches me. The way he makes me forget the wreckage of my past and the
twisted fear that still lives inside me.<br /> <br /> But sometimes it
terrifies me how much I crave him, how much I need him just to breathe. I
always thought it would be my past that ruined us, but there’s a
darkness in Ethan I never dreamed existed. Can we survive as his secrets
surface—threatening to unravel us both?<br />
<br />
Excerpt:<br />
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<br />
<div class="pf">
<span lang="X-NONE">“What is<span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;"> that</span></span></span>?” I demand, staring at the huge
box Ethan is carting into my apartment </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">the</span> <span lang="X-NONE">following Saturday morning. He’s here early
because we’re supposed to be going to the VA hospital today to visit some of
the soldiers, and then on to a museum or two at Balboa Park. I thought we’d
leave right after he got here, but by the look of that box, now I’m not so
sure.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“It’s a Vitamix,” he says with a grin, all
blinding white teeth and innocent blue eyes. “I noticed when I was here the
other day that yours had gone MIA.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“MIA. I suppose that’s one way to put it,” Tori
calls from her spot on the couch.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Stop!” I hiss at her behind Ethan’s back, but he
turns at the last minute and catches me glaring at her with narrowed eyes.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Am I missing something?” he asks, eyebrows
arched.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Just about four hundred dollars, I’d say.” Tori <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140618T1445; mso-comment-parent: 2; mso-comment-reference: TD_3;">smirks</a>. “Are those things insurable?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Umm, probably. Why?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“No reason,” I tell him, pressing a kiss to his
cheek <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140618T1218; mso-comment-reference: CE_1;">as
he plops the box down on the counter, </a></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span lang="X-NONE" style="font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span lang="X-NONE">then does the same with the three Whole Foods bags he has dangling
from his wrists. “Tori’s just super clumsy, so she has an obsession with
insuring everything.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">My roommate chokes on her orange juice. “Yeah,
that’s what did the Vitamix in. My clumsiness. Not, say, your prowess with a
hammer.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Ethan glances at me in amusement. “Do I even want
to know what happened to that poor blender?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I think about it for a second, then shake my head.
“No, probably not.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“That’s what I figured.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">He starts unpacking the groceries, and it’s my
turn to be amused as he piles fruit, vegetables and a couple nice cheeses on
the counter.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Tori and I are capable of feeding ourselves, you
know.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Hey, speak for yourself.” <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140618T1218; mso-comment-reference: CE_2;"><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 3;">Tori wanders in and grabs an apple from one
of the bags</span></a></span><span lang="X-NONE">. “If a handsome man wants to bring me food, I am more than happy
to let him. Oh, and, Ethan, for future reference, Gala apples are my favorite.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">He grins at her. “I’ll remember that.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Please do.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I roll my eyes. “He’s not going to be buying us
any more groceries, Tori.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Why not? It makes him feel good and it saves us
the trouble of going to the store and having to cart a bunch of bags up to the
apartment. I say it’s a win-win situation for everyone.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“You would.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“So, who wants a smoothie?” Ethan asks, unpacking
the new blender and rinsing it out in the sink</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> as Tori wanders back to her spot on the couch</span><span lang="X-NONE">.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Are we seriously going to do this again?” I ask
him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing kisses between his shoulder
blades.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Do what?” he asks innocently, as if he doesn’t
know.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Fight about this totally extravagant gift that
you insist on giving me a second time.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Tori, please explain to your roommate that a
blender is not an extravagant gift. It’s actually quite practical—a good
breakfast is very important.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“I can have a good breakfast without making it in
a very extravagant, four hundred dollar blender!” I tell him, completely
exasperated.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Again. Not extravagant, Chloe. A <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">car</span></span></span> is an
extravagant gift. A trip to <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">Paris</span></span></span> is an extravagant gift. A—”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Forty thousand dollar platinum and diamond belly chain
from Tiffany’s is an extravagant gift,” Tori continues for him. “But not a
blender, Chloe. Geez, you need to chill out.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">But the blender is now the least of my worries. “Forty
thousand dollars?” I squawk, my hands going to the jewelry I haven’t taken off
since the night we had our talk. “My belly chain cost forty thousand dollars?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Ethan shoots my roommate a dirty look. “Thanks a
lot, Tori.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">She shrugs, then takes a bite of her apple. “At
least she’s not bitching about the blender anymore. Perspective, man. Perspective.”</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
<hr align="left" class="msocomoff" size="1" width="33%" />
<div style="mso-element: comment;">
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_3">
<span style="mso-comment-author: Copyeditor;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_msocom_1"></a></span><div class="MsoCommentText">
<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="mso-element: comment;">
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<br /><br />
<br />
<br />Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-5541720285537310682014-05-20T09:30:00.004-05:002014-05-20T09:32:05.043-05:00Shattered Release Day!!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7Hnowsqiq0/UqChynWAxQI/AAAAAAAAAi0/H-XNOgis0YI/s1600/Shattered_revise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7Hnowsqiq0/UqChynWAxQI/AAAAAAAAAi0/H-XNOgis0YI/s1600/Shattered_revise.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
Yay! I am so, so excited! Shattered, the second book in my Extreme Risk series, releases today :) I had so much fun writing Ash's story-- he and Tansy are a lot of fun together, despite the pretty weighty problems they have in their every day lives. You can check it out at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F1W0RYQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1E178CVR1HKKAPFE5X73&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shattered-tracy-wolff/1118924155?ean=9780804177757" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a> or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/shattered/id770285068?mt=11" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, if you're interested. And in the meantime, here's one of my favorite scenes from the book :)<br />
<br />
<b>Blurb:</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>New York Times </i>and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author Tracy
Wolff’s edgy, emotional Extreme Risk series continues with the story of a
lost soul and the fearless beauty who inspires him to take a flying
leap back into life.</b><br />
<br />
Ash Lewis has poured every last ounce of
his blood, sweat, and tears into reaching the very top of the
professional snowboarding world—until the unthinkable happens. After the
biggest competition win of his career, Ash’s mother and father are
killed in a tragic accident. Unable to handle the idea of going back out
on the snow to pursue the dream his parents shared with him, Ash feels
that he has no choice but to walk away from snowboarding forever. Then
he meets Tansy Hampton.<br />
<br />
Wild, fun, and impulsive, Tansy has a
different look and a new passion every week. As a cancer survivor who
spent the past several years waiting to die, Tansy has a fresh
perspective on life—even if she doesn’t have a clue about what she
actually wants to do with it. But she’s determined to find out, and that
means making the most of her time while she still can.<br />
<br />
From
the very beginning, their chemistry is intense. But while Ash can’t stop
chasing the ghosts of what can never be, Tansy stays firmly focused on
the possibilities the world holds for her—and for them. She’s already
picked up the pieces of one shattered life. Now she’s determined to help
Ash do the same. <br />
<br />
<b>Excerpt:</b><br />
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
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<br />
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Another text message comes in, though, followed by
a third one and a fourth one and I can’t resist picking up the phone and at
least looking. At this point, if it is Luc or Cam, it’d be rude not to answer. I’ll
just tell them I have a headache or something. And if something is wrong, I
need to know about it, too.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Except, when I look, it isn’t Luc or Cam trying to
get my attention. And it isn’t Timmy’s parents telling me he’s taken a turn for
the worse. It’s my sister, Anna.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_1;"><span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hey, big sis. You there?</i></span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" name="_msoanchor_1"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"></span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE"></span></i>
<br />
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How’s
Chile?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Have
you slept with any hot Latin guys yet? Or any superhot snowboarders?</i></span></div>
<div class="wll">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_2;"><span lang="X-NONE">Anna: </span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"></span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE">Helllloooooo? Come on,
Tansy. Inquiring minds want to know.</span></i></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I can’t help smiling as I type a response. Then
again, Anna always makes me smile. Even at the worst times.</span></div>
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Chile is great. And no, I haven’t slept with
anyone but myself.</i></span>
<br />
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: </span><span class="dsc"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">:(</span></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How’s
home?</i></span></div>
<div class="wll">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_3;"><span lang="X-NONE">Anna</span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"></span></span></span><span lang="X-NONE">: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boring. And I want details.
You mean no one’s even tried to feel you up? What’s wrong with those guys? You’re
on vacation with a bunch of superhot, super-fit guys. It should be all sex, all
the time! Are you not giving out the right pheromones?</i></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I don’t answer right away, because I’m not sure
what I’m supposed to say here. I mean, Ash <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">did </span></span></span>feel me
up. He also did a lot more than that. He just didn’t let me reciprocate. Or
make any move today like he wanted me to reciprocate. Ever.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_4;"><span lang="X-NONE">Anna: </span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_4" id="_anchor_4" name="_msoanchor_4"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE">That’s a lot of radio
silence. Squeee! What happened? I WANT DEETS! Tell me everything!</span></i><span lang="X-NONE"></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I debate for several more seconds, trying to
decide just how badly I want to humiliate myself here. Then I decide, screw it.
Anna’s had a ton more experience with guys than I have. Maybe she can help. I
type my response fast, then hit send before I can think better of it.</span></div>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_5;"><span lang="X-NONE">Me:</span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_5" id="_anchor_5" name="_msoanchor_5"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE">If a guy goes down on you
and then walks away before you can do anything for him, what does that mean?</span></i><br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE"> </span></i><span lang="X-NONE"></span>
<br />
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huh????????????</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Oh, crap. It really is as bad as I thought.</span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ash. He,
you know, but then when I tried to do the same for him, he wouldn’t let me.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Huh????????????</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You’re
not helping!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Right.
Sorry. The mind is boggling.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’ve
got it together now. Tell me everything that happened.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Everything?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_6;"><span lang="X-NONE">Anna: </span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_6" id="_anchor_6" name="_msoanchor_6"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE">Everything!!!!!!!!!!</span></i><span lang="X-NONE"></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">So I do. From drinking in the bar with Luc to
finding Ash on the patio to trying to talk to him about the avalanche to him
kissing me to shut me up to him going down on me to him walking away.</span></div>
<div class="wl">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_7;"><span lang="X-NONE">Anna:</span></a><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_7" id="_anchor_7" name="_msoanchor_7"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE">Huh.</span></i><span lang="X-NONE"></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Still
not helping.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
know, I know. It’s just . . . does he think his friend likes you? Maybe that’s
why he didn’t want to make a move?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I kind
of think if he was worried about that, he wouldn’t have gone down on me to
begin with!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hmm. Good
point.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t
know.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do you
think . . . do you think I wasn’t any good? I mean, I didn’t really know what I
was doing.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well,
what did you do?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seriously?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You
asked for help!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t
know. I just . . . I don’t know!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Okay,
okay, okay. Well, did it feel like you were doing it right?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t
know!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How
can you not know? Was he hard?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> God.</span></i></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">He
wasn’t hard????</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Of
course he was hard!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh,
well, that’s good.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> God.</span></i><span lang="X-NONE"></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Stop
being such a drama queen.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anna! I’ve
never done this before!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
know, but every girl has to start somewhere.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I
tried. I failed.</i></span></div>
<div class="wll">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Weird.
I mean, usually I have to rip my own hand off a guy’s dick. Amid many protests.</i></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Of course she does. Anna is beautiful and funny
and sweet and so much more experienced at this than I am. Not that I’m bitter
or anything. Especially when she’s not even giving me any tips here.</span></div>
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">So. Not. Helping.</i></span>
<br />
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Well,
are you sure your technique is correct?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">How
would I know?????</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t
know. Hey, have you tried watching porn? See what they do?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">?!?!?!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You
know, to check out your technique. Maybe you really are doing it wrong. I mean,
it’s not that difficult, but everyone has to learn somewhere.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I am
not watching porn to figure out how to give a blow</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="X-NONE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="X-NONE">job!</span></i></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh,
come on. You can’t tell me you’ve never seen it before. This time, just
consider it a tutorial instead of entertainment.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Of
course I haven’t watched porn before.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yeah,
right.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wait
. . . you’re serious?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’ve
spent my life in the hospital! When exactly am I supposed to have had this
great education in pornography?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your
room had wi-fi.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Seriously?
With the nurses and doctors and MOM AND DAD coming in at all hours? I was
supposed to watch porn?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">That’s
what I did most of the time we were waiting for you to get out of chemo or
surgery. Headphones, man. Best. Invention. Ever. I mean, next to internet porn.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh. My.
God.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">LOL</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh. My.
God.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh,
come on. Lighten up. You’re in a hotel room, alone. When is there going to be a
better time to figure this shit out? Doesn’t the hotel have like, </i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">p</span><span lang="X-NONE">ay-</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">p</span><span lang="X-NONE">er-</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">v</span><span lang="X-NONE">iew movies? Get one of those.</span></i><span lang="X-NONE"></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m
working here! I don’t think that can show up on the expense report!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh.
Right. Well then, do what every other kid in the world does. Download that shit
off the internet.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I can’t.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You
totally can.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I can’t.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You
totally should.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I. CAN’T!</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I’m
sending you links. I won’t take no for an answer. Do it. I expect a full report
when I text you tomorrow.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh. My.
God.</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Anna: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Have
fun</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">!</span></i> <span lang="X-NONE">:)</span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Are you
there?</i></span></div>
<div class="wl">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anna?</i></span></div>
<div class="wll">
<span lang="X-NONE">Me: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fuck</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.</span></i></div>
<div class="wll">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Porn? My sister expects me to watch porn to figure
this out? Is she serious? I wouldn’t even know where to start! There’s no way I’m
going to do that. No way. I can’t believe I even told her. I expected real
help. Not porn.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Oh. My. God.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I flop back down on the bed, pull the pillow over
my face. And try very hard to ignore the fact that my obviously insane younger
sister might actually have a point.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Not that I’m going to listen to her, because . . .
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eeew. Porn. In a hotel room. Could I be
a bigger cliché?</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Except . . . how else am I going to learn? I could
ask Luc, I guess. He’d probably be willing to teach me. Except . . . except,
no. I think I’d actually rather throw myself into a volcano.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">And Ash is obviously off-limits for so many
reasons.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I could find some other guy—some hot Latin guy,
like Anna keeps talking about—to show me, but that seems pretty ick</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> too.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Maybe the porn isn’t such a terrible idea</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> after all.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">What am I thinking? It’s an awful idea. A horrible
idea. An unbelievably bad idea. Except . . . how else am I going to learn?</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Besides, I am completely alone in a hotel room.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">No one would ever know.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">And maybe I could, possibly, actually learn
something? I mean, presumably, these people are professionals. They know what
they’re doing, right? Not that I think Ash will ever touch me again, but
someone else might. Someday. And I don’t want to scare him away, too.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Oh, God. I can’t believe I’m even thinking about
this.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I’m not thinking about.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">But I am. I totally am.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">No, I’m not.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I stay where I am for another five minutes or so,
going back and forth in my head, trying to decide what to do. I want to go to
sleep, or to at least forget Anna ever suggested it. But I can’t forget it. It’s
right there, in the front of my mind, taunting me with the possibility. Making
me wonder. Making me—</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Screw it. I throw the pillow across the room, then
pick up my tablet off the nightstand. I don’t have to do anything. I can just
check my email, see if Anna sent any links. She probably didn’t. She was
probably just messing with me.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">But if she did, maybe I could try one out, just to
see what it’s like. And if she didn’t . . . well, if she didn’t, then I’m sure
I can find something else to do with my time. Something that does not involve
naked strangers.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Except, when I log on and open my email account,
the first thing I see is an email from Anna with the subject line: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">69 Things You Need to Know</i>. Jesus. My
sister really does have the sense of humor of a fifteen-year</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">-</span><span lang="X-NONE">old boy.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">There are a bunch of links—</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">sixty-nine</span><span lang="X-NONE"> to be exact
(and can I just ask where my sister finds the time to watch this much
porn?????)—to sites with names like </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">c</span><span lang="X-NONE">omegetthebigdick.com and tapthatass.net. I mean, seriously? Do
people actually </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">G</span><span lang="X-NONE">oogle this shit? I don’t even know what to say.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I stare at the list for long seconds, trying to
figure out where to start. But each site looks worse than the next, so finally
I end up closing my eyes and just clicking.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I end up at comeandgetme.com and my eyes nearly
bug out of my head at the pictures on the home page. Naked women on their hands
and knees, with—</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Okay, nope. Need a new site.</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I randomly click again, and this time I end up at
a site with a bunch of naked men on the home page—all with enormous dicks. God,
is it even possible for them to be that—</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Nope. Close that. Random click again.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">This time it’s a gay site, which, okay. I mean,
guys know how other guys like to be touched, right? This could be a good site
for me. I could learn a lot. Except is that guy doing what I think—</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Nope. Close that.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">What the hell kind of deranged lunatic is my
sister anyway? <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">This</span></span></span> is what she was doing while I was getting <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">chemo</span></span></span>?
Jesus. I’ve only been at it five minutes and I feel like my eyes, and my brain,
need to be permanently bleached.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Okay. I’m going to give this one more shot. If it
doesn’t work, I’m giving up. I’ll go find a convent or a monastery or something
where I never have to worry about giving hand jobs or blow</span><span lang="X-NONE" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="X-NONE">jobs</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> or any other kind of
jobs, ever again. I hear Tibet is nice this time of year. I could totally be a
Buddhist. I look great in orange. Plus, I’ve already done the shaved head thing
a bunch of times.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Taking a deep breath, I brace myself and click on
another site, this one with the dubious web address of
howmanylicksdoesittake.com. I’m not going to lie. I’m a little concerned, but
it seems like the best option—</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">h</span><span lang="X-NONE">oly shit. Is that a Doberman?</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I’m done. I’m done. I’m so fucking done.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I start to close it, but there’s a hard knock at
my door and it startles me so much that I end up clicking on a video near the
top right side of the screen. Obscene noises fill my hotel room.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I try to click it off, but a little window pops up
asking if I’m sure I want to leave. Yes. Yes, God, yes. I’m sure. But when I
click the yes, it just takes me back to the video.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">No! Goddamnit. I can practically feel the viruses
leaping through my firewall by the second—and only half of them are electronic.
Is it possible to get STDs from a porn site?</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">The knock sounds again, a little louder and more
impatient this time.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Coming. I’m coming!” I shout, even as the woman
on screen starts giving a pretty good impression of doing that very same thing.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Oh my God.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I am so going to kill Anna the next time I see
her.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I try once more to close the window, but that same
stupid box pops up again. And again, it refuses to let me actually shut
anything.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Tansy?” Ash’s voice comes through the door. “Are
you okay?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Fine! I’m fine!” Fuck it. I click pause—of course
the stupid thing lets me do<span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;"> that</span></span></span>—and then I bury the tablet under
a pillow on the bed.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I’m so freaked out by everything I’ve just seen,
and by the fact that my sister is obviously some kind of sex fiend, that I forget
to be nervous about the fact that Ash is on the other side of my door. At least
until I open it and find myself looking straight up into his beautiful,
concerned face.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Are you all right?” he asks, reaching a hand out
and pressing it to my forehead. “You sounded funny. And you look a little
flushed. Are you sick?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“No, I’m good. I was just . . . exercising.” Exercising?
