CARRY ME HOME by Lia Riley (May 5, 2015; Forever Yours Novella; $0.99)
Love doesn’t have to be perfect to be true…
Years ago, Tanner Green loved Sunny Letman. She was meant to be his first kiss, first love, firsteverything. Then their world spun upside-down and out of control.Β Free-spirited Sunny doesn’t do commitment. Sure, guys are great for a night or a week, but shealwaysΒ leaves first. That is, until professional skateboarder and town golden boy, Tanner Green, unexpectedly walks back into her life.
Despite their broken history, a fragile and undeniably electric connection still holds them together. Now Tanner has to convince Sunny that even though love isn’t always perfect, it’s worth sticking around for. . .
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Excerpt:
Tanner is in the shower when I let myself inside. Thereβs a wooden rocking chair in the corner. I walk over, sit and close my eyes. Heβs naked, soapy, skin flushed from the hot spray. I could join him. He wants me. The space between my legs throbs to the beat of my heart. Whatβs set in motion between us isnβt going to stop.
I rock, straighten my backbone and focus my attentions. Imagine each breath spiraling through the open door, to the sky, leaving the atmosphere. A quiet prayer. Please. Please donβt let me fuck this up. My hands grip the rocking chair sides hard, hands that ache to touch his wet skin.
The water turns off and heβs out, rubbing a towel over his body.
Iβm going for it, canβt help myself.
I tried my best to be my own island.
Turns out my best isnβt nearly good enough.
The door opens and he stands, backlit in a tight white t-shirt andΒ pair of low slung jeans. His mop of hair is wet, slicked back from his striking face.
βGood, youβre back,β he says. βI didnβt like you out there alone.β
βI was fine, nothing scary outside.β
He frowns, catching my double meaning. βI decided to sleep in the back of my car.β
βNo, itβs fine.β
βI donβt mind.β
Of course he doesnβt. Heβd sleep on bare concrete if he thought it would be easier for me.
βI get it.β He backs toward the door. βTonightβs been extreme. You want space. Iβll go–β
βStop.β Iβm in the darkest corner, in this rocking chair throne, the Queen of the Shadows. Thereβs a great mystery at work. How can my heart be chained to this guy and still feel free?
A bead of water drops from his thick hair and falls to his shoulder. Then another. Tiny wet patches appear on his shirt each time one makes impact. The way he watches me, his gaze writes a secret poem on my skin. βTell me you donβt want me,β he says. βSay youβre not interested and nothing will happen.β
I want to curl in a ball. Instead, I stand up.
Β βSunny,β he whispers, and itβs hard to know if he intends my name as a question or an answer. Funny, the way it sounds like both.
My lids flutter closed of their own volition as he closes the distance. Heβs tall enough that when he bends, his face buries into the top of my head. He inhales as if Iβm a secret flower. I wish I only ever bloomed for him. A stupid notion. This moment would be perfect if it wasnβt us. If we were other people.
I hook my fingers into his belt loops and do an uncharacteristic fumble, aim too high and brush his stomach instead. His abdominal muscles flex and thereβs my cue to explore. I canβt help but inch under the cotton, trace the thick muscles that make up his defined V-line. My nails gently cut to the top of his jeans. His groan vibrates into my skull.
Heβs slipping,Β less careful with every ragged breath. His skin heats under my fingertips. Thereβs no choice. Thereβs never been with him.
I rock into him, hard, and his mouth explodes on mine like a wet, hot grenade. He bites my lower lip and even though Iβm scared, Iβm not scared of him anymore.
About the author:
After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, Lia Riley scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. When not torturingΒ heroes (because c’mon, who doesn’t love a good tortured hero?), Lia herdsΒ unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wadesΒ through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet anotherΒ trip.Β She and her family live mostly in Northern California.
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