Seriously, Tansy? Is that the best you can come up with?</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Ash doesn’t seem like he’s buying it</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> either, at least
judging by the way he’s looking at me. “<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140329T0105; mso-comment-reference: CE_8;">In your jeans</a></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_8" id="_anchor_8" name="_msoanchor_8"></a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span lang="X-NONE">?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Uh, no. Of course not. I forgot my yoga pants so
I was working out in my underwear, but then you knocked and I had to put my
jeans back on.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Oh, right.” His eyes darken a little and he
shakes his head as if he’s trying to clear it. Not that I blame him. I did just
mention my underwear to him. He probably thinks I want a repeat of last night. Which,
to be honest, I wouldn’t mind. Well, except for the last part. And the part
where my guy of choice is probably, at this very moment, trying to figure out
how to get the hell away from the crazy sex fiend who doesn’t know how to take “not
interested” for an answer. It’s a good thing he’s never met Anna. He’d probably
run screaming into the night. Then again,<span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;"> she</span></span></span> probably knows how to
give one hell of a blow job.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Oh, God. Where is a bottle of bleach when you need
it? I am never going to forgive my sister for this. <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">Never.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Tansy? Are you sure you’re all right?” Ash puts a
hand on my arm, </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">closes the door
behind him and </span><span lang="X-NONE">guides me toward the bed. “Why don’t
you sit down for a couple minutes? You look a little . . . </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Bewildered? Freaked out? Insane? Is this a
multiple choice test, because right now, I swear I’d pick all of the above.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">“Hot. You look really, really hot.”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Somehow, I don’t think he means that in the good
way.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">I sit, because I can’t do anything else, not with
Ash standing over me like that. And because I really, really need him to stop
touching me. My mind knows he’s not interested, but all my body remembers is
the pleasure he gave me last night and it is very interested. Sparks are
tearing through me, originating at all the places he’s just touched and
spreading outward from there.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Except, as I settle onto the bed, my hand brushes
against my pillow. As it does, I must jostle the tablet and unpause it because
the next thing I know a series of very loud, very unmistakable sounds is
filling up my hotel room.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Ash’s eyes go wide as he registers what the sounds
are, and then a wicked grin creeps across his face. “Exercising, huh?”</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Oh</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">,</span><span lang="X-NONE"> God.</span></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Why, why, <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">why</span></span></span> is there never an erupting volcano
around when a girl needs one?</span></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
<span lang="X-NONE">Hope you enjoyed it! I'll post another excerpt tomorrow! </span></div>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
<hr align="left" class="msocomoff" size="1" width="33%" />
<div style="mso-element: comment;">
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1">
<span style="mso-comment-author: Copyeditor;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_msocom_1"></a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-18540415352245447872014-02-25T10:50:00.003-06:002014-02-25T10:50:55.432-06:0050 First Times Hits the Shelves Today!!!!<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_-b-qzFHdho/UwzJz-jib6I/AAAAAAAAAkI/gVsjEXpQgFo/s1600/fifty+first+times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_-b-qzFHdho/UwzJz-jib6I/AAAAAAAAAkI/gVsjEXpQgFo/s1600/fifty+first+times.jpg" height="400" width="248" /></a>Hi Guys :)<br />
<br />
I'm so excited-- the fabulous, fun new adult anthology that I'm a part of with J. Lynn, Molly McAdams, Julie Cross and a bunch of other people just went on sale-- so if you have time, go check it out at <a href="http://amzn.to/1mvevpP" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://bit.ly/1gz8BA1" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a> or <a href="http://bit.ly/1foBkuN" target="_blank">Kobo</a>!!!! To celebrate, I'm putting up a short excerpt from Grind, the short story I wrote for it :) Hope you like it!<br />
<br />
Blurb:<br />
<i>You always remember your first time...</i><i><br /></i><br />
<div>
Whether
it's the couple who decides not to go through with it, the two boys who
finally aren't ashamed, the newlyweds whose wedding night could very
well be their last night together, the deaf pair who have no choice but
to take body language to a new level--or, of course, the two young
lovers fumbling and laughing, getting everything wrong. These are the
memories that will never fade.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Join nineteen
fantastic authors as they pull back the curtain and give you a peek
inside that one intense moment in their characters' lives when
everything changes and nothing will ever be the same again.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Featuring
stories from some of the hottest names in New Adult, Young Adult, and
Romance including New York Times Bestselling authors J.Lynn/Jennifer
Armentrout, Molly McAdams, Sophie Jordan, and Carrie Ryan.</div>
<div>
<br />NOTE: <i>These stories are works of fiction. If you want to know about <b>our</b> first times, you'll have to buy us a pet monkey first.</i> </div>
<br />
<b>Excerpt from Grind </b><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I thought I’d find you here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
stiffen at the voice, certain that my need for her has pushed me over the edge
into aural hallucinations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when I turn
to look over my shoulder, there she is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She’s in a bright red ski jacket and beanie that do amazing things for
her jet-black hair and dark, Native American complexion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She’s
beautiful, so beautiful, and for long seconds I can do nothing but stare at
her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Dyani.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Gage.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She smirks at me, but I can see the temper
simmering in her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then, it’s
always been like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what
expression she plasters on her face, I’ve always been able to tell how she
really feels by staring into her jet-black gaze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“What
are you doing here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I scramble up from
the boulder where I’ve been sitting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
think that’s my line, isn’t it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
crosses the area between us, her well-worn boots crunching on the snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I looked for you in town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thought you’d be celebrating your first big
win.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“How’d
you know?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
looks at me like I’m crazy, and maybe I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Right now I can’t say anything for certain except that seeing her again
has turned me inside out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I was there.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You
were?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You thought
you would come back to compete in Taos and I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wouldn’t</i> be there?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
shakes her head like she’s disappointed in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or worse, like she doesn’t know me anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which I can understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most days, I don’t even know myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Where else would I be, Gage?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
didn’t think—“</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s
the problem, isn’t it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You never
think!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s in my face now, and even
the appearance of tranquility is gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her eyes are blazing, her cheeks flushed pink and her breathing—her
breathing is all over the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I
am going to burn in hell because, even though it’s been three years since I
walked away, all I can think about is touching her rapidly rising and falling
breasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
want to pull her into my arms, to kiss her and hold her and lick her and touch
her until the last three years disappear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Until everything disappears but her and me and how it feels when we’re
together.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’m
sorry.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You
should be.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So fucking sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t want to leave you—“</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Don’t.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lays her gloved fingers on my lips, stops
me mid-sentence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even after all this
time, sparks of electricity shoot through me at the touch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“But—“</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Is
that why you never called?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why you
didn’t come see me when you got into town two days ago?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because you thought I was mad at you for
leaving?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
pull her hand away from my mouth, then squeeze it tightly in my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Aren’t you?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You left because he would have killed you if
you stayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t you think I know
that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t you think I’ve been grateful,
every day, that you got out?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That you’re
alive?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That you’re safe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That your father will never be able to hurt
you again?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
can’t take it anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not being with
her has been killing me, and now that she’s here, in front of me, all I want is
to feel her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>against me one more
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Reaching out, I pull Dyani into my
arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her wicked, wonderful body curls
against me like it’s been three minutes instead of three years, and she holds
me at least as tightly as I’m holding her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I missed you,” I tell her, my face
buried in her long, silky hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
still smells like ginger and snow and freshly cut pine trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scent, combined with the sweet relief of
holding her again, nearly brings me to my knees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I missed you so much.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I missed you, too.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She presses kisses—soft as the
snowflakes that are even now coming down around us-- to my jaw, my eyes, my
chapped and burning lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It feels so
good—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i> feels so good—that when she
starts to step away, I can’t let her go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead, I lock her to me and slowly, oh so slowly, lower my mouth to
hers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Part of me expects her to reject me
even now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To fight my kiss and all the
memories burning between us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God knows I
deserve it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she doesn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not even close.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Instead, her arms lock around my neck
and she presses herself even more tightly against me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then we’re kissing, kissing, kissing, and
it’s just like it always was—flash and fire and pleasure so extreme it’s like a
kind of pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I run my tongue over her lips,
desperate to taste her again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even more
desperate to be inside her any way that I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She opens right away, and then I’m pulling her lower lip between my
teeth, nibbling on it in the way that used to drive her crazy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She moans, her fingers clenching in
the blonde hair peeking out the bottom of my own beanie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I dart inside her then, my tongue stroking
over and around and under her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
tastes like she smells, like fresh, clean powder and sharply sweet ginger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want more, so much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want everything.</span></div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-8535190841997234212014-02-24T13:46:00.001-06:002014-02-24T13:46:06.228-06:00It's a Big Week for Me!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw6H5oD3kY0/Uu0yYuVyjvI/AAAAAAAAAj4/f4dMZeyakC0/s1600/drive+me+crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw6H5oD3kY0/Uu0yYuVyjvI/AAAAAAAAAj4/f4dMZeyakC0/s1600/drive+me+crazy.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
Hi Everyone :) I am so, so excited about this week. Today, Drive Me Crazy, the second book in my Shaken Dirty rocker series releases!!! Thanks so much for all of you who have already bought it-- I really, really appreciate it and hope you like it! If you haven't, and you want to check it out, you can do that at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Crazy-Shaken-Entangled-Brazen-ebook/dp/B00I1VX9YO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1393270673&sr=8-1&keywords=drive+me+crazy+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Amazon</a> or <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drive-me-crazy-tracy-wolff/1118324917?ean=9781622665020" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a> or <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/drive-me-crazy-shaken-dirty/id807103093?mt=11" target="_blank">iTunes</a>. And then tomorrow, I am THRILLED to announce that 50 First Times is coming out-- the new adult anthology I'm in with Julie Cross, J. Lynn, Molly McAdams and a bunch of other amazing writers. You can check it out at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=50%20first%20times%20tracy%20wolff" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fifty-first-times-julie-cross/1118477580?ean=9780062329707" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a> or<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/fifty-first-times/id757760183?mt=11" target="_blank"> iTunes</a> as well!<br />
<br />
I've got to go teach now, but I'll be putting up an excerpt for Drive Me Crazy later and then one from Grind (my short story in the anthology) tomorrow. So stop back and check them out! <br />
<br />
<br />Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-33965037762207727242014-02-08T08:31:00.001-06:002014-02-08T08:31:44.404-06:00The Second #ShakenDirtySaturday :)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw6H5oD3kY0/Uu0yYuVyjvI/AAAAAAAAAj4/f4dMZeyakC0/s1600/drive+me+crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Aw6H5oD3kY0/Uu0yYuVyjvI/AAAAAAAAAj4/f4dMZeyakC0/s1600/drive+me+crazy.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
Hi Everyone, <br />
Hope you guys had a great week! Mine was busy, but good-- lots of writing done-- so I'm happy :) Today I'm putting up another excerpt from Drive Me Crazy, the second book in my Shaken Dirty rocker series. And in case I haven't mentioned it before, can I tell you how much fun I had writing Quinn and Elise? They made me laugh every day :) Hope you like them, too! And remember, my publisher is doing a special promotion, so you can get Drive Me Crazy for $.99 at both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Crazy-Shaken-Entangled-Brazen-ebook/dp/B00I1VX9YO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391869040&sr=8-1&keywords=drive+me+crazy+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/drive-me-crazy-tracy-wolff/1118324917?ean=9781622665020" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>! Check it out :)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Blurb</b>:<br />
<div>
<i>His rival’s in his bed, and this rocker is ready to play.</i>Former rivals Quinn Bradford and Elise McKinney are <i>not</i>
friends, at least not anymore. As teens, all they cared about was
psyching each other out before concerts. But when Quinn—now the
keyboardist for Shaken Dirty, the hottest rock band on the scene—returns
to his hometown and hears about the car accident that shattered Elise’s
career, he’s determined to make things right. <br />
Elise wants nothing
to do with an arrogant rock star, despite how bad she so clearly wants
him, so Quinn kidnaps the stubborn little piano player and whisks her
back to his mansion. A little seduction might be just the thing to keep
Elise under his care…and in his bed. But amid pranks both childish and <i>very </i>adult, their past comes rearing back to haunt them. And it might be more than either of them can forget.<br />
<br />
<b>Excerpt</b>:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Moving
slowly so that she had plenty of time to stop him, he wrapped a hand around the
back of her neck and pulled her gently toward him. Her eyes widened, her breath
caught in her throat, but she didn’t protest. Didn’t pull away. So he kept
tugging her closer, kept leaning forward himself until his face was only an
inch or so from hers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Then
he paused, waited. Watched. Her broken breath was a warm caress on his face,
her pulse a wild thing under the deliberately soft clasp of his fingers. He
knew she was waiting for him to make the next move, for him to kiss her, but on
this he wanted no misunderstanding. Not when her eyes were wide and her chest
was rising and falling rapidly. Not when she looked terrified and confused and
exhilarated all at once.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">No,
this kiss, their first kiss in a decade, would have to come from her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">So
even though his body was on fire, even though he ached to pull her against him
and take everything he wanted—everything she had to give—he waited. And waited.
And waited. Until his every nerve was screaming, his every cell straining
toward her with an intensity he couldn’t control.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
was about to say to hell with it and pull her to him, when Elise finally made
the move he was waiting for. Leaning forward, she brushed her lips—her sweet,
hot, gorgeous lips—softly against his. Once, twice, a third time. Then she
started to pull away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But
he was having no part of that. He wanted more, needed more. From the moment
he’d first set eyes on her again in that hospital bed, he’d craved her. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" style="mso-comment-date: 20140125T1747; mso-comment-reference: af_1;"><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 2;">Dreamed her</span></a></span><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 2;"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" name="_msoanchor_1">[af1]</a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><a class="msocomanchor" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9101116957971481019#_msocom_2" id="_anchor_2" name="_msoanchor_2">[TD2]</a><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">.
Now that she was here, in his kitchen and his arms, there was no way he was
letting her go without a proper taste.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This
time, he was the one who closed the distance between them. He was the one who
brought his mouth to hers. And he was the one who kissed her, really kissed
her, for the first time in a decade.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">It
was even better than he remembered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Her
lips parted on a moan, and he swept inside—to explore and taste and feel. She
was hot and sweet and so responsive that he couldn’t help the answering groan
that welled up in his own throat as he deepened the kiss.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He’d
been right. She still tasted like strawberries, but with a rich overlay of
sweet and salty caramel that was new. It was a flavor he was rapidly becoming
addicted to. One he wanted to taste again and again and again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
stroked his tongue along the roof of her mouth, brushed it over the side of one
cheek and then the other. Swept it between her teeth and her upper lip, pausing
to play with her sensitive frenulum for just a moment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
gasped, the fingers of her uninjured hand coming up to clutch at his shirt even
as her tongue came forward to meet his own.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">His
hand tightened on her neck at the first whisper of her tongue against his. He
pulled her closer, pulled her into him until her breasts were against his chest
and her mouth was completely open, completely vulnerable, to him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">And
then he took her, took everything she was offering, everything she had to give.
Gave her everything he could in return. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
was ravenous as he plundered her, tangling his tongue with hers. Licking at her
lips, the corners of her mouth, the insides of her teeth. He wanted to explore
every part of her, to re-learn her, to figure out everything he’d missed since
he’d walked out. To memorize her so that he would remember this even after she
left again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
pulled her closer, wrapped his free arm around her back and plastered her body
to his. She gasped, moaned, and he wanted more. Always more. Just like when
they’d been kids. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But
they weren’t kids anymore, hadn’t been for a long time. It was that thought, more
than any other, that brought him back. That had him pulling away from Elise
when all he really wanted to do was sink into her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
had real problems, problems that wouldn’t be fixed by a kiss or a quick tumble
onto the closest flat surface. And that was all he could offer her. All he’d
ever been able to offer her. It hadn’t been enough when they were seventeen and
it sure as shit wasn’t enough now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
untangled her fingers from his shirt, then gently dropped her hand back into
her lap before standing up. He didn’t want to look at her, didn’t want to see
the accusation in her eyes for so blatantly taking advantage of her when she
was injured and medicated and vulnerable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But
in the end, he couldn’t not look, his eyes seeking and finding hers like they
were meant to be. And what he saw there nearly brought him to his knees all
over again. Passion, not accusation. Need, not mistrust. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Her
eyes were heavy-lidded, dreamy. Her cheeks flushed, her nipples hard little
points pressing against the sheer fabric of the blouse Jamison had bought for
her to wear home. And her lips. Those damn lips that had haunted his dreams for
years after he’d walked away from her, were red and swollen and so tempting it
took every ounce of willpower he had not to bend down and take another bite. One
that would only end when they were in bed and he was inside her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">That
last was the thought he needed to get him moving away from her as fast as his
hard, aching body would carry him. He’d made love to her and left her once,
when he’d been young and stubborn and too stupid to understand how doing so
would shatter them both. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">No
way in hell was he going to do it again.</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
<hr align="left" class="msocomoff" size="1" width="33%" />
<div style="mso-element: comment;">
<div class="msocomtxt" id="_com_1">
<span style="mso-comment-author: "amanda faris";"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_msocom_1"></a></span><br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-16152818544918559842014-02-07T08:00:00.000-06:002014-02-07T08:00:05.394-06:00Exclusive Excerpt from Shattered!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7Hnowsqiq0/UqChynWAxQI/AAAAAAAAAi0/H-XNOgis0YI/s1600/Shattered_revise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7Hnowsqiq0/UqChynWAxQI/AAAAAAAAAi0/H-XNOgis0YI/s1600/Shattered_revise.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
Hi Everyone,<br />
<br />
First of all, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you for making my release week for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shredded-Extreme-Novel-Flirt-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EBRUB5C/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1" target="_blank">Shredded</a> so fabulous! I have the best fans in the world and I love you guys :) Okay, enough mushy stuff. I thought, as a thank you, I'd post a quick little excerpt from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Extreme-Novel-Flirt-Romance-ebook/dp/B00F1W0RYQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391781208&sr=8-1&keywords=shattered+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Shattered</a>, the second book in the Extreme Risk series, since everyone's been asking about Ash ... So, here it is, with no further ado!<br />
<br />
Blurb:<br />
<b>The Extreme Risk series—Tracy Wolff’s edgy, emotional take on the New
Adult genre—continues with the story of a lost soul and the fearless
beauty who inspires him to take a flying leap back into life.</b><br /> <br />
Ash Lewis has poured every last ounce of his blood, sweat, and tears
into reaching the very top of the professional snowboarding world—until
the unthinkable happens. After the biggest competition win of his
career, Ash’s mother and father are killed in a tragic accident. Unable
to handle the idea of going back out on the snow to pursue the dream his
parents shared with him, Ash feels that he has no choice but to walk
away from snowboarding forever. Then he meets Tansy Hampton.<br /> <br />
Wild, fun, and impulsive, Tansy has a different look and a new passion
every week. As a cancer survivor who spent the past several years
waiting to die, Tansy has a fresh perspective on life—even if she
doesn’t have a clue about what she actually wants to do with it. But
she’s determined to find out, and that means making the most of her time
while she still can.<br /> <br /> From the very beginning, their chemistry
is intense. But while Ash can’t stop chasing the ghosts of what can
never be, Tansy stays firmly focused on the possibilities the world
holds for her—and for them. She’s already picked up the pieces of one
shattered life. Now she’s determined to help Ash do the same.<br />
<br />
Excerpt:<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">It
takes about fifteen minutes before the shop is empty again, and then Ash is
back, lounging indolently against the counter as he rubs a strand of my hair
between his fingers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My hair is
short—really short, thanks to the last round of chemo—so his hand is only a few
inches from my scalp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The knowledge that
he could easily brush his knuckles over my forehead or down my cheek makes the
proximity even more enticing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
stayed,” he says.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“That
surprises me.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
narrow my eyes at him, confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Why?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
don’t seem the type to wait around for something like that.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I’m
really confused now, but I’m determined not to let him see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve already made a big enough idiot of
myself in front of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s past time
for me to act like a rational person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I
told you I wanted to talk to you.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yeah.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He lifts his arms palm up, gesturing to the
empty room as if to say, talk away.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I—“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pause, duck my head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I was actually hoping we could talk
somewhere a little more private.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
shop isn’t packed, but it’s definitely busy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Already I can see someone waiting next to the door, as if he’s thinking
about coming in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Ash’s
brows hit his hairline this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Somewhere
private?”</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Is
that okay?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like I said, I can come back
later if that’s better.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“It’s
fine, but—“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He breaks off when his cell
phone buzzes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t look at me as
he pulls it out of his pocket and reads a tweet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a second, just a second, his face seems
to crumple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as quickly, a blank
mask settles over him and he’s typing something back, rapid-fire.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
want to ask if everything’s okay— if he’s okay—but it seems inappropriate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So for long seconds I don’t say anything and
neither does he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Silence stretches taut
between us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
still up for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">talking</i>?” he asks, a
strange emphasis on the last word as he ducks out from under the counter and
walks toward the door.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God, Tansy, eager much?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I mean, of course.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
nods, flipping the small sign on the door so that the side that reads “will
return in ten minutes” and has a picture of a clock on it, is facing
outward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he’s grabbing my hand and
all but dragging me behind the counter and into a room in the back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Wow,”
I say after a second, my eyes struggling to adjust to the dimness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s really dark in here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Ash
doesn’t answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I start to turn around
to see what’s going on—I’m beginning to feel like I’m the only one not in on
the punchline—but then he’s there, right behind me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His chest resting against my back, his palm
flat against my stomach.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“What—“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I squeak and I know I sound about three years
old, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">holy shit!</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forget jokes, I feel like I’ve tumbled down
the rabbit hole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What are you doing?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I
thought that was obvious,” Ash answers, his voice low and amused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His hand is rubbing soothing circles against
my abdomen and part of me wants nothing more than to melt into him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To let him touch me however—wherever—he wants
to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“It’s
…. not,” I gasp after a second, using every last ounce of sanity I have. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s harder than it should be, but I’m blaming
that on his proximity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">On
the heat he’s radiating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">On
the fact that his lips are—right now-- skimming over the curve where my neck
meets my shoulder</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
shudder before I can stop myself.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Huh.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His lips form a smile against my skin, his
breath hot against the nape of my neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Maybe
I should try something else, then.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">And
he does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh God, he does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One, two, three open-mouthed kisses going in
a vertical line up my neck, from my collar to my hairline.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">His
tongue licks out a little on the third one and my brain fogs over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, literally fogs over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always wondered what that expression
means and now I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything around
me is hazy, muddled, and my body is melting into his.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This
is crazy, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to be imagining
it because this doesn’t happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not in
real life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to girls like me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
mean, no guy has ever come close to touching me like this before—and I don’t
have a clue what I’m supposed to do here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s embarrassing, really, how inexperienced I am for my age.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m nineteen, but I’ve spent most of the last
ten years in and out of the hospital as I battled cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rhabdomyosarcoma, to be exact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which means, except for a couple very awkward
kisses that came after very awkward dates—set up by my friends or family
because they felt <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sorry</i> for me—I have
zero experience with guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I
certainly have no experience with guys like Ash.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Part
of me wants to go for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the same
part that promised myself after this last round of chemo, after the doctor told
me I was finally—finally—in remission, that I was going to live my life to the
fullest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To experience everything I’ve
missed in the last ten years. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it’s
not like I don’t want to know what sex feels like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I really, really do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But
when I decided to make up for lost time, it had never occurred to me that one
of the experiences I’d missed was a nice to meet you fuck in what looks like
some kind of storage room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a really
hot professional snowboarder who obviously doesn’t suffer from the same
confidence problems I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And who I am
supposed to be asking for help.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The
thought of my job, of why I came here, is enough to pull me back from the
brink. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I step away from Ash, clear my
throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Try not to swallow my own tongue
as I struggle to find words-- any words—to get this meeting back on the right
path.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“What—“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My voice cracks straight down the middle, so
I take a deep breath and start again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“What’s going on here?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Ash
steps forward, rests his hands on my waist this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You said you wanted to talk.” He lowers his
head, like he’s going to kiss me and I know—I know—if his lips come into
contact with mine I’m going to forget my own name let alone everything I’m
supposed to do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">I
slam my hands against his chest, push him firmly away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Yes, talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Talk.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not screw.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Huh.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His face is close enough that I can make out
the confused expression he’s wearing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Really?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes,
really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean did you really think I
meant …”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I let the ending dangle there,
too embarrassed to say it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
shrugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well, yeah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought it was a euphemism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, it usually is when a girl comes
looking for me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">It
usually— Who is this guy? “Seriously?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
mean, you really fuck girls you just met in the storage closet behind where you
rent out lifejackets to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">five-year-olds</i>?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 180.35pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He reaches over, flips on a light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For long seconds, we stare at each other,
blinking, as we try to adjust to the sudden change in brightness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally, he shrugs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grins this little, shit-eating,
self-deprecating curve of his lip that makes my stomach flutter all over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I mean, not always in the storage
closet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are a lot of other places
to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s the coat room, the
changing room, the bathroom—“</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">“I get it!” </span><br />Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-10210008657356776502014-02-06T08:58:00.001-06:002014-02-06T08:58:12.474-06:00New Trailer for Shredded :)<br /><br />
<br /><br />
Today I thought I'd share with you the fun trailer my publisher made for Shredded, my brand new new adult book. It's the first book in the Extreme Risk series, and I'm thrilled it's finally available. <b>And don't forget to stop by tomorrow to check out a sneak peak of Shattered, the second book in the series! </b> Have a great rest of the week :)<br /><br />
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qNw6n94wOJE" width="480"></iframe>Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-63584196902368490582014-02-05T04:06:00.002-06:002014-02-05T04:06:46.321-06:00The Fourth #ExtremeWednesday!!!Hi Everyone :)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
So excited that it is release week for Shredded! Thanks to everyone who has bought Shredded, read Shredded, tweeted or Facebooked about Shredded ... I really appreciate and love you guys so much! Thank you, thank you, thank you!<br />
<br />
To celebrate, I'm putting up a new and exclusive excerpt of Shredded. Hope you like it :)<br />
<u><b><br /></b></u>
<u><b>Blurb:</b></u><br />
<b>In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot
snowboarder and a rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a
future with each other.</b><br /> <br /> Twenty-one-year-old professional
snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always
had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But
underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take
the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes.
In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his
emotional suffering with physical pain.<br /> <br /> Ophelia Richardson
isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s
no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen,
godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing
accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both
physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a
boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon
discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more
damaged than she is.<br /> <br /> Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia
find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented
pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a
downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength
in each other to trust, grow, and love again.<br /><br /><b>Advance praise for <i>Shredded</i></b><br />“Z from Tracy Wolff’s <i>Shredded</i> is so hot he will melt your heart!”<b>—<i>New York Times </i>bestselling author Monica Murphy</b><br /><br />“<i>Shredded</i> features two gorgeously damaged characters and an amazingly written story that kept me on the edge of my seat! Love it!”<b>—Toni Aleo, <i>New York Times</i> and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author of the Assassins series</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
Excerpt:<br />
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<br />
<div class="sp">
“I’m not doing it.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Come on, Ophelia. Just try.”</div>
<div class="p">
“I don’t need to try.” I cross my arms over my chest and look
anywhere but at Z. “It’s not going to happen.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Yes, it is.”</div>
<div class="p">
I make a frustrated sound deep in my throat. “Just because we had
sex a few times doesn’t mean you have the right to tell me what to do.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“No,” he agrees. “But the fact that I beat the hell out of an
asshole who was trying to rape you in the woods yesterday does. It’s not safe
for you to keep doing that walk between the lodge and your room. Especially not
at night.”</div>
<div class="p">
“I didn’t ask for your help.”</div>
<div class="p">
“That’s part of the problem, isn’t it?” He leans back against the
car, shoves his hands in his pockets even as he crosses his long legs in front
of him. “You don’t know how to ask for help.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I ask when I need it.”</div>
<div class="p">
“You need it now.” He pulls his right hand from his pocket, and
clutched in his fingers is the key to his Range Rover. He presses it into my
hand. “Get in the driver’s seat, Ophelia.”</div>
<div class="p">
“No.”</div>
<div class="p">
“It looks like we’re going to be here a while, then.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“No, <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">you’re</span></span></span> going to be here a while. I’m walking to the
bus. I want to go shopping.” I talk big, but I don’t move. It’s like I’m frozen
in place, the key he gave me burning my palm as surely as if he’d handed me a
live flame.</div>
<div class="p">
“I told you I’d take you shopping. But I want to give you a driving
lesson first.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I know how to drive. In fact, I’m probably a better driver than you
are.” Remi spent months, <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">years</span></span></span>, making sure I could handle a
car in any eventuality. It was his big condition before he ever let me behind
the wheel to drag-race.</div>
<div class="p">
“Of course you know how to drive. But you’re from New Orleans.
When’s the last time you drove on ice or snow?” When I don’t answer, he
continues. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. But you can’t hide from it forever.
You live in one of the biggest snow towns in the freakin’ country. You need to
know how to deal with the weather.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">am</span></span></span>
dealing with it.”</div>
<div class="p">
“No, you’re running away from it. But that stops now.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Our eyes lock and I glare at him, pissed that he sees through my
smokescreen and even more pissed that he’s forcing the issue. Who knew that Z,
who spends most of his life coasting from one party to the next, could dig his
heels in so adamantly? But he has, and I have a feeling we’ll be here all day
if I don’t give in to him.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I’m almost willing to do it, to just stand here and wait for hell to
freeze over or Z to give up. But at the same time, there’s a part of me that
knows he’s right. That I can’t spend my whole life avoiding driving. The snow
and ice have given me an excuse so far, but at some point . . . at some point
I’m just going to have to do it.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
That point might as well be now, especially since Z is currently
doing his impression of the immovable-object-meets-unstoppable-force paradox.
Either way, I’m smart enough to know I’m screwed.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Fine,” I tell him, stomping around the car to the driver’s side.
“I’ll do it.” But if he starts to crow about getting me do to what he wants or if
he acts arrogant in any other way, I am so out of here.</div>
<div class="p">
However, Z is surprisingly low-key when he slides into the passenger
side, almost as if he knows how ready to bolt I am. And maybe he does. He
figured out about the driving thing when no one else has yet, not even my mom
or friends back home. Which means he’s looking a lot closer than I thought he
was, seeing so much more of me than I thought I was revealing.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Driving on snow is not that much different from driving in rain,”
he tells me after we’ve both put our seatbelts on. “In rain you worry about
hydroplaning. In snow you worry about the same thing, especially since there
actually is that layer of water between the car and the road. So, to compensate
for it, you have to learn to use the car’s own forward momentum instead of
pressing on the gas all the time.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused already.</div>
<div class="p">
“Put the car in second instead of drive,” he tells me. He parked the
Range Rover near the front curb earlier so that I wouldn’t have to worry about
backing out of a spot yet. “And just let it creep forward. Don’t touch the gas
or the brake; just let the car move forward on its own.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I do as he says and we start moving at about one mile an hour. After
a minute, I glance at him from the corner of my eye. “We aren’t going to get
very far at this speed.”</div>
<div class="p">
He rolls his eyes at me. “Bored already?”</div>
<div class="p">
“No. Just . . .” Impatient. Impatient to get started, impatient to
finish. Impatient to get my life back. Or at least this small corner of it.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I get it,” he tells me, dropping a hand on my knee, and I think
maybe he does. God knows he seems to understand everything else. Strange, when
a few days ago I would have said he didn’t understand anything.</div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-44625961118182609162014-02-04T02:58:00.002-06:002014-02-05T04:08:17.299-06:00Shredded Comes Out Today!!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
Hi Everyone!<br />
<br />
I am so, so, so excited for you to meet Z and Ophelia!!! For me, Shredded is one of those books-- I struggled with it while writing it (Z's not an easy guy to get to know) but now that it's done, I love it so much, and really hope that you will, too!<br />
<br />
To celebrate Shredded's release, I'm putting up an exclusive excerpt every day this week-- culminating with an excerpt from Book 2, Shattered, on Friday of this week. So remember to stop by and take a look! Here's a link for<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EBRUB5C/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0J2HYZY5HAV3PH428WQW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"> Amazon</a> and here's one for <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shredded-tracy-wolff/1117135306?ean=978080417684" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>, just in case you're interested ....<br />
XOXO<br />
<br />
<b><u>Blurb:</u></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot snowboarder and a rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a future with each other.</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Twenty-one-year-old professional snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes. In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his emotional suffering with physical pain.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ophelia Richardson isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen, godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more damaged than she is.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength in each other to trust, grow, and love again.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Advance praise for <i>Shredded</i></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“Z from Tracy Wolff’s </span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shredded</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> is so hot he will melt your heart!”</span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">—<i>New York Times </i>bestselling author Monica Murphy</b><br />
<br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">“</span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Shredded</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> features two gorgeously damaged characters and an amazingly written story that kept me on the edge of my seat! Love it!”</span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">—Toni Aleo, <i>New York Times</i> and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author of the Assassins series</b><br />
<br />
<div class="pf">
<b><u>Excerpt</u></b></div>
<div class="pf">
He doesn’t react right away. And when he does, it’s not at all the way
I expect.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Maybe it’s the insulated snowboarding pants or maybe it’s his too-cool
attitude, but Z doesn’t screech or yell or even curse. He just looks at me,
that too-gorgeous-for-his-own-or-anyone-else’s-good face of his frozen in
surprise. Whether it’s because I dumped the drink on him or because he’s
finally figured out that I played him, I don’t know and I don’t care. All that
matters is he gets the message and leaves me the hell alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Still, some instinct deep inside me whispers that not much surprises
him. The fact that I did makes me happier than it should.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
And then he smiles, and I know I’m right. Because it isn’t that
come-sit-on-the-big-bad-wolf’s-lap-and-let-him-take-a-little-bite-out-of-you
smile that he leveled at me a few minutes ago, the one that weakened my knees
and nearly melted my brain cells along with those of every other female in the
vicinity. No, this is a real smile. A genuine grin ripe with amusement, speculation,
and something else I can’t even begin to identify.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
But whatever that unknown thing is, I’ve been around the block
enough to know that I’m in trouble. That this meeting probably won’t end well
between us. At least not for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Still, what was I supposed to do? Stand here with my heart pounding
and my knees knocking together like some kind of ripe-for-the-picking damsel in
distress?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Throw myself at him like every other girl in a hundred-mile radius
does?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Let him think I’m going to be just another notch on his snowboard?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I don’t think so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I did what had to be done, nipped his totally impersonal pursuit in
the bud before it got completely out of hand. It’s not that I think I’m in any
danger of falling for him—rich, pretty boys like Z make me break out in hives, especially
when they’re adrenaline junkies. But still, I’m not taking any chances.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Not after what happened in New Orleans.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Just the thought of Louisiana, of Remi, has my stomach churning and
my chest aching. I’ve been doing so well, too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Minding my own business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Getting my life back in order.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Looking into classes at the community college so I won’t be stuck in
this dead-end job—this dead-end life—forever.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
At least until Mr. My-Balls-Are-Even-Bigger-than-My-Bank-Account here
comes along and decides to mess with me just because he can. Fury burns through
my veins at the thought, and I glare at Z. Suddenly I’m itching to dump another
cup of coffee on him. One that isn’t iced this time. But I need this job, and
already people are pointing and staring. If my aunt or uncle passes by and sees
all the commotion, I’ll be out of <span class="i">another</span> job. And seeing as I’ve already gotten banished
from the gift shop <span class="i">and</span>
one of the restaurants in the twelve days I’ve been here, I’m kind of running
out of options.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Annoyed but resigned to doing some kind of damage control, I pull
out a clean rag from under the counter and thrust it toward him. “Here. You can
use this to clean up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“I’ve got it, thanks.” His grin widens, and it only ticks me off to
see that my ire amuses him. At least until he reaches for the back neckline of
his shirt and pulls it over his head in one smooth movement. By the time he
starts dabbing at his black pants with it, my anger is a thing of the past. And
so are my brain cells.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I can’t help it. I try to stay pissed, but it’s hard to actually
formulate thoughts—any thoughts—when I’m confronted with a half-naked Z.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I mean, the guy’s an alien. He has to be, because human beings just
don’t look like this. At least not outside of magazine shoots and Hollywood
movies. And maybe not even there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Despite the winter weather, his skin is a soft, golden bronze that’s
a testament to just how much time he spends outside with his shirt off—despite
the snow. His arms are big, his shoulders well developed. And his abs. Omigod,
his abs are a work of art. Forget six-pack. This guy has an eight-working-on-ten-pack,
and for a second—just a second—my eyes nearly cross as I imagine what it would
be like to lick a path straight from his collarbone to his navel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
He shifts a little under my scrutiny and for the first time I notice
the scars he’s got—on his arm, his chest, over his ribs, down the side of his
abs. Way too many scars for a normal guy to have. But he isn’t a normal guy, I
remind myself. He’s a snowboarder, one known for taking crazy risks and doing
really wild stunts. Is it any wonder his body is so torn up?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Not that the scars make him look bad. Just the opposite. Somehow
they only reinforce the beauty of all that hard-packed muscle and golden skin.
The same way his ink does. I try to look away, but I can’t. I’m fascinated by
the tattoo that covers the entire right half of his upper body. It’s a wall of
tribal-looking flames in shades of black and gray that start somewhere below
his waist and lick all the way up to his shoulder, over his pec, and down his
right arm. It’s beautiful, really well designed, and sexy as hell. On his left
side is another tattoo, this one a bunch of words in a fancy black script that
I’m too far away to read. But I want to. Suddenly I’m dying to know what words
are so important that a guy like Z would brand himself with them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Something tickles the side of my chin and I have an abrupt,
mortifying fear that it’s my own saliva. That I am literally standing here
drooling at the work of art that is Z Michaels. I dash my hand over my chin
just in case. Turns out I haven’t lost complete control of my salivary
glands—it’s just a lock of hair that escaped from my bun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
The realization snaps my brain back into action. A few seconds too
late, but I’m a big believer in better late than never. Or at least I am now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“You know, we have a rule here at the Lost Canyon coffee bar,” I
tell him with a little flick of my fingers. “No shirts, no shoes, no service.
You should probably go take care of that somewhere else.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
The dark eyes he turns on me are filled with disbelief and maybe,
just maybe, a hint of respect. I’ve spent days watching how the female
population around here responds to this guy, and I’m pretty sure that I’m the
first one to call him on his shit since he hit puberty. Possibly even before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Just look at the girl he came in with. He was all over her when they
first walked into the lodge, just like he’s been every time I’ve caught a
glimpse of him the last few days. Not that I was looking for him or anything.
But still. Then, within five minutes of being here, he’s hanging out with
another girl—the trashy-looking one who threw herself in his path like a pilot
on a kamikaze mission.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Though, to be honest, it’s hard to blame him for the second girl.
Whoever she was, the look she’d given him had told Z loud and clear that she
didn’t mind if he climbed on right there in the middle of the coffee bar. My
only surprise was that he hadn’t taken little Miss Can’t-Open-My-Legs-Fast-Enough
up on the offer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Not that it’s any of my business—at least not until he came up to
the counter and started in on me. I don’t care if every other girl in town is
okay with whatever tiny piece of Z she can sink her claws into. I don’t play
that way, even if I am interested in a guy. Which, in this case, I definitely
am not. After what happened with Remi, there’s no way I’d touch this guy with a
fifty-foot pole.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Wait a minute,” he asks when he finally gets his slack jaw working
again. “You’re refusing to serve me, even though it’s completely your fault
that I’m shirtless?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“First of all, I offered you a towel. You’re the one who decided to
take your shirt off. Second, I’m being generous and not charging you for the
spilled drink. And third, I don’t make the rules. I just follow them.” Again, I
flick my fingers at him like he’s a particularly annoying gnat. “So move along
before someone from management sees you and has you removed from the building.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
He snorts, like even the chance of that is too far-fetched to
contemplate. Which it probably is. My aunt and uncle love the fact that he
comes here to practice with his friends. At dinner the other night they were
talking about how to convince him to sign on with them like his friends had. So
far they’ve offered him everything but part ownership in the lodge, and he’s
turned it all down.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Must be nice to have so much money from endorsements and
sponsorships and family that you can just walk away from a shitload of it for
no reason at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Management is going to remove <span class="i">me</span> from the building?” he asks incredulously. “You’re the
one who just dumped a drink down my pants.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I feel the need to clarify. “<span class="i">On</span> your pants, not down them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“I didn’t realize there was that big a difference.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="p">
“Yeah, I bet you tell that to all the girls.”<o:p></o:p></div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-15915514115431206032014-02-02T09:30:00.003-06:002014-02-02T09:30:26.055-06:00Guess What!!!Wow, wow, wow, you guys! Entangled is doing something totally amazing with my February 24th, 2014 release. Right now, Drive Me Crazy, the second book in the Shaken Dirty rock series, is on sale for $.99!!!!!!! Holy Cow! I don't know how long it'll be that cheap, so if you're interested, here's a link for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Crazy-Shaken-Entangled-Brazen-ebook/dp/B00I1VX9YO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391354539&sr=1-1&keywords=drive+me+crazy+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Amazon</a>! Check it out if you get the chance!!!!!!Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-18389191607372857252014-02-01T08:24:00.000-06:002014-02-05T04:08:50.942-06:00First Ever Shaken Dirty Saturday!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xwThk5trh3E/Uu0DOe-UPAI/AAAAAAAAAjg/Er5wgFTUaFk/s1600/drive+me+crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xwThk5trh3E/Uu0DOe-UPAI/AAAAAAAAAjg/Er5wgFTUaFk/s1600/drive+me+crazy.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a>Hi Everyone! I'm so excited because it is finally time to start talking about<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Crazy-Shaken-Entangled-Brazen-ebook/dp/B00I1VX9YO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391263967&sr=8-1&keywords=drive+me+crazy+tracy+wolff" target="_blank"> Drive Me Crazy</a>, the <br />
second book in my Shaken Dirty rocker series for Entangled!!!! Woo-hoo! I love this book. I really, really love this book. It's a little different than what I usually write-- both Quinn and Elise are damaged, but it still has a little lighter tone than usual. For example, they prank each other throughout the book and I have to admit I had SUCH a good time thinking up those pranks with my friends :)<br />
<br />
Anyway, Drive Me Crazy is Quinn's book (as I mentioned above) and it will be out on February 24th. And for those of you who are wondering ... yes, Wyatt's book is third!!!! So anyway, here's a quick look at Drive Me Crazy, which is up for pre-order now. Hope you like it!<br />
<br />
<i><b>Blurb:</b></i><br />
<div>
<i>His rival’s in his bed, and this rocker is ready to play.</i>Former rivals Quinn Bradford and Elise McKinney are <i>not</i>
friends, at least not anymore. As teens, all they cared about was
psyching each other out before concerts. But when Quinn—now the
keyboardist for Shaken Dirty, the hottest rock band on the scene—returns
to his hometown and hears about the car accident that shattered Elise’s
career, he’s determined to make things right.<br />
Elise wants nothing
to do with an arrogant rock star, despite how bad she so clearly wants
him, so Quinn kidnaps the stubborn little piano player and whisks her
back to his mansion. A little seduction might be just the thing to keep
Elise under his care…and in his bed. But amid pranks both childish and <i>very </i>adult, their past comes rearing back to haunt them. And it might be more than either of them can forget.<br />
<br />
Excerpt:<br />
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Before
she could say another word, Quinn ripped the phone out of her grasp and threw
it as hard as he could. He’d expected it to land on the lawn or in some bushes,
somewhere where it would take her a couple minutes to retrieve it. Instead, it
soared well over the hedges and landed, with a plop, in the huge stone fountain
that filled the center of his courtyard.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">For
long seconds, neither of them moved. They just stared at the fountain in
wide-eyed, open-mouthed astonishment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Elise
recovered first. “You didn’t!” she screeched at him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But
he had. He really had. Amusement bubbled up inside him and though he knew it
was akin to suicide, he couldn’t stop himself from bending over and laughing
his ass off—all under her vengeance filled eyes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
bastard! You dirty bastard!” She fumbled for the door handle and all but fell
out of the car. “That’s my phone.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I
know, I know.” He did the best to swallow his amusement, but every time he
looked into her astonished eyes, he just ended up laughing harder. He couldn’t
help it. She looked like a puffer fish, all gaping mouth and head about to
explode. “I’m sorry.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yeah,
I can tell.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Fueled
by fury and a good dose of righteous indignation, she marched up his driveway,
across his lawn, and straight up to the cell-phone swallowing fountain. He was
right behind her, making sure that she didn’t stumble or fall—she might be more
alive than he’d seen her all week, but she was still only three days out of
surgery, not to mention heavily medicated.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Once
at the fountain, Elise bent over and tried to fish out her phone. But to do
that, she had to brace herself on her injured hand and, even with the cast, it
wasn’t ready yet to support her. His amusement fled instantly—even before she
gave a yelp of pain—and then he was picking her up and carrying her away from
the fountain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“What
are you doing?” she screeched, this time loudly enough to break the sound
barrier. “Let me down! You can’t just manhandle me whenever you want, Quinn!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“While
that’s a nice thought, Lissy, I was just trying to keep you from injuring
yourself worse.” Still, he carefully put her back on her feet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
should have thought of that before you dragged me out here to the middle of
nowhere!” She stomped her ballet flat clad foot hard and he tried to swallow
another round of laughter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Unfortunately,
he failed. But he couldn’t help it. It was just so incongruous seeing her like
this—flipping out over a phone. And the minor matter of being kidnapped, but he
was choosing not to dwell on that fact.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I
need my phone, Quinn!” This time when her foot came down, it was right on the
top of his toes. Since he was wearing flip-flops instead of his normal boots,
she actually managed to do a little bit of damage. Not that he intended to let
her see that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I’ll
get it. Just chill.” He headed back toward the fountain. “Not that I think
it’ll do much good at this point. That thing is toast,” he told her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Maybe
if we pack it in rice.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Maybe.”
Who was he to shatter her illusions, after all? But his band mates had done any
manner of things involving their iPhones and water through the years and not
once had he ever seen the phones actually recover from the abuse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Elise’s
phone had landed near the center of the huge fountain, and he had to bend over
and stretch all the way out to reach it. Poor Elise hadn’t stood a chance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">His
fingers had just closed over the dark red case when Elise walked up behind him.
“I’ve got it,” he told her, not bothering to look behind him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Good,”
she answered, right before he felt both her hands in the middle of his back. Then
she was shoving as hard as she could and he was falling, face first, into the
three foot deep fountain.</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">***</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Quinn
came up spluttering and dripping, his once perfectly coiffed hair falling in
clumpy strands over his forehead and down his cheeks. A stray leaf was stuck to
his chin, while a couple purple flower petals decorated the tips of his
crazy-long eyelashes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
was the one laughing then, hysterical snorts she had no control over. At least
until Quinn began stalking toward her with hot eyes and an even hotter look on
his face. Her phone was clutched in his hand and Elise knew if she wanted it,
she was going to have to stand her ground. But it was hard, when every instinct
she had was telling her to flee…or to throw herself at him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
wasn’t sure what it said about her that the second option was the one she found
most appealing. Especially considering the way his white T-shirt was plastered
to his muscular chest while rivulets of water ran down the hollow of his throat
before disappearing beneath the shirt’s V-neck. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">As
he stalked toward her, he reached for the hem of his shirt and ripped it over his
head before tossing it onto the ground at his feet. Again, the adrenaline
coursing through her body urged her to run. And again she just stood there. How
could she not when a half-naked Quinn was headed straight for her?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
tried to rip her eyes away from his naked abs—taking off his shirt had
definitely given him an unfair advantage—but she couldn’t do it. Not when she was
getting her first glimpse of his chest, which, to answer her question from a
couple days before, was definitely tattooed, and not when she was faced with
abs that looked like they had been chiseled from stone. Forget six-pack. Quinn
had an eight-pack and it looked amazing on him, as did the happy trail that
started below his navel and disappeared into the waistband of his low-slung
jeans.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You’re
drooling,” he told her once he’d finally stopped in front of her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Do
you blame me?” She reached out the fingers of her good hand and stroked them
down the center of his body, from breastbone to belly button. His whole stomach
contracted, his muscles growing impossibly harder and tighter beneath her hand.
“This is ridiculous.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“My
abs?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yes.
No! This whole situation. It’s ridiculous.” She dragged her eyes away from his
chest and stomach, tilting her head up so she could look him in the eyes. Then
almost wished she hadn’t as his gaze was darker and hotter than she had ever
seen it before. Not to mention focused on her with an intensity that bordered
on the predatory. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I
want—” Her voice broke, so she tried again, forcing the words past her suddenly
tight throat. “I want to go back to the city.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“You
should have thought of that before you shoved me into a fountain. Not only am I
half naked, but I’m pretty sure I’ve got a goldfish in my boxers, so the only
place I’m going is into my house.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“A
goldfish?” Her eyes were drawn, against her will, to the area in question.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Yeah.
My gardener’s brilliant idea of the month was to introduce goldfish to the
fountain. Next time I see him I’m going to let him know it was an epic fail.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Again
with the goldfish? They were around so much that if she was a superhero, she’d
think the damn things were her nemesis. “Should you, uh, try to get it out?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Is
that your way of asking me to get naked?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“What?”
She felt her cheeks catch fire. “No! Of course not. I was just thinking of the
poor fish. If we could get him back into the water quickly, he might be okay.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
quirked a brow at her. “The fish is really your primary concern here?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Of
course.” Ignoring the blush sweeping everywhere from her face to her ears to
down her neck, she forced herself to meet Quinn’s knowing eyes. “I’d hate for
the poor thing to die.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Holding
her gaze with his own, Quinn slowly unbuttoned the top of his jeans. Then slid a
hand into the waistband and down, down, until it came to rest right behind the
zipper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
followed that hand with her eyes—she couldn’t help it—and nearly whimpered when
he fisted himself under the faded denim. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“I
must have been mistaken,” he said after a moment, his voice low and gravelly
and so sexy that she felt her nipples peak in response. “There’s nothing here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Considering
the already impressive size of his erection, the words were so patently untrue
that Elise didn’t bother calling him on them. Then again, she wasn’t sure she
could have formed a coherent sentence even if she wanted to. Not when he was
stroking himself under her hot gaze, his fist moving back and forth along the
length of his cock.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Of
course, if you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to check.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
forced herself to swallow, despite the fact that her mouth had gone bone dry. “Check?”
She tried to sound scandalized instead of intrigued.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Quinn
grinned, slowly stroked himself once more before he pulled out. “For the fish. In
case I missed something.” He left his jeans unbuttoned in an open invitation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">If
another guy had done something like this to her, she would have told him
off—and made him feel like the biggest loser in the world while she was doing
it. It was just one of the many perks that came with being a “frigid bitch,” as
more than one of her dates had called her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">But
after watching Quinn do that, she was as aroused as he was. Maybe more. But she
refused to let him see it, refused to let him have all the power in this
equation. She’d done that last time and it hadn’t worked out very well for her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Injecting
a carelessness into her voice that she was far from feeling, she told him,
“I’ll take your word for it. Besides, you’re right. It doesn’t look like
there’s anything there, after all.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">She
expected a witty comeback, narrowed eyes, maybe a little bit of insulted
manhood. Instead, what she got was so much better. And so much worse.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">He
reached forward, scooped her up in his arms. Then turned on his heel and took
off up the winding, concrete path that led to his front door. </span></div>
</div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-33285639372952753442014-01-28T20:01:00.001-06:002014-01-28T20:02:57.568-06:00The Third #ExtremeWednesday!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>Hi Everyone! Hope you're all keeping warm-- it's freezing here in Texas and we're in the middle of <br />
yet another snow day (which really means ice or sleet here, but you know ;) Anyway, I am so, so excited about the fact that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shredded-Extreme-Novel-Flirt-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EBRUB5C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390960200&sr=8-1&keywords=shredded+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Shredded</a> comes out NEXT WEEK! I can't believe it. It seems like I've been waiting forever for Z's story to be available. To celebrate, here's another excerpt Shredded, the first in my new Extreme Risk New Adult Series.<br />
<br />
<u><i><b>Blurb:</b></i></u><br />
<b>In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot
snowboarder and a rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a
future with each other.</b><br />
<br />
Twenty-one-year-old professional
snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always
had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But
underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take
the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes.
In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his
emotional suffering with physical pain.<br />
<br />
Ophelia Richardson
isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s
no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen,
godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing
accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both
physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a
boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon
discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more
damaged than she is.<br />
<br />
Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia
find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented
pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a
downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength
in each other to trust, grow, and love again.<br />
<br />
<b>Advance praise for <i>Shredded</i></b><br />
<br />
“Z from Tracy Wolff’s <i>Shredded</i> is so hot he will melt your heart!”<b>—<i>New York Times </i>bestselling author Monica Murphy</b><br />
<br />
“<i>Shredded</i> features two gorgeously damaged characters and an amazingly written story that kept me on the edge of my seat! Love it!”<b>—Toni Aleo, <i>New York Times</i> and <i>USA Today</i> bestselling author of the Assassins series</b><br />
<br />
<u><i><b>Excerpt:</b></i></u><br />
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</b><br />
<div class="p">
Z’s smile is back and for the first time I realize it’s not the
smile I’m used to. Not the little half smirk, half grin he gives the world. No,
this smile lights up his face. It creases his cheeks and the skin around his
eyes. It’s a real smile, I realize with a mixture of discomfort and delight.
For the first time since I met him—other than in bed last night—I think I’m
getting to see the real Z. The one only Luc and Ash and Cam ever get to see.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Good. You get dressed and I’ll make coffee.” He drops a quick kiss
on my forehead before turning away.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I watch him walk away, my eyes glued to his very fine ass even as I
wonder who actually looks that good in a pair of thick snowboarding pants. The
answer is no one. No one, that is, except Z Michaels.</div>
<div class="p">
Though I dragged out my shower forever, I race through getting
ready. I don’t know how long Z is planning on staying—probably not long—and I
don’t want to miss a minute of the time I can spend with him. I know it’s a bad
idea, know I’ll be disappointed if I put any hope at all into this thing
between Z and me.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Which is stupid, I tell myself as I scramble into a pair of leggings
and a fluffy green oversized sweater. It’s not like I want anything from him
except breakfast. It’s just that it might be kind of nice to be his friend. I
don’t have any, and he doesn’t have many. . . .</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I don’t know. It’s just that there seems to be a lot more to him
than what he lets people see. I want to know what’s there.</div>
<div class="p">
By the time I get a little bit of makeup on and my hair dried with a
diffuser—which takes forever—Z has breakfast laid out on my tiny table.
Chocolate croissants; breakfast sandwiches with egg, cheese, and bacon; fresh
winter fruit salad.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“That’s a lot of food,” I tell him, eyes wide.</div>
<div class="p">
“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got a few different things.
Plus, I eat a lot, so . . .” He ends with a shrug.</div>
<div class="p">
“Right.” Sudden comprehension dawns. “The snowboarding thing.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Yeah. The snowboarding thing.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I grab one of the plates he put on the table, heap it high with
fruit and a big chocolate croissant, then grab a fork and my coffee before
crossing to the bed.</div>
<div class="p">
“You want to eat there?” he asks, eyebrows raised.</div>
<div class="p">
“Don’t you know? There’s nothing better than breakfast in bed.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Nothing? Damn. Obviously I did something wrong last night.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Fishing for compliments is <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">so</span></span></span> unattractive,” I tell him with a
grin. “Especially when you know just how <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">right</span></span></span> you did everything
last night.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Oh, yeah?” He grabs a plate, shovels an astonishing amount of food
onto it. “You think I did everything right?”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I did come like nine times.” I watch as he settles next to me on
the bed. “And then you brought me chocolate for breakfast. I’m not sure what
more of a job performance review you want.”</div>
<div class="p">
“The chocolate’s the key, huh?”</div>
<div class="p">
“I’m not going to lie. It helps.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I’ll remember that.” He leans forward, presses soft kisses across
my jaw and down my throat. “And for the record, you came ten times.”</div>
<div class="p">
That startles a laugh out of me. “You kept track? Wow, Z, you’re a
real romantic.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
He arches a brow at me. “In some circles, ten orgasms<span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;"> could</span></span></span> be
considered romantic.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“In some circles, <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">one</span></span></span> orgasm could be considered
romantic.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Well, then I’m ahead of the game.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Which is exactly how you like it.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Damn straight,” he says with a nod. “But if you want, we could go
for eleven, just to make sure.”</div>
<div class="p">
I narrow my eyes at him. “How come I think eleven is actually code
for twenty?”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Because you’re a smart girl.” He reaches over and rubs his thumb
firmly over my nipple. Heat streaks through me, and I arch into his touch,
despite myself. “And a sexy one.”</div>
<div class="p">
My breath catches in my throat as he puts our plates on the floor
before sliding his hand over my stomach and into my leggings. Still, I manage
to ask, “You think I’m sexy?”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Now who’s fishing for compliments?” he whispers as he strokes
gentle circles around my clit.</div>
<div class="p">
The boy knows what he’s doing—God, does he know what he’s doing—and
it only takes a minute or two before I’m trembling over the edge of orgasm
number eleven.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“And for the record,” he whispers against my lips in between long,
drugging kisses, “I think you’re very sexy. I also think you did everything
right last night, too.”</div>
<div class="p">
I roll my eyes, nip at his lower lip. “Well, obviously.”</div>
<div class="p">
He laughs. “That’s some ego you’ve got going on there.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Not really,” I say as I shift to kneel between his knees. “After
all, you’re still here, aren’t you? I figure that’s all the performance review
I need.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Yeah.” He turns serious fast. “I’m still here.”</div>
<div class="p">
“In case I didn’t say it earlier, I’m really glad you are.” I tug
his pants down below his knees. “And since you are . . .” I deliver a long,
lingering lick to his very aroused cock, then suck it deep into my mouth.</div>
<div class="p">
He doesn’t say anything else for a while, but then again, neither do
I.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Thanks for checking out this #Extreme Wednesday! Make sure to check back next week for another excerpt :) </div>
<b><br /></b>Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-70774438587645659182014-01-22T12:42:00.000-06:002014-01-22T12:42:12.793-06:00Welcome to the second #ExtremeWednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
Hi Guys! Sorry this is so late going up-- MLK Jr. day messed up my head and I was convinced today was Tuesday ...<br />
Anyway, here's the second excerpt from Shredded, the first in my new adult snowboarder series that comes out on February 3 :) Hope you enjoy Z!<br />
<br />
<u><i><b>Blurb: </b></i></u><br />
<b>In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot
snowboarder and a rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a
future with each other.</b><br /> <br /> Twenty-one-year-old professional
snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always
had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But
underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take
the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes.
In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his
emotional suffering with physical pain.<br /> <br /> Ophelia Richardson
isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s
no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen,
godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing
accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both
physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a
boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon
discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more
damaged than she is.<br /> <br /> Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia
find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented
pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a
downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength
in each other to trust, grow, and love again.<br /><br />
<u><i><b>Excerpt:</b></i></u> <br />
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<br />
<div class="p">
I stiffen despite myself, then glance at Luc to see if he’s now
plotting to throw <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">me</span></span></span> off the mountain. But he’s too
absorbed in the camera debacle at the moment to pay much attention to where Cam
is or what she’s doing.</div>
<div class="p">
“What’s up?” I ask her after the silence between us gets
uncomfortably long.</div>
<div class="p">
“You know you can talk to me, right?”</div>
<div class="p">
“Yeah, sure.”</div>
<div class="p">
“I’m serious.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Me too.” I shoot her a baffled look. “I thought we were talking
right now.”</div>
<div class="p">
“You know what I mean. I’m worried about you. We all are.”</div>
<div class="p">
Damn. Now it’s a tag-team intervention? What the hell does a guy
have to do to self-destruct in peace around here? “I’m fine, Cam.”</div>
<div class="p">
“You always say that.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Because it’s always true.” My heart’s pounding like I just barged a
run, and it’s all I can do to stand still. I wait another few seconds,
expecting her to step back, hoping she’ll take the hint and stop touching me.
But she doesn’t. Instead, she moves closer, wraps her arm around my waist,
rests her head on my shoulder. I can feel it—the pressure building up inside me
until I’m like the cork in a champagne bottle that’s been shaken way too much.</div>
<div class="p">
When I can’t take it any longer, I step away.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Make a show of zipping up my jacket.</div>
<div class="p">
And ignore the look of hurt that flashes across her face.</div>
<div class="p">
Immediately the cold seeps back in, but I refuse to react. Cam’s
watching me closely, looking for any chink in my armor, and I refuse to give it
to her. Refuse to let her in any closer than she already is. She might be my
friend along with Ash and Luc, but there are some things even best friends
shouldn’t see. Shouldn’t know.</div>
<div class="p">
Except . . . “I know this is a bad week for you, Z. You can run from
it all you want, but it’s not going to go away.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
This time when she places a hand on my shoulder, it’s pure instinct
to knock it off. Pure self-preservation. “Jesus, Cam, will you please just
leave it the fuck alone? If I wanted to go all hippie commune and talk about my
shit, believe me, I would.”</div>
<div class="p">
“It’s not healthy—”</div>
<div class="p">
“Really?” I cut her off. “What about my life makes you think I give
a fuck about being healthy?”</div>
<div class="p">
“Come on, Z.”</div>
<div class="p">
“You come on.” I drop my board on the ground, strap my right foot
in.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Cam knows what’s going to happen, and she narrows her eyes at me
even as she steps back to give me room. “You can’t run away from this
conversation forever, you know.”</div>
<div class="p">
The adrenaline rush is already starting, drowning out her voice and
all the other shit I don’t want to deal with right now. I look back at Luc and
Ash, who’ve finally got their cameras mounted and working, and think about
joining them on the run they’re about to take. It’s what they’re expecting, and
I almost do it. Almost push off and glide over there so we can board the trail
together. We’re backcountry, so the run is pretty raw and unstructured, but the
truth is it’s just not what I’m in the mood for right now. I want something
hard, something that’ll take every ounce of concentration I’ve got. Maybe then
I can stop thinking about all the different ways I’ve fucked up.</div>
<div class="p">
With that in mind, I strap my left foot in, and without giving the
others any warning about what I’m planning, I push off from the little plateau
I’m on.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
And then I’m fucking flying.</div>
<div class="p">
Cam screams as I go over the edge, but the sound is drowned out in
the rush as I board straight down the side of this fucking mountain. There’s no
real trail, no path to follow, nothing but a narrow crevice with steep walls on
either side.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
One wrong move and I’m toast—I can slam into one of the jagged
walls, plow into one of the huge rocks that spring up every few feet, or just
lose control and go tumbling head over heels. But I’m not planning on doing any
of the above. At least not right now. This is virgin backcountry chute, and I’m
riding this bitch all the way down.</div>
<div class="p">
There’s a dip up ahead of me and I know if I hit it at just the
right speed and angle, it’ll launch me about twenty feet into the air, so I
brace myself, get ready—</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Hot fucking damn. I really am flying. I pull a trick, a sick 1080
inverted cab, then bend my knees and brace myself for the first landing. I hit
hard but keep control as I rocket down what is now an almost completely
vertical chute.</div>
<div class="p">
I have one brief holy-shit moment, one quick second to think that
maybe this isn’t a good idea after all. But it’s too fucking late to worry
about dying. All I can do now is ride.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
So I do, twisting and turning to accommodate the rock formations and
trees and fucking boulders that seem to pop up out of nowhere. I hit a couple
more lips, catch some sick air off them, and manage to bust out a couple more
tricks. I pull off another 1440 and a wicked double backside rodeo 1080, but
most of the time I’m just enjoying the most kick-ass ride of my life.</div>
<div class="p">
In the middle of it all, my sat phone starts to ring. I know it’s
Ash or Cam or Luc calling to bitch me out, but it’s not like I can exactly
answer right now. I’m too busy trying not to die.</div>
<div class="p">
I hit another lip, this one so huge I’d swear it was a manmade ramp
if I didn’t know better. Bracing myself, I do everything I can to gather speed
going into it, ’cuz the only thing worse than coming off one of these things
fast is coming off it slow.</div>
<div class="p">
I make it up the ramp, launch out into the air, and have my
second—and biggest—oh-shit moment of the ride. Because there’s nothing fucking
there. I’m free-falling . . . fifty, a hundred, two hundred feet, maybe more. I
can’t tell at this point. It’s fucking ridiculous. The biggest air of my life
and I’m too focused on trying to find the ground to even a pull a trick.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Finally—finally—it’s rushing at me. I twist around, try to get a
decent look at what I’m going to be dealing with when I come down. The slant is
good and the pow looks like it’s packed pretty tight in this area, so I
deliberately relax, loosening my limbs so I won’t hyperextend anything when I
land.</div>
<div class="p">
I land better than I have any right to, on a slope that’s much
milder than the one I just came off. I think I’m getting pretty low, figure the
ride has to be almost over, so I put everything I’ve got into it, building up
my speed for what I figure has to be the last jump. This whole ride has been
fucking front, so what the hell. I pull out the trick I’ve been working on in
secret, the one nobody knows about and that I’ve never seen anybody land
before.</div>
<div class="p">
The triple McTwist 1440.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Shaun White invented the double McTwist 1260, made it famous all
over the world. But with the right air, I know I can get an extra twist and an
extra half rotation, and I can’t think of a better time to try it. I hit the
slope just right, gain some sick air, and just go for it.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I nail it.</div>
<div class="p">
I fucking nail it, right before I land in the middle of the fucking
worst grouping of trees I’ve ever seen. Then I’m speeding down the last section
of the mountain, weaving between trees and praying that I don’t slam into one
at fifty miles an hour.</div>
<br /><br />
<br />
<br />Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-91783389263865514832014-01-14T18:47:00.003-06:002014-01-14T18:48:53.164-06:00Welcome to the First Extreme Wednesday!!!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s1600/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QJRPiHPRdds/UlwrgGpiZcI/AAAAAAAAAhA/4yuUCGHqvoY/s400/shredded_subtitle_smaller.jpg" width="300" /></a>Hi, Everyone! I am so thrilled to bring you the first ever Extreme Wednesday. As some of you may<br />
know, I'm launching a New Adult snowboarder series on February 3rd-- the Extreme Risk series-- and I thought it would be fun to introduce you to Z and Ophelia today, the main characters from the first book, Shredded.<br />
<br />
<u><i><b>Blurb:</b></i></u><br />
<b>In this intense and exhilarating New Adult series debut, a hotshot
snowboarder and a rebel with a cause try to let go of the past—and find a
future with each other.</b><br />
<br />
Twenty-one-year-old professional
snowboarder Z Michaels is the bad boy of Park City, Utah. He’s always
had his pick of any girl in town—and on the competition circuit. But
underneath his cool exterior is a young man in turmoil, trying to take
the edge off tragedy by overindulging in sex and shredding the slopes.
In fact, Z’s rash behavior is a thinly veiled attempt to blunt his
emotional suffering with physical pain.<br />
<br />
Ophelia Richardson
isn’t like any girl Z has ever met. Though she’s from New Orleans, she’s
no Southern belle—and she’s not shy about being miserable in frozen,
godforsaken Park City. But after nearly dying in the same drag-racing
accident that killed her boyfriend, she needs a place to heal, both
physically and emotionally. The last thing Ophelia wants right now is a
boyfriend—especially one as rich and reckless as Z. But Ophelia soon
discovers that he isn’t what he seems. If anything, Z may be even more
damaged than she is.<br />
<br />
Feeling alone in the world, Z and Ophelia
find a connection unlike any they’ve ever known. But their tormented
pasts pull them in every direction, forcing their relationship into a
downhill slide before it even begins—unless they can find the strength
in each other to trust, grow, and love again.<br />
<br />
<u><i><b>Excerpt:</b></i></u><br />
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
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<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">By the time I
get to the counter, the tension inside me has reached critical mass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part of me expects my skin to split open
under the pressure of it any second now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Old guy has moved on, thank God, but
now there’s a small line of people between me and new girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I focus on her to the exclusion of everything
else, take this shot at checking her over to block out the rest of my fucked up
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She looks good up close, and even
though she’s wearing jeans and a turtleneck, both items are tight enough that I
can see just how smoking hot her body really is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too bad we live in the snow ‘cuz this girl
should never wear a coat.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I pass the time imagining what I’m
going to do to her when I get her alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Where I want to touch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Which spots I want to kiss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To lick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bite.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">With
her there are so many that I’m not sure where to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the nape of her neck, right below where
she’s bundled her hair into that messy bun?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the birthmark right below her jaw on the right side of her neck?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or at the tiny little dimple that flashes in
her left cheek whenever she smiles at a customer?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Wherever I start I know exactly where
I want to end up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now I’m just
torturing myself, and by the time I get to the counter, I’m grateful I’m still
in my thick snowboarding pants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Otherwise, my interest would be obvious to everyone in the damn room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“What can I get you?” she asks, her
fingers poised over the register.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
the first time I realize they’re painted a funky green that almost exactly
matches her eyes—not what I was expecting from her with all those tough girl
vibes she throws out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like the color
though, almost as much as I like knowing there’s more to her than I
thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not that it really matters, I remind
myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to fuck her, not get to
know all her twists and turns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I don’t know.” I let my voice go a
little huskier than normal, give her the half-smile that usually gets me
whatever I want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What’s good?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That depends on what you
like.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She mimics my tone exactly, but
when I search her face there’s nothing but polite professional interest
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s my second clue that I might
be in for more than I bargained for here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interested despite my less than honorable
intentions, I lean against the counter and contemplate my choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The answer I want to give her has nothing to
do with coffee and everything to do with what I’ve spent the last five minutes
fantasizing about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But something tells
me that kind of approach won’t work with her, not this girl with the
deliberately bland face, kick-ass voice and —I glance down at the hands she
still has poised over the register— trembling, green-tipped fingers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I barely bite back a grin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looks like I make her nervous, after all.
It’s the best news I’ve had all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I
like just about anything,” I finally tell her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yeah, I’ve heard that about you,”
she answers dryly, sounding less than impressed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Oh, really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what exactly have you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">heard</i>—” I glance down at the black and
silver nametag pinned to her shirt—“Ophelia?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She rolls her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I think you’ve got a pretty good idea what
people say about you, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Z</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now are you going to stand there all night
batting your eyes at me or are you actually going to order something for your
harem?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“My <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">harem</i>?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She nods toward Lila and her
friends, and this time the look on her face lets me know just how unimpressed
she is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Damn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looks like my reputation really has preceded
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or Lila’s has.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s one of the winter regulars who have a
lot more money than sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow I
doubt she’s got the intelligence—or basic good manners—to be nice to the
barista.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which means I really might be
screwed here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It matters more than it should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally I don’t give a shit what people say
about me—and they say a lot, especially since Luc, Ash and I turned pro—but
something about the way Ophelia’s looking at me is making my palms sweat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a first for me, and one I’m not all that
happy about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I barely know those girls.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Like that’s supposed to impress me?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I don’t know.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the most honest thing I’ve said all
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">would</i> impress you?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She eyes me disdainfully.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Way more than what you’ve got to offer.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>So much for honesty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why I work so hard not to put myself
out there—it always bites you in the ass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Determined to get control of the situation, I rest my hands on the
counter and lean into her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I turn
it on, the same look I gave those women earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same look that’s gotten me every girl
I’ve tried for since I lost my virginity at the age of thirteen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ophelia’s eyes go wide and she
bobbles the cup she’d reached for seconds ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This time I don’t even try to hide my smile.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Why don’t you give me something
sweet,” I suggest after she’s stared at me for a few long seconds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">“Something
… sweet?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her voice sounds strangled.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yeah.” A few strands of hair have
escaped her bun, and I reach out to stroke an errant curl before winding it
around my finger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s pretty cold outside.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You want—“<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her voice breaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s breathless now and I know this is
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve got her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel a little twinge deep inside—one that I
might identify as disappointment if I ever let myself hope for anything-- but I
ignore it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is exactly what I
wanted, after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You want something
sweet and hot?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That is how I like my coffee.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among other things, my look tells her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not that I’m cheesy enough to say shit like
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I can imply with the best of
them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ophelia’s eyes are a little hazy
now, a little unfocused, but she nods jerkily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, before I can say anything else, she heads over to the espresso
machines and fumbles around for a minute or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t look towards me once, and when
she comes back, she’s carrying a large glass of iced coffee.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Confused, I look back and forth
between her and the drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“That doesn’t
look very warm,” I finally tell her.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yeah, well, I made an executive
decision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looked like you needed
something to cool yourself down with.” And then it’s her turn to lean over the
counter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a quick second to curse
the turtleneck-- I’d really like to see what this girls’ tits look like-- right
before she dumps the coffee all over the front of my pants.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Gigi; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Gigi; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> </span></b><b>###</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b> </b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He doesn’t react right away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when he does, it’s not at all the way I
expect.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe it’s the insulated
snowboarding pants or maybe it’s his too cool attitude, but Z doesn’t screech
or yell or even curse. He just looks at me, that
too-gorgeous-for-his-own-or-anyone-else’s-good face of his frozen in
surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whether it’s because I dumped
the drink on him or because he’s finally figured out that I played him, I don’t
know and I don’t care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All that matters
is he gets the message and leaves me the hell alone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Still, some instinct deep inside me
whispers that not much surprises him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fact that I did makes me happier than it should. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And then he smiles, and I know I’m
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it isn’t that
come-sit-on-the-big-bad-wolf’s-lap-and-let-him-take-a-little-bite-out-of-you
smile that he leveled at me a few minutes ago, the one that weakened my knees
and nearly melted my brain cells along with those of every female in the
vicinity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, this is a real smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A genuine grin ripe with amusement and
speculation and something else I can’t even begin to identify.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But whatever that unknown thing is,
I’ve been around the block enough to know that I’m in trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That this meeting probably won’t end well
between us. At least not for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Still, what was I supposed to
do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stand here with my heart pounding
and my knees knocking together like some kind of
ripe-for-the-picking-damsel-in-distress?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Throw myself at him like every other
girl in a hundred mile radius does?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let him think I’m going to be just
another notch on his snowboard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I don’t think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I did what had to be done, nipped
his totally impersonal pursuit in the bud before it got completely out of
hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not that I think I’m in any
danger of falling for him—rich, pretty boys like Z make me break out in hives—
especially when they’re adrenaline junkies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But still, I’m not taking any chances. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Not
after what happened in New Orleans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Just the thought of Louisiana, of
Remi, has my stomach churning and my chest aching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve been doing so well, too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Minding
my own business.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Getting
my life back in order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Looking
into classes at the community college so I won’t be stuck in this dead end
job—this dead end life—forever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">At
least until Mr. my-balls-are-bigger-than-my-bank-account here comes along and
decides to mess with me just because he can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fury burns through my veins at the thought and I glare at Z.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly I’m itching to dump another cup of
coffee on him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One that isn’t iced this
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I need this job and already
people are pointing and staring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If my
aunt or uncle pass by and see all the commotion, I’ll be out <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">another</i> job.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And seeing as I’ve already gotten banished
from the gift shop <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and</i> one of the
restaurants in the twelve days I’ve been here, I’m kind of running out of
options. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Annoyed but resigned to doing some
kind of damage control, I pull out a clean rag from under the counter and
thrust it toward him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can use this to clean up.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I’ve got it, thanks.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His grin widens and it only ticks me off to
see that my ire amuses him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least
until he reaches for the back neckline of his shirt and pulls it over his head
in one smooth movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time he
starts dabbing at his black pants with it, my anger is a thing of the
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And so are my brain cells.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I can’t help it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to stay pissed, but it’s hard to
actually formulate thoughts—any thoughts-- when I’m confronted with a
half-naked Z.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I mean, the guy’s an alien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has to be, because human beings just don’t
look like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least not outside of
magazine shoots and Hollywood movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And maybe not even there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Despite the winter weather, his skin
is a soft, golden bronze that’s a testament to just how much time he spends
outside with his shirt off—despite the snow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His arms are big, his shoulders well-developed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And his abs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ohmigod, his abs are a work of art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Forget six pack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This guy has an
eight-working-on ten pack and for a second—just a second—my eyes nearly cross
as I imagine what it would be like to lick a path straight from his collarbone
to his navel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He shifts a little under my scrutiny
and for the first time I notice the scars he’s got—on his arm, his chest, over
his ribs, down the side of his abs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Way
too many scars for a normal guy to have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But he isn’t a normal guy, I remind myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a snowboarder, one known for taking
crazy risks and doing really wild stunts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Is it any wonder his body is so torn up?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not
that the scars make him look bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just
the opposite.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow they only
reinforce the beauty of all that hard-packed muscle and golden skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same way his ink does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to look away, but I can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m fascinated by the tattoo that covers the
entire right half of his upper body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a wall of tribal looking flames in shades of black and gray that
start somewhere below his waist and lick all the way up to his shoulder, over
his pec and down his right arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s
beautiful, really well-designed and sexy as hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On his left side is another tattoo, this one
a bunch of words in a fancy black script that I’m too far away to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I want to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suddenly I’m dying to know what words are so
important that a guy like Z would brand himself with them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Something tickles the side of my
chin and I have an abrupt, mortifying fear that it’s my own saliva.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That I am literally standing here drooling at
the work of art that is Z Michaels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
dash my hand over my chin just in case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Turns out I haven’t lost complete control of my salivary glands—it’s
just a lock of hair that escaped from my bun.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The realization snaps my brain back
into action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few seconds too late, but
I’m a big believer in better late than never.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or, at least I am now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You know, we have a rule here at
the Lost Canyon coffee bar,” I tell him with a little flick of my fingers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“No shirts, no shoes, no service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You should probably go take care of that
somewhere else.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The dark eyes he turns on me are
filled with disbelief, and maybe, just maybe, a hint of respect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve spent days watching how the female
population around here responds to this guy and I’m pretty sure that I’m the
first one to call him on his shit since he hit puberty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe even before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Just look at the girl he came in
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was all over her when they
first walked into the lodge, just like he’s been every time I’ve caught a
glimpse of him the last few days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
that I was looking for him, or anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But still. Then, within five minutes of being here, he’s hanging out
with another girl-- the trashy looking one who’d thrown herself in his path
like a kamikaze pilot on a hari kari mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Though, to be honest, it’s hard to
blame him for the second girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever
she was, the look she’d given him had told Z loud and clear that she didn’t
mind if he climbed on right there in the middle of the coffee bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My only surprise was that he hadn’t taken
little-miss-can’t-open-my-legs-fast-enough up on the offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not that it’s any of my business--
at least not until he came up to the counter and started in on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t care if every other girl in town is
okay with whatever tiny piece of Z she can sink her claws into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t play that way, even if I am interested
in a guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which, in this case, I
definitely am not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After what happened
with Remi, there’s no way I’d touch this guy with a fifty foot pole. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Wait a minute,” he asks when he
finally gets his slack jaw working again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“You’re refusing to serve me, even though it’s completely your fault
that I’m shirtless?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“First of all, I offered you a
towel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re the one who decided to
take your shirt off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, I’m being
generous and not charging you for the spilled drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And third, I don’t make the rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just follow them.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I flick my fingers at him like he’s a
particularly annoying gnat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“So move
along before someone from management sees you and has you removed from the
building.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>He snorts, like even the chance of
that is too far-fetched to contemplate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Which it probably is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My aunt and
uncle love the fact that he comes here to practice with his friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At dinner the other night they were talking
about how to convince him to sign on with them like his friends had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far they’ve offered him everything but
ownership to the lodge and he’s turned it all down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Must
be nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To have so much money from
endorsements and sponsorships and family that you can just walk away from a
shitload of it for no reason at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Management is going to remove me from the building?” he
asks incredulously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You’re the one who
just dumped a drink down my pants.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On</i>
your pants, not down them,” I feel the need to clarify.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I didn’t realize there was that big
of a difference.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Yeah, I bet you tell that to all the
girls.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Hope you enjoyed the first sneak peek at Shredded. Make sure to check back next week for another exclusive look! Have a great Wednesday :)</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-24476855461557984512014-01-10T02:05:00.002-06:002014-01-10T02:05:16.519-06:00Frost on Friday #8<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed Control this week :) Since I posted the last excerpt yesterday, I wanted to finish up this week with a Frost on Friday. So here's another quick look at Ethan and Chloe. Hope you enjoy :)<br />
<br />
<b><u><i>Blurb:</i></u></b><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.</i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><i style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we we share will only tear us apart.</span><br />
<b><i><u>Excerpt:</u></i></b><br />
<div class="paft">
I get to work early on Monday morning so I can run by Ethan’s
office to see him. And to drop off the blender.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
His assistant ushers me right into his office, his eyes on the
blender the entire time. I don’t know if that’s because he’s fascinated by the
endless possibilities presented by the Vitamix, or if it’s because I missed a
hickey in the great love bite cover-up that took the better half of my morning
and he’s desperate not to focus on it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Either way, I figure it’s not going to take much for the rest of the
company to start talking about us. Strangely, I find that possibility much less
concerning now than I did even a couple of days ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
That old song about the difference a day makes is right on . . . or
maybe it’s just that my perception has changed. Either way, I’m not going to
let worry over that color these few stolen moments with Ethan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
He’s on the phone when I walk in, but he immediately smiles when he
sees me. At least until he notices the blender I’m carrying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“I’ve got to go,” he tells the person on the other end of the line. “Something’s
come up.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Then he’s walking around the desk to get to me, everything about him
just a little more predatory than I remember from yesterday.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Hello, Ms. Girard,” he says as he shuts the door.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Hello, Mr. Frost.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
He takes the heavy blender from me, drops it on the corner of his
desk. “I thought we took care of the whole present thing yesterday.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Maybe you took care of it. I certainly didn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“What’s the big deal? It’s a blender.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Exactly.” I smile as I repeat his words back to him. “What’s the
big deal? It’s a blender.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
He narrows his eyes at me. “That mouth of yours is going to get you
in trouble one day.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I play coy, glance up at him through my lashes. “I thought it
already had.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
He groans then, pulls me into his arms. “I missed you last night.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“I missed you, too.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
He bends his head, nuzzles my neck. “Tonight you’re staying with me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“It’s customary to ask, you know.” It’s my turn to moan as he pulls
the high collar of my blouse out of the way so that he can lick at the bruises
on the side of my throat. Despite my determination to keep things professional
during business hours, my head lolls to the side in an effort to give him
better access.<o:p></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“I asked yesterday and all it got me was an empty bed.
I’m not making that mistake again.” </span>Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-9421190046688578322014-01-09T15:46:00.001-06:002014-01-09T15:46:48.843-06:00Control: Part FourOkay, everyone, here's the final installation of Control, an outtake from <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/237040/ruined-by-tracy-wolff" target="_blank">Ruined</a>. Hope you enjoy :)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<b>Excerpt:</b><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Ethan, please-“</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The need in her voice turns me
inside out even as it breaks the last chain of my restraint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I slide my hand up her thigh, under the prim
skirt that’s been driving me insane all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My finger skates along the edge of her panties and I’m desperate to
delve inside. To stroke her clit, her sex, to slip inside her and feel all that
heat clench around me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except she
freezes, her whole body going rigid against me as she pulls her mouth from
mine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Ethan.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s shaking harder now, but this time I’m
afraid it’s from more than desire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More
than the need that continues to crawl through me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s frightened and that wounds me in a way
I don’t even know how to explain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It’s okay.” I stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stop my hand from slipping into her panties,
stop my body from moving against her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I even put a chokehold on the need that’s ripping me apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because she’s what’s important here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doing this right, for her, is what
matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve got you, Chloe.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I whisper the words in her ear, trying to
soothe her—and myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’ve got you.
Let me make you feel good. Nothing else. Just that.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She doesn’t answer right away and I
don’t make another move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not until I
know that she’s okay and that she wants this as much as I do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite her strength and her sassiness,
there’s a delicacy to her, a fragility, that brings out every protective
instinct I’ve got.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I want to fuck
her, but I want to take care of her, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To cherish her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not a
feeling I’ve ever had for a woman before, but that only makes it more
powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More overwhelming. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I know she’s thinking, can
practically hear the wheels turning in her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wait, patiently, for whatever she
decides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want her so badly that my
hands are shaking, but this is her choice and I won’t coerce her into doing
what I want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I need.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly, she burrows closer and I
feel her open to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Relief swamps me as
she buries her head against my chest and I bring a hand up to cup the back of
her head, to hold her in place even as start- once again—to stroke my fingers
along her sex. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She clutches at my shirt, her whole
body turning liquid against me even as she rests her head against the wall.
She’s so beautiful like this, so fucking beautiful with her lips swollen and
her cheeks flushed, with her eyes hazy and unfocused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to stay like this forever, right here,
with her wrapped around me and her need for me a wet heat on my fingers.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I kiss her cheek, her ear, her
neck, as I stroke my way inside her panties and into the very heart of
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gasps, whimpers, starts to
tremble in earnest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I murmur soothingly
to her, nonsense words that are meant to do nothing but calm her mind even as I
stoke the fire inside of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s wet,
so wet, and I’m dying to feel her come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To feel her body clench rhythmically around my fingers, my tongue, my cock.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
But that’s later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This, right here, is about her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About Chloe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I slide my fingers along her slit, press one gently inside of her just
to see how she’ll react.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gasps again
and I wait to see if she’ll accept me or if this is too much for her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Ethan,” she moans, hitching her
leg up higher on my hip. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Opening herself
to me more fully.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It’s the sign I’ve been waiting for
and I press a second finger inside of her, reveling in her wet heat as she
clenches around me. S he’s tight, small, and I’m careful with her as I curve my
fingers and stroke them gently against her g-spot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She cries out, clutches at me, so I
do it again. And again. And again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
the same time, I press my thumb against her clit and circle it gently,
searching for the spot that brings her the most pleasure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Ethan.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She says my name again even as her body
clutches at me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It nearly sends me
straight over the edge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“God, Chloe, you feel so good.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to feel her come, need it with an
intensity that burns me straight to the bone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“You too,” she gasps, her hips
moving of their own volition now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s
riding my hand, arching into me, and I follow her lead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Learn her body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find which spots and which kind of touch
brings her the most pleasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s
close, I know she’s close, but she won’t go over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Won’t let me give her the pleasure I’m so
desperate to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s something inside
of her, a resistance, a fear, that’s holding her back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I won’t have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not now when she’s so close to climaxing, not
now when she’s so close to me. I want so much more than her body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I want her desire, her trust, her
need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I want her open to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I want her to need me the same way
that I need her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With everything inside
of me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I know I may be rushing her, but
I’m determined to bring her off, to pleasure her, so I drop to my knees in
front of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shove her skirt up to her
waist and push her panties aside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before
she can do more than clutch at my shoulders, I put my mouth right on the heart
of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I plunge my tongue inside her sex,
stroking deep inside her as the scent and taste of her arousal nearly drive me
mad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She tastes so good, feels so
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Need more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I grab her leg, the same
one she had wrapped around my waist just a little while ago, and drape it over
my shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s wide open to me now,
totally vulnerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in these crazy,
burning moments, she’s totally mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Exactly as I want her to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I crave her. Crave her body, her
sex, her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crave everything that
she’ll give me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crave everything that
she is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need her to crave me the same
way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I lick across her clit, then back
to her lips, fluttering my tongue against her one minute and then pressing
firmly the next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She whimpers, moans,
begs, words falling out of her mouth that make no sense except that they tell
me she wants me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needs me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I quiet her with a low growl,
determined that Chloe will trust me in this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That she’ll let me take her over the edge of pleasure into
oblivion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She bites her lip, tangles her
fingers in my hair and pulls me even closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s what I’ve been waiting for—her surrender and her trust—and I take
instant advantage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pull her clit into
my mouth, suck at her for one second, two, even as I thrust my fingers deep
inside of her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
That’s all it takes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a shudder and a shout, she tumbles over
the edge into an orgasm that goes on and on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she comes—as her body clenches
rhythmically against my fingers and my mouth—an overwhelming tenderness wells
up inside of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For this woman, this
girl, who has somehow managed to wrap herself around my head and my heart in
such a short time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This woman whose hold
on me is growing with every touch, every kiss, every moment that passes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-15341224596184421052014-01-08T07:49:00.000-06:002014-01-08T07:51:15.690-06:00Control: Part Three :)<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>Hi Everyone! Thanks so much to all my fans and all the amazing bloggers out there who helped make<br />
Ruined's release day so freaking unbelievable! You guys are the best!!!!! Seriously, the best :) One of my favorite review quotes so far comes from Under the Covers, who says, "Ethan is everything I wanted Fifty and Gideon to be." Woo-hoo!!!! <br />
<br />
Today, here's the third part of Control, the outtake from<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/237040/ruined-by-tracy-wolff" target="_blank"> Ruined </a>that is in Ethan's POV. Hope you like it!!!!<br />
<br />
<b><i><u>Excerpt from Control:</u></i></b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
The question hangs in the air between us. It has so many layers, so many levels, that she’s having a hard time sorting them all out. I want to help her, to tell her that I mean every single one of them. But she won’t believe me. It’s in her eyes, in the way she’s holding her body like she’s poised for a blow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I rub my thumb over her inner elbow in an instinctive need to soothe, angling my body so that I’m curved around her though we aren’t actually touching. For a second, it looks like she wants to curl into me, wants to give up on the resistance and just let me hold her the way I’m dying to. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
But then she stiffens, her spine going ramrod straight. “I need to go.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She doesn’t move away, though. Doesn’t try to disguise the huskiness of her voice or the trembling of her hands. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I tighten my hand on her elbow to steady her, to let her know that I’m right here and that it will be okay. That she can trust me. And then I pull her closer until her soft breasts are against me, her lush hips cradled against my throbbing dick. It’s a gamble, letting her see how much I want her, but I don’t want to hide anything from her. Not when I have a feeling this thing between us is going to be more than I’ve ever imagined. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I hold her eyes with mine as long as she’ll allow, but then she shakes her head, looks away. I feel a wrenching deep inside me. She’s standing right in front of me, but she’s disappeared inside herself until it feels like all I’m holding is air.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Where’d you go?” I ask, leaning forward until my mouth is only centimeters from her ear. I want Chloe back, want her hear with me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Her breath catches in her throat, and she sucks in a gulp of air, shakes her head as if to clear it. “I’m still here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“I want you, Chloe.” No need to beat around the bush. Not here. Not now. Not in this. I skim my mouth across the satiny skin of her cheek, down her jaw. “And I think you want me, too.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Again, she shakes her head, but this time it’s more acknowledgment than denial, and we both know it. “Ethan—”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
The thrill of those two syllables on her lips has me pulling back, grinning at her. “You said my name again. That’s progress.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She arches her brows. “Most guys wouldn’t consider that progress.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“I’m not most guys.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Yeah, right. I’ve heard that before.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She’s teasing me, actually teasing me. It’s even better than I expected it to be and I laugh, something I seem to do a lot around her. “That didn’t sound nearly as clichéd in my head.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Really?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Or maybe I just didn’t think it through well enough.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Yeah, maybe not.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Since we’re on the subject of clichés, we could try another one.” This time I’m the one to lift a brow questioningly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“I have to admit, I’m a little jealous. I’ve always wanted to know how to do that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“What?” I’m baffled, thrown off my game by the abrupt twists and turns of her mind—and our conversation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
But then she’s reaching out, stroking a hand over the eyebrow I just raised. It calms me down even as it sends heat rampaging through me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“That whole one-eyebrow thing. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“Oh, yeah? Maybe I’ll teach you someday.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
“I’d like that.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
We’re close now, even closer than we were just a minute ago, and she’s not moving back. No, she’s pressing into me, her sweet body flush against mine. It’s all I can do not to press her down onto the couch and do everything imaginable—everything I’ve been fantasizing about for two days—to her. But she’s nervous. I can see it, feel it, all but smell it coming off of her in waves. So I figure I should probably start with a kiss. Just a kiss.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I lower my head slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull back. To call a halt to the kiss though I’m dying to get my lips on her. Dying to taste her. She’s so close that I can see the freckles on the bridge of her nose, can feel her body trembling against mine. I can hear the hitch in her breathing, smell the sweet strawberry scent of her breath.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
It’s not enough. I want to taste her. Need to taste her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I close the last little gap between us, brush my lips gently against hers. Once, twice, then again and again. Little glancing kisses that do nothing but stoke the flames deep inside of me, nothing but make me want more. Make me want everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She kisses me back, parting her lips in an open invitation that I’m dying to take. But I don’t want to rush this, rush her, so I continue with the soft, gentle kisses—on her cheek, her jaw, the corner of her mouth, her upper lip, her lower lip, the other corner of her mouth. She’s delicious, amazing, and I want to savor every part of her. To explore everything that Chloe is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She moans deep in her throat, slides her hands up my arms to rub at my shoulders before walking them slowly up my neck. It’s my turn to groan a little as heat whips through me, and this time when I take her mouth, it’s no light, glancing thing. It’s a full-fledged kiss, one that sends need slamming through me. I harness it ruthlessly, determined to make this good for her. Determined to show her how it can be between us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I nip at her lower lip, and she opens to me. This time I take instant advantage, my tongue stealing inside to explore. I’m careful not to rush her, not to demand everything she has to give. Chloe needs to be coaxed, seduced. The last thing I want is to startle her into running.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I slide the tip of my tongue gently against hers, circling slowly, slowly, slowly. Licking along the top of her tongue, then the bottom before moving on to the inside of her cheek, the roof of her mouth. I play with the tender frenulum between her upper lip and my gum, careful to only bring pleasure. Triumph wells up inside me when she shudders, her hands coming up to tangle in my shirt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I cup her face, tilt her head this way and that so I can delve deeper. So I can find out all of her secrets, everything that she is. I expect her to pull back, to protest the intimacy and the obvious possession in my touch. But she doesn’t. Instead, she welcomes me in and for a few, sweet moments, gives me everything that I ask. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She tastes like she smells, like strawberries and honey and sweet, sun-warmed flowers. Rich, decadent, delicious. I want more, am desperate for it. I want all of her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Need, powerful and overwhelming, shoots through me as she slides her fingers into my hair and pulls me more tightly against her. It’s an unexpected move, and a welcome one. She’s the aggressor now, the one deepening the kiss and the contact between us. And while I normally like to be in control, in this moment I’m more than willing to yield to her. To give her whatever she needs as long as it means she’ll stay right here in my arms, where she so obviously belongs. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
There’s a wariness about her normally that’s gone now and I revel in that fact. I want her to feel safe with me, to feel secure enough to let me in—and to take me the way I’m so desperate to take her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
She moans again, and I wrap my arms around her, pull her closer as her tongue strokes along the edge of my bottom lip, then my top one. She teases the corners of my mouth and it takes every ounce of control I have not to seize control from her. There’s so much I want from her—so much I want to give her and take from her—that it’s a raging ache inside of me. I want to push her against the nearest wall and thrust into her, want to slide down her body and put my mouth on her sex, want to turn her around and take her from behind as I pet and shape and spank that gorgeous ass of hers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
But she’s not ready for that yet—I can feel the nervousness just underneath the desire. The vulnerability underneath the passion. Knowing that, feeling it, helps me stay in control even as she nips at and licks and explores every inch of my mouth. And then, when I’m least expecting it, she slides a hand between our bodies, runs a thumb over my left nipple as she thrusts her tongue deep inside my mouth.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
The last string on my control stretches out, frees me a little from the stranglehold I’ve got on myself, and I’m moving fast, shoving her against the wall as I plunder her mouth. She arches against me and I grab her leg, lift it and wrap it around my hip so I can be closer to her. So I can feel her wet, intoxicating heat against my dick.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
I stroke her thigh, pause at the sensitive flesh on the inside of her knee when I feel her shudder against me. She clutches at me, arches into me and all I want is to bring her pleasure. To make her as crazy as she’s made me. I groan, my hand clenching on her thigh. I’m careful not to press too hard, not to hurt her though there’s a part of me that wants to bruise her just a little. To leave marks so that everyone knows that Chloe is mine. That she belongs to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
Her hands are back in my hair, tugging, pulling, claiming as the kiss goes on and on and on. She’s panting now, making soft, desperate sounds in the back of her throat as her body shakes and shudders against mine. I’m half insane with the need to take her now. To claim her. She’s mine and the sooner she—and the rest of the world—know it, the better. </div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-32469762622450533042014-01-07T17:10:00.003-06:002014-01-07T17:11:29.636-06:00Ruined is Out Today!!!! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Yay! I'm so excited-- <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/237040/ruined-by-tracy-wolff" target="_blank">Ruined</a> is out today. I feel like I've been waiting for this book to come out forever and I'm thrilled that release day is finally here. Continuing with what I started yesterday-- and for those of you who are done with Ruined already and are asking for more-- here's the second part in Control, the novella I wrote from Ethan's POV. Hope you enjoy :) And to everyone who helped make release day so great for me-- and to everyone who has bought the book already-- thank you, thank you, thank you.<br />
<br />
<u><i><b>Part 2: Control</b></i></u><br />
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She raises her brows, looks down
her nose at me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Pretty sure.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her voice shakes, just a little.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It’s the sign I’ve been waiting
for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lean closer, until I’m in her
space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not enough to really crowd her,
but more than enough that she knows I’m her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“I don’t think you are.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, yeah?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An obviously faked yawn this time. “What
makes you say that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I can see your pulse right here.”
I reach over, runs my fingers lightly over the hollow of her throat. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her skin feels like silk and suddenly I’m
dying to know if she feels like that all over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“It’s beating fast. That’s a big sign that someone isn’t telling the
truth.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t get too excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m just nervous.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she leans into me, her upper body arching
into my hand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I trace a soothing circle on her
collar bone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Do I make you nervous,
Chloe?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re my boss. Of course talking
to you makes me nervous.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
My jaw clenches at her obvious
attempt to derail this thing growing between us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Why do you always have to do that?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Do what?” She shifts a little but
doesn’t move away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t move
closer, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, she stays where
she is, legs primly crossed and eyes blazing with a heat that scorches me to
the bone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Why do you have to bring
everything back to the fact that I’m your employer?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Because you are. The power
dynamics at work here are a pretty big issue whether you want to admit it or
not.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
words—and the sentiment behind them—freak me out enough that I drop my hand,
sit back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Crowding her when I know she’s
interested is one thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Messing with
her if she feels like she can’t say no is another thing entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just the thought that I might be making her
uncomfortable in a harassment sort of way makes me sick to my stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Have I misunderstood?” I ask when
I can speak through the horror. “Am I overstepping my boundaries?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, duh. I thought I made that
clear earlier.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m sorry. I thought I made it clear earlier
that your internship is completely safe. No matter what happens or doesn’t
happen between us, you’ll never have anything to worry about on that front.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I
start to stand up, to back off as completely as I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last thing I want to do is make her feel
like she can’t say no.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
But she reaches out, rests a hand
on my knee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s the first time she’s
touched me voluntarily and it feels good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Probably better than it should considering our current conversation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then she says, “Jesus, Ethan, I didn’t
say I thought you were sexually harassing me. I said that you’d overstepped
your bounds when you went to my boss and gave me the best assignment. I don’t
need your favors. Especially when they end up causing me nothing but grief.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The obvious annoyance in her voice
relaxes me as nothing else can. She’s not afraid of me and that’s all that
matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, I want her to understand
the truth, to know that she has nothing to worry about on that front from
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I also want her to know that I
value her work very much, and will<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>no
matter what happens between us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re wrong about why you got
that assignment, you know.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, really? So you’re saying I got
it on my merits?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I
meet her disbelieving gaze levelly. “I told you, I read your file last night. I
was incredibly impressed, not just with your grades but with the paper you
submitted with your application. On intellectual property.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I know the one.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I was fascinated,” I tell her
truthfully. “The argument you made was original, well researched, and well
thought out, and also happens to be exactly what I believe about those cases
and that particular issue.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She looks like she wants to believe
me, but just can’t. “It’s not a popular stand. In fact, I nearly didn’t submit
that paper at all because I was afraid it would work against me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But you did submit it. And while your opinion varies even
from that of my chief counsel, it dovetails nicely with my own. If I hadn’t met
you, I might not have given you the Trifecta merger based solely on the merits
of that paper, but I would have seriously considered it. Having met you and
been impressed by both your intellect and your spirit, it was a no-brainer. I’d
decided to request that you do the research for the merger even before I saw
you this morning.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She studies me, and I’m pretty sure
she’s trying to decide if she can believe me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I try to look as trustworthy as possible—not because I’m trying to fool
her, but because I’m being honest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
because<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>want her to have faith in
herself, to realize just how smart and strong she really is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It takes guts to turn in a paper like that
when she’s trying to get an internship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hell, it takes guts to write it in the first place and I am very
impressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would be even if I hadn’t
spent last night staring at the ceiling and imagining what it would feel like
to have her legs wrapped around me while I plunge inside of her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Do you mean it?” she asks, after thinking
over my words. “You think I’m good enough to do this project?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“My company wouldn’t be as
successful as it is if I was in the habit of putting incompetent people into
positions that matter, Chloe. I don’t know how many other ways to say it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I look her straight in the eye as I answer
her questions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She smiles and it’s radiant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gorgeous. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Thank you for giving me the shot.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“You look like you swallowed the
sun.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I feel like I did. I promise I’ll
do a good job on the project.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I have no doubt.” I get serious
again as I remember her earlier words. “But what’s going on over there? You
said you’re having problems with the other interns?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It’s no big deal. I can handle it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The thought that people are messing
with her—even though I know she <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can</i>
handle it—pisses me off. “What exactly do you have to handle?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing you need to worry about.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“You sure about that?” I push,
because I want to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And because I
want her to trust me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Positive.” I push to my feet.
“Thank you for your time. I won’t keep you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I reach out, snag her elbow. “What
if I want to keep you?”</div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-84365998411932472792014-01-06T09:54:00.001-06:002014-01-06T09:54:23.445-06:00Ruined Comes Out Tomorrow!!!!!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>I'm so excited, you guys! It feels like I've been waiting forever for this week. I'm so, so, so excited<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EGMV24G/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=13GTEF8BNXB5D64VK6J0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank"> Ruined</a> is coming out tomorrow and to celebrate, I thought I'd do a little something different this week. Instead of putting excerpts up from the book this week, I thought I'd put up one of the pivotal scenes from the book, except from Ethan's POV (Ruined is written completely from Chloe's POV). So each day this week, I'll be putting up a few pages of <b>Control</b>, a short story from Ethan's POV. Stop by daily to check it out :)<br />
that<br />
<br />
<u><i><b><br /></b></i></u>
<u><i><b>Control, Part One:</b></i></u><br />
<br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
walks in when I’m on the phone with the lawyers about the merger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a delicate deal, an important one that
can go south if I’m not very careful, but suddenly I can’t remember what I was
about to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, I can barely
remember what the deal is about when she’s staring at me out of those big,
startled eyes of hers, the pupils so large that they nearly swallow whole the verdant
green of her irises.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She
starts to step back out, but I wave her forward, giving her the most
non-threatening smile I can work up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
a second, I don’t think it’s going to work—she’s nervous, skittish, just
waiting for an excuse to flee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
determined not to give her that excuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Once
again, I beckon her forward, and this time she comes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watch as she settles herself on the blue
couch—pretty much as far as she can get from me and still be in my office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It makes me grin even as I fight the
instinctive urge to pursue her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
settle on the sofa next to her and pull her lush, curvy body into my lap just
so I can feel her against me again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On the
other end of the phone, my colleagues continue to prattle on about the
revolutionary new process for skin grafting they’ve been working on—a process
I’m highly interested in—but I’m no longer listening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first time in my life, I can’t
concentrate on business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not when Chloe Girard
is sitting fifteen feet from me, her luscious legs crossed and the tight skirt
of her very prim and proper suit riding up her thighs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
For a minute, all I can think about
is kneeling next to her, burying my face in the silky juncture of those thighs
and licking her to orgasm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just the
thought gets my blood racing, turns my cock hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve wanted her from the moment she
challenged me in the cafeteria yesterday morning, her eyes narrowed with
calculation and amusement and something else I can’t quite put my finger on.
I’m determined to figure it out, however.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To figure her out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly, I’m not willing to wait
one second longer to get started.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making
some excuse that I’m pretty sure makes no sense, I hang up
mid-negotiation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not in the habit of
doing that, but for the first time in my life, I’ve found
something—someone—that fascinates me more than the thrill of scientific
discovery and business mixed together.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Unable to stop myself, I cross the
room to sit with Chloe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to crowd
her, to push her into giving me everything that I want from her, but every
instinct I have tells me that would be a bad idea right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not sure what it is about me that sets
Chloe so on edge, but I can tell the sexual attraction between us isn’t going
to be enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She needs to be seduced,
wooed—to be cherished—and I am more than okay with that fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So instead of sitting next to her and pulling
her into my arms, I take a seat on the chair to her right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s far enough away to make her feel
comfortable, but not so far that it dulls the unmistakable intimacy that sparks
in the air between us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Chloe.” I fight the urge to run a finger over
her wrist just to touch the softness of her skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She smells like frangipani and strawberries
and rich, thick honey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a good
smell, an intoxicating one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“How was
your day?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Her fists clench at the question and
she glares at me. “How was my day? How was my day? How the hell do you think my
day was when you deliberately sabotaged me?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
They’re the last words I expect to
hear from her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I go over our previous
interactions, try to figure out what she means, but nothing comes to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Explain,” I demand, determined to know
when—and how—I’ve hurt her when it’s the last thing I ever intended to do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s there to explain? You
basically painted a target on my back and gave them carte blanche to fire at
will.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Who?” Anger snakes through me at
the idea of anyone hassling her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I shove
it down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now’s the time for logic not
emotion, though I’m finding it very hard to separate the two when it comes to
Chloe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you mean, who? Everyone.
I’m a brand-new intern who’s just finished her second day with the company. It
was bad enough that you walked into that meeting with me, but to take the most
coveted research assignment away from the guy who’s been there the longest and
give it to me for no reason—”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“There was a reason,” I
interrupt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, well, wanting to sleep with
me isn’t actually a valid reason. Trust me, if I hadn’t known that already, it
would have been hammered home today.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“What did they do?” I keep my voice
quiet, steady, though there’s a part of me that suddenly wants to hit the
warpath—right through my legal department and its numerous interns. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“What they did isn’t the point. The
point—”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s the point to me.” I lean
forward, then because I can’t not tough her, I brush one of her sexy, blond
curls back from her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the past
few minutes they’ve been escaping the tight bun she’s got them in and I can’t
help grinning a little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that the
bun is fastened with pencils, almost as much as I love the fact that her hair
refuses to be tamed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little like
Chloe, herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a thought that does
nothing to ease the erection I’ve had pretty much since I first saw her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Her eyes narrow in obvious
annoyance. “No, the point is you can’t just go around showing blatant
favoritism. Especially when I’ve given you no encouragement.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s not favoritism. I read your
file yesterday, cover to cover.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Why?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Because your skill at getting your
point across impressed me in the cafeteria.” I smile at her disbelieving look. She
may doubt what I’m saying, but it’s the gospel truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s one of the most impressive interns I’ve
ever had here at Frost Industries and that’s saying something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our innovation and flexibility have helped
attract top talent for years. “What can I say? I like a woman who knows how to
argue.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“What is it with you?” She looks
completely exasperated at this point and sick bastard that I am, I love
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s sexy when she’s all cool and
composed, but when she’s like this—all frazzled and annoyed and ready to tear
me a new one—she’s hot as hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not
sure what it says about me that I get such pleasure from winding her up, and to
be honest, I don’t give a shit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s
fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really fun, and for now that’s more
than enough. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Don’t you know getting
involved with an intern is never a good idea? That’s got to be on the first
page of CEOs for Dummies?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I bust out laughing at the
disgruntled question, and the quick wit behind it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s smart, really smart and quick on her
feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I love that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I think you have CEOs for Dummies confused
with Politics for Dummies.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Is there a difference?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Politicians are the married idiots
who keep getting in trouble for sleeping with the interns when they should be
running the country. I’m not married and I don’t want to run anything but Frost
Industries.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Tell that to someone who believes
it. You put me on the Trifecta merger, the biggest merger in this company’s
history. You want to run a lot more than just Frost Industries.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Again, she’s quick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very quick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Touché. But when they’re absorbed by us, they’ll become part of my
company and I will have spoken nothing but the truth.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s a nice loophole. You sure
you haven’t been reading Politics for Dummies in your spare time?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“I like you,” I tell her with
another laugh that I don’t even try to hide.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, that’s a shame,” she answers
totally deadpan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Since I can’t stand
you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It’s a lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can tell from the way she’s looking at
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the way her nipples have
hardened during our exchange and the way her breathing has sped up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She might not want to like me, might not want
to want me, but she does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And since I
want her until it’s a throbbing in my blood, I can’t help calling her on her
answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
“You sure about that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
She raises her brows, looks down
her nose at me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Pretty sure.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her voice shakes, just a little.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
It’s the sign I’ve been waiting
for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lean closer, until I’m in her
space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not enough to really crowd her,
but more than enough that she knows I’m her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“I don’t think you are.”</div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-48824976754389273802014-01-03T08:17:00.002-06:002014-01-03T08:17:42.981-06:00Frost on Friday #7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s400/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Wow! I can't believe Ruined comes out on Tuesday!!!! I'm so excited-- not to mention blown away by the reception it's been getting so far :) Thanks so much for all your excitement and enthusiasm about this book. Hope everyone had a great holiday and with no further ado, here's this week's excerpt from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EGMV24G/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d2_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=00620S4GEVZRD7NZ2VKD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200422&pf_rd_i=507846" target="_blank">Ruined</a>.<br />
<br />
<u>Blurb:</u><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Fans of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey, Bared to You, </i>and <i>Release Me </i>will be hooked on <i>Ruined, </i>an electrifying journey of emotional and sexual discovery that pushes two damaged souls to their breaking point—and beyond.</b><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.</i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we we share will only tear us apart.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><u>Excerpt:</u></i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<div class="p">
I want him to hold me, to tell me that it’s okay.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
That he doesn’t blame me for freaking out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
That he still wants me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
And that everything between us is somehow going to be all right.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
But even as I think it, I know better. I gave up on fairy tales five
long years ago, and nothing, nobody, is going to be able to change that now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Besides, nothing is okay. How can it be when Ethan is standing in
front of me, his hands out in the universal I’m-not-going-to-hurt-you position?
When he’s staring at me with eyes gone dark and blank?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I’m sorry.” I finally manage to choke the words out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“<span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">You<span style="border: none;">’<span style="border: none;">re</span></span></span></span></span>
sorry?” He sounds so incredulous that the words hit me like a blow. It’s the
last straw. “Baby, I—”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I don’t wait around for him to finish whatever he’s going to say. Instead,
I push past him, make a mad dash for the uneven stone steps that lead up to his
house. That lead to freedom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Chloe, stop!” He chases after me, which only makes me run faster. “Baby,
you’re going to trip! You’re going to hurt yourself!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I ignore the warning, keep running. It doesn’t matter. What’s the
pain of a little fall when I already feel like I’ve been ripped open, my
insides spilling out for everyone to see?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Damn it, Chloe.” He’s right behind me. I can feel his breath on my
neck, hear his footsteps slapping at the rock right behind me. I half expect to
feel his hands on me as he yanks me to a stop. But still he doesn’t touch me. For
some reason, his reticence only wounds me more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Tears I still refuse to let fall are in my eyes, in my chest. My
vision is clouded and I’m having trouble breathing. I’m strangling on my pain
and the aching, painful breaths my body doesn’t quite know what to do with
anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I’m almost at the top when it happens. I stumble trying to climb up
a particularly high step and I bang my shins, hard, on the harsh, jagged edge
of the stair. My legs go out from under me and I start to fall, panic coursing
through me at the thought of tumbling twenty feet off the side of the open
staircase to the sand below.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Ethan does touch me then, his hands jolting out to grab me so
quickly that I know he must have been waiting for this to happen all along. Then
I’m in his arms, my legs draped over his arm and my side pressed against his
chest as he carries me up the few remaining steps.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight, even after we get
to his patio. I’m sure he wants to put me down, to show me the door as quickly
as he can. But I’m not ready to let go yet, not ready to give up the strange
and powerful comfort that comes from just being held in his arms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Ethan makes no move to put me down. Instead, he crosses to one of
the many long outdoor sofas that make up the different seating arrangements out
here. He sinks down onto it, keeping me on his lap. In his arms. And then he
starts to rock me like a child.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
The dam inside me bursts, and emotions—dark, messy, devastating—come
pouring out in all directions. I don’t know how to stop them. I can’t stop
them, not anymore.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p">
Unable to do anything else, I bury my face in Ethan’s chest and give
in to the harsh, ugly sobs that threaten to tear me in two.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Have a great Friday everyone!</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-54386571440467137402013-12-19T21:13:00.004-06:002013-12-19T21:14:42.082-06:00Frost on Friday Part 6!!!!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s400/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" width="300" /></a>Hi Everyone,<br />
<br />
Hope you're having a fabulous week :) And to put the cherry on top, here's another glimpse at Ethan Frost, and Ruined, my January 7th release! Hope you enjoy :) And happy holidays!!!!<br />
<br />
<u>Blurb:</u><br />
<b>Fans of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey, Bared to You, </i>and <i>Release Me </i>will be hooked on <i>Ruined, </i>an electrifying journey of emotional and sexual discovery that pushes two damaged souls to their breaking point—and beyond.</b><br />
<br />
<i>He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.</i><br />
<br />
Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.<br />
<br />
He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in return.<br />
<br />
But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the secrets we we share will only tear us apart.<br />
<br />
<b>Advance praise for <i>Ruined</i></b><br />
<br />
“Heat sizzles off the page and the oh-so-sexy Ethan Frost will make you swoon!”<b>—<i>USA Today </i>bestselling author Stacey Kennedy</b><br />
<br />
“No matter what Tracy Wolff writes, I’m hooked! <i>Ruined</i> is a fabulously sexy story full of passion, intense emotion, and hope. When it comes to billionaire bad boys that are to die for, Ethan Frost is in a delicious league of his own.”<b>—Bestselling author Virna DePaul</b><br />
<b><u>Excerpt:</u></b><br />
<div class="p">
“Is that what I think it is?” I whisper, leaning down to get a
closer look. I nearly whimper as I see the distinctive interior, then clasp my
hands behind my back so I’m not tempted to touch it. Or try to steal it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“You really do know cars.” Ethan sounds surprised, but I’m too busy
trying not to lick his Ferrari to get offended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“You don’t have to ‘know’ cars to know of this one. There were only
thirty-six of them ever made. I mean, as long as you don’t count all the
imposters that came afterward.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“It doesn’t bite, you know. You’re welcome to touch it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
The urge to do just that is a throbbing need inside me. I want to
lift the hood, to peer inside it and see if it’s really as beautifully built as
all the magazines and websites say. But I’m afraid once I get started pawing at
it, it’ll be hours before Ethan can drag me away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“No, that’s okay.” I try not to sound too reluctant. “I’d rather
have my question answered.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Don’t look so sad. There’ll be other chances.” This time when he
puts a hand on the small of my back and guides me to the house, I barely
startle. I’m getting used to being touched by him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Too bad I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Where did you find her?” I ask, craning my head around for one last
look at the Ferrari. She gleams under the garage’s recessed lighting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“I’m not sure if I should be pleased or insulted that you’re a lot
more impressed by my car than you are by me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
I don’t bother denying the obvious. But I do say, “You should be
pleased. Most women wouldn’t have a clue how awesome it is that you own one of
those babies.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
He narrows his eyes, contemplates my words. “Okay, you’ve convinced
me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
We enter the house, then walk down a short, winding hallway that
leads to a huge, state-of-the-art kitchen. Now, I love cooking as much as the
next girl—probably even more—but I think the fact that I am chomping at the bit
to get back to the garage says everything you need to know about me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Are you hungry?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Not really. The ice cream sundae you bought me at the zoo contained
enough calories to keep me going for the next week.” Especially considering the
fact that I ate an entire pint of Cherry Garcia by myself last night. When I
finally start running again, my heart and my ass aren’t going to know what hit
them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“Don’t worry. You’ll work it off.” Ethan’s grin is wicked as he
propels me through the kitchen and into a formal dining room with a table that
will sit twenty-four comfortably. I don’t even know twenty-four people I’d want
anywhere near me, and Ethan throws intimate dinner parties where he doesn’t
even have to put a leaf in the table to entertain that many. It boggles the
mind, and underscores just how different we are in so very, very many ways.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Ethan doesn’t seem to notice my discomfort at his friend and
furniture situation. He’s too busy throwing open the huge double doors that
make up a large portion of the dining room’s back wall. “Come on,” he tells me.
“You can get changed out here.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Relieved because his words don’t sound sexual in the slightest—not
that I actually thought he would jump me or anything—I’m still a little wary as
I walk out onto his mammoth patio. There’s a gigantic vanishing-edge swimming
pool directly in front of me, and sixteen chaise longues in the exact same
shade of blue-gray as his roof.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
“We’re going swimming?” I ask cautiously. It doesn’t sound like that
bad an idea, actually. I’m a little sticky from a sunny afternoon spent at the
zoo, and the pool does look inviting.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="p">
Except Ethan has crossed to an outdoor closet at one end of the
small pool house that graces the right side of the property. And he’s not
pulling out swimsuits for me to try on. He’s pulling out wetsuits.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="p">
“Even better,” he tells me. “We’re going surfing.”<o:p></o:p></div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-85096819113384703212013-12-12T17:43:00.004-06:002013-12-19T21:14:22.622-06:00#FrostonFriday Part 5<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s400/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" width="300" /></a>Hi Everyone!<br />
<br />
Hope you're having a fabulous week :) Things are good here-- freezing, but good! I'm totally behind on my Christmas shopping, but my students' finals and research papers are graded and I am free for a month before classes start again!!!! Not that I'm excited by that fact or anything, LOL.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I realized I hadn't put a kiss up for Chloe and Ethan yet and decided that it was way past time I remedied that fact. So, with no further ado, here's this week's #FrostonFriday :)<br />
<u><br /></u>
<u><b>Blurb:</b> </u><br />
<b>Fans of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey, Bared to You, </i>and <i>Release Me </i>will be hooked on <i>Ruined, </i>an electrifying journey of emotional and sexual discovery that pushes two damaged souls to their breaking point—and beyond.</b><br />
<br />
<i>He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.</i><br />
<br />
Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.<br />
<br />
He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and
made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He
demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in
return.<br />
<br />
But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no
exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I
could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the
secrets we we share will only tear us apart.<br />
<br />
<b>Advance praise for <i>Ruined</i></b><br />
<br />
“Heat sizzles off the page and the oh-so-sexy Ethan Frost will make you swoon!”<b>—<i>USA Today </i>bestselling author Stacey Kennedy</b><br />
<br />
“No matter what Tracy Wolff writes, I’m hooked! <i>Ruined</i>
is a fabulously sexy story full of passion, intense emotion, and hope.
When it comes to billionaire bad boys that are to die for, Ethan Frost
is in a delicious league of his own.”<b>—Bestselling author Virna DePaul</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
<u><b>Excerpt:</b></u><br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="pf">
His arms come around me then, and he’s kissing me, his mouth
skimming over my forehead, my cheeks, my jaw, my lips, my neck. I tilt my head
back to give him better access, then moan as he presses soft kisses over my
collarbone.</div>
<div class="pf">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Your heart’s beating fast,” he tells me, even as he delivers more
kisses to the rapid pulse at the hollow of my throat.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“I wonder why.”</div>
<div class="p">
He grins at me. “I don’t know. Maybe we should investigate.”</div>
<div class="p">
“I thought you already were.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
He drops more kisses over the base of my neck, darts his tongue out
and licks at my mouth, my jaw, the sensitive spot behind my ear. Then he
presses two fingers to my jugular. “It’s beating even faster now.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I lift my hand to the center of his chest, feel the steady but rapid
<span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">boom-boom-</span></span></span><span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">boom</span></span></span>
of his own heart. “Yours isn’t exactly slow, you know.”</div>
<div class="p">
“You didn’t expect anything different, did you, when I’ve got you pressed up against me, all soft and sexy and
sweet-smelling?” </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="p">
“Wow,” I say with mock gravity. “How very sibilant of you.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Not to mention charming.” </div>
<div class="p">
I look away, feign an interest in the landscape that I’m far from
feeling. I even manage to fake a small yawn.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“So that’s the way you want to play it, hmm?” He grabs my hands,
gently turns me to face him.</div>
<div class="p">
I look at him then, really look at him, and realize that the darkness—the
remoteness—that has been in his eyes all day has vanished. In its place is the
lightness I’m used to. And something else. Something more. I don’t know what it
is, and I couldn’t describe it even if I wanted to. But whatever it is, it’s
got me trembling all over again. Has my breath catching in my throat and my
brain slowly moving into meltdown territory.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
And then he’s kissing me, really kissing me, and nothing in my life
has ever felt better.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I tilt my head, open for him. Relish the feel of his lips.
Tantalizing. Taking all the broken shards of me I have to offer and giving me
pieces of him in return.</div>
<div class="p">
I wrap my arms around him, tugging at his simple white T-shirt until
I manage to pull it free from his jeans. I want to feel him, want to put my
hands on all that warm, golden skin. To slide my fingers over it and feel him
tremble in response.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
Ethan gasps as I finally manage to press my hands against the hard,
muscled planes of his back. There’s nothing in between us now, no fabric
barricade to get in the way of my touching him.</div>
<div class="p">
I skim my fingers up his spine, then back down again. I circle
around to the front, to the six-pack that he’s rocking and the delicate little
happy trail that stretches from his belly button down into the front of his low-rise
jeans.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I want to follow it, to delve deeper until I’m touching him. Until
his long, hard cock is in my hand and I’m bringing him the same pleasure that
he’s already given me.</div>
<div class="p">
I close my eyes, lean into him. Press my mouth more firmly against
his to deepen the kiss, even as my thumb brushes back and forth against the
sensitive skin of his lower abs. Ethan groans deep in his throat, and I want to
go farther. To drop to my knees in front of him, take him in my mouth and feel
the ecstasy as it pulses through him.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
But even as I think it, even as I imagine what it would be like to
have Ethan in my mouth, in my throat, other images crowd in. Images of Brandon
forcing me to my knees, his hands tangled in my hair as his mouth spewed vile
words and demands.</div>
<div class="p">
I stiffen right away, and the desire I’m feeling vanishes in the
space between one breath and the next. Ethan drops his arms, steps back, then
smiles ruefully as he tucks his shirt back into his jeans. “You make me forget
that we’re in a parking lot in broad daylight.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
I feel my shoulders sag in relief. Yes, I tell myself. Let him think
I stopped because of where we are, not because of who I am. Not because of a
past I just can’t conquer, no matter how much I want to.</div>
<div class="p">
“You okay?” he asks when I don’t say anything. His palm skims down
my arm until he gets to my hand. Then he entwines his fingers with my own.</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
“Yeah.” My voice is still husky—with desire or fear, I’m not sure
which. I decide not to dwell on it. Why bother when doing so won’t give me any
more answers than I already have?</div>
<div class="p">
“You want to get out of here?”</div>
<div class="p">
I think about his question, turn it over in my head. Then reach a
very unexpected conclusion. “You know what I really want to do?”</div>
<div class="p">
“What?”</div>
<div class="p">
I point across the landscaping, deep into the heart of Balboa Park. “Go
to the zoo.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br /></div>
<div class="p">
That's it for this week :) Have a great weekend! </div>
Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-91658050825602212212013-12-10T04:34:00.003-06:002013-12-10T16:09:39.721-06:00Check Out the Hot Holiday Hunk Hop!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MdSW2pv9-lk/UqbuLmGpZVI/AAAAAAAAAjA/EFuzHGLkEVw/s1600/HOlidayHunk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MdSW2pv9-lk/UqbuLmGpZVI/AAAAAAAAAjA/EFuzHGLkEVw/s400/HOlidayHunk.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Happy Holidays to everyone! What better way to celebrate this time of year than to heat things up with hot hero hunks? Ethan (<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/237040/ruined-by-tracy-wolff" target="_blank">Ruined</a>) and Evan (<a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/234806/wanted-by-j-kenner" target="_blank">Wanted</a>) are our major hunks to shout about and we've got a hop to do all that!<br />
<br />
Starting today, enter the Rafflecopter below to win some amazing prizes from J Kenner, Random House and me :) <br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c46e0b29/" id="rc-c46e0b29" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script> <br />
<br />
And here's the <a href="http://www.romanceatrandom.com/bloggers-sign-hot-holiday-hunk-hop-begins-1210-ends-1220-gifts-giveaways-galore/)" target="_blank">link</a> to all the other blogs that are participating :)<br />
<br />
Have a great Tuesday and a fabulous blog hop!<br />
<br />
<br />Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101116957971481019.post-29088791759074741882013-12-05T21:00:00.000-06:002013-12-05T21:03:07.627-06:00#Frost on Friday Part 4<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s1600/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BlpJhiB3GWg/Ulr4vBBkafI/AAAAAAAAAf4/SrTdTEluvoA/s400/1FINAL-Ruined.jpg" width="300" /></a>Yay! It's time for another #FrostonFriday! We've got one month exactly until <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ruined-Ethan-Frost-Loveswept-Romance-ebook/dp/B00EGMV24G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386298609&sr=1-1&keywords=ruined+tracy+wolff" target="_blank">Ruined </a>releases and I am soooo excited for you guys to get to meet Ethan and Chloe. They just might be my favorite couple yet (that I've written, anyway). So with no further ado, here's the next sneak peek.<br />
<br />
<b>Blurb:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Fans of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey, Bared to You, </i>and <i>Release Me </i>will be hooked on <i>Ruined, </i>an electrifying journey of emotional and sexual discovery that pushes two damaged souls to their breaking point—and beyond.</b><br />
<br />
<i>He’s the last man Chloe Girard should love . . . but the first she ever could.</i><br />
<br />
Ethan Frost is a visionary, a genius, every woman’s deepest, darkest fantasy—even mine. And, somehow, I am his.<br />
<br />
He stole into my life like a dream. Turned my reality upside down and
made my every desire come true—especially those I never knew I had. He
demanded everything I had to give and gave me everything of himself in
return.<br />
<br />
But dreams don’t last forever, and ours is no
exception. Because my nightmares are darker, and my wounds deeper, than I
could ever reveal. And as much as Ethan wants to protect me, the
secrets we we share will only tear us apart.<br />
<br />
<b>Advance praise for <i>Ruined</i></b><br />
<br />
“Heat sizzles off the page and the oh-so-sexy Ethan Frost will make you swoon!”<b>—<i>USA Today </i>bestselling author Stacey Kennedy</b><br />
<br />
“No matter what Tracy Wolff writes, I’m hooked! <i>Ruined</i>
is a fabulously sexy story full of passion, intense emotion, and hope.
When it comes to billionaire bad boys that are to die for, Ethan Frost
is in a delicious league of his own.”<b>—Bestselling author Virna DePaul</b> <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Excerpt:</b><br />
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<br />
<div class="p">
I slam the bucket down on top of my hill a little harder than I
intend, and watch in frustration as a crack works its way straight down the
middle of all my hard work. Damn it. I guess it’s a good thing I’m pre-law
instead of an architecture major.</div>
<div class="p">
“I like your sepulcher. It’s a very . . . what’s the word I’m
looking for here?”</div>
<div class="p">
“Uninterested.” I don’t bother looking up. I don't have to see him to know I've got no interest in some guy trying his luck on the beach. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Even if the sudden prickling of my nerve
endings says otherwise.</div>
<div class="p">
“And here I was going to say it <span class="i"><span style="border: none;"><span style="border: none;">was</span></span></span>
interesting.” He leans down a little, puts his mouth closer to my ear so I can
hear the tenor of his voice now, even over the din of the crowd. Realization
sinks in and I stiffen, even before he says, “Hi, Chloe.”</div>
<div class="p">
The damn chills are back double time, although how I can feel both
hot and cold at the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>same time—without
having the flu—is a mystery to me. “Ethan.” I turn to look at him. I can’t help
it. His presence is like a magnet I have no defense against. I want to see him.
“What are you doing here?”</div>
<div class="p">
“Building community. Saving the oceans. You know, the usual.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Frost Industries is sponsoring this event.” It’s not a question. Only
now do I remember reading about Ethan’s philanthropic interests. For obvious
reasons, he spends a lot of time and money doing stuff for veterans, but the
environment—and the oceans, in particular—is another big interest of his. I
think back to the day I met him, to the board shorts and flip-flops. The Save
Our Oceans stuff actually makes perfect sense.</div>
<div class="p">
“It’s a good event,” I tell him a little grudgingly. I guess I’m
more upset about him not calling than I thought.</div>
<div class="p">
“I’m glad you approve.” He sits down on the other side of the sand
castle, gently extricates the bucket from my sudden death grip, and starts to
pack it with sand. “So, are you really building a sand tomb?”</div>
<div class="p">
I look at the mess in front of me. “It’s supposed to be a sand
castle.”</div>
<div class="p">
He laughs. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re pre-law then, hmm?”</div>
<div class="p">
His words so perfectly echo my own thoughts from a few minutes ago
that I can’t help but stare at him. It feels weird to think the same things as
him.</div>
<div class="p">
When he sees my expression, his smile fades. “You know I’m just
kidding, right?”</div>
<div class="p">
I force myself out of my Ethan-induced stupor. “Maybe, but you’re
totally right. It’s a disaster.”</div>
<div class="p">
“Not a disaster. It just needs—” He breaks off when he sees my face.
My lips are pursed, my brows raised, and I know I look as skeptical as I feel. “Okay,
yeah. It’s a disaster. But I can fix it.”</div>
<div class="p">
“What if I don’t want you to fix it?”</div>
<div class="p">
He pauses in his sand-packing activities, his indigo eyes suddenly
as deep and fathomless as the Pacific licking at my toes. “Then I should
probably walk away now. I’m not very good at sitting by and doing nothing when
I know there’s a problem—and how to fix it.”</div>
<div class="p">
Suddenly, I’m having a hard time swallowing—or breathing. My throat
is tight, my hands shaky. He’s talking about a lot more than the stupid sand
castle, and we both know it.</div>
<div class="p">
“I’m not broken.” The words come out sounding harsh and jagged.</div>
<div class="p">
“Oh, baby.” He reaches for my hand, rubs his thumb gently over my knuckles.
“I know that. I just wasn’t sure you did.”</div>
<div class="p">
<br />
<b>Hope you like it! Have a great weekend :) </b></div>
<div style="mso-element: comment-list;">
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<span style="mso-comment-author: Copyeditor;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_msocom_1"></a></span>
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Tracy Wolff/Tessa Adamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09853448587824621726noreply@blogger.com0