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STIRRING ATTRACTION
Second Shot #2
Sara Jane Stone
Releasing June 7th, 2016
Avon Impulse
The
second, sizzling book in Sara Jane Stone's Second Shots series...
When Dominic Fairmore left Oregon to
be all he could be as an Army Ranger, he always knew he’d come back to claim
Lily Greene. But after six years away and three career-ending bullets, Dominic
is battered, broken, and nobody's hero—so he stays away. Until he learns Lily
has been the victim of a seemingly random attack. He’ll do anything to keep her
safe . . . even go home.
Lily is starting to find a life
without Dominic when suddenly her wounded warrior is home and playing
bodyguard—though all she really wants is for him to take her. But she refuses
to play the part of a damsel in distress, no matter how much she misses his
tempting touch. He’ll leave as soon as she’s safe and Lily knows her heart will
never heal.
But as attraction stirs to so much
more, danger closes in. With more than Lily’s heart at stake, Dominic can no
longer draw a line between protecting Lily and loving her . . .
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EXCERPT
EXCERPT
Prologue
“You painted your toenails pink.”
Dominic Fairmore stared at Lily’s
bumble-gum colored nails. He didn’t trust himself to look up. Downstairs, his
dad’s dogs made the familiar trip to the water bowl and back, probably stopping
to sniff the bag of Chinese take-out he’d abandoned on the kitchen table. The
animals’ nails tapped against the hardwood floors, but otherwise silence filled
the farmhouse. His little sister was at the beach and his dad was pulling a
double at Forever, Oregon’s woefully understaffed police station. And yeah, he
kept track of their locations because at twenty-two he still lived at home.
Lily raised one perfect eyebrow. “I
have two hours before my mom expects me home and you’re looking at my
toenails?”
Her ironic tone pushed him damn
close to his breaking point. He’d take her. Here. Now. Against the wall,
pictures falling to the floor. Because he knew she reserved her humor for him.
The rest of Forever saw a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman who charmed a room full
of five-year olds day after day. A girl who’d been born here, grown up here,
and put herself through the local university while still living at home to care
for her wheelchair-bound mother and alcoholic father.
But Dominic saw the only girl he’d
ever loved. If he closed his eyes, he could still picture her, walking down the
halls of their high school. She’d been one year ahead of him. She’d graced the
dreary high school halls with her sunshine smile and confidence. And yeah, her
short skirts.
He’d memorized the way her
cheerleaders outfit teased her thighs while she led the squad her senior year.
He’d been a junior, but already shepherding the football team to one victory
after another. And sometimes it felt like he busted his ass on the field and
won the game just to see her smile . . .
But he couldn’t close his eyes and
block out the way Lily looked right now.
His gaze drifted up her calves. Every inch of bare skin wrapped around
his heart like a noose. He took in the curve of her thighs and tried to go
slow. His jaw tightened and his eyes disobeyed.
Fuck
slow.
His gaze locked on the slip of fabric
disappearing between her legs.
“Your panties match your toenails,”
he growled. There wasn’t a hint of humor in his voice. He couldn’t picture
laughing now. In two days, he’d wreck her heart. He would shatter their love
and leave her with nothing but memories and the promise that he’d come back.
I
swear I’ll come back for her.
But so much could change while he was
on the other side of the country training to be all he could be. And later,
once he deployed, on the other side of the world.
Two
more days. Two more nights. How
many times could he make love to this woman before they ran out of time?
“Are you sure they match?” she
teased. Her fingers brushed the waistband of her panties and then her thumbs
slipped beneath the pink fabric.
His hands formed tight fists at his
sides, watching as she drew her underwear down to her toes. Her upper body
stole away his view of the blond curls, instead offering the sight of her full,
bare breasts hovering in front of her legs. Long locks of blonde hair drifted
down as she compared the color of her underwear to her nail polish.
“Lily,” he growled and stepped
closer.
She glanced up at him and slowly, as
if she knew every movement of her body turned him on and pushed him closer to
that place where he lost control. But hell, after six years together, Lily
Greene damn well knew how to drive him crazy with lust and longing.
“My nails are a light pink. I think
the bottle said ‘Ballet Slipper.’ But my underwear is closer to fuchsia.” She
tossed her panties at him. “See?”
Years of training on the football
field kicked in and he caught the slip of fabric in his right hand. “You’re
right,” he said and he took a step forward. He threw her underwear down to the
carpet without bothering to study them.
“You need to be home in two hours?”
he asked.
Her teasing smile faded at the
reminder of the reality beyond the bedroom walls. “You know I do.”
“We might not have time for the
Chinese food.” He momentarily blocked his view as he drew his ‘Go Army!’
T-shirt over his head. He discarded the reminder of where he was heading in two
days’ time. He wanted to leave this town and the dead-end future it promised,
but not Lily.
“I hate Chinese,” she said.
She reached forward and grabbed onto
the belt buckle his father had given him after he won the state championship
with his high school football team. He pressed his palms flat against the wall,
one on either side of her head. He couldn’t touch her. Not yet.
“I know.” He allowed her to pull him
close, her fingers working to free his belt and undo his jeans. “I didn’t want
to run the risk that you would want to eat first.”
She smiled as her hands won the
battle with his belt. Drawing his zipper down, she leaned forward and whispered
in his ear. “Smart man.” Her hands pushed his pants over his hips and then went
in search of their target.
“Lily,” he gasped as her fingers
wrapped around the part of his body that thought ‘slow’ spelled disaster. Hell,
it just might. He wanted her so damn much he might come in her hand. “Careful,”
he added. “Or I’ll be about as useful as I was the first time. In the front
seat of my truck.”
“Have as much self-control now as
you did at seventeen?” she challenged, her hand moving up and down now.
“You know it.” He took his right
hand off the wall and cupped her jaw. Angling her lips up to meet his, he
kissed her. He knew her mouth. He’d memorized the way she liked his tongue to
tease hers.
His hand moved down her neck and over
her shoulder. His fingers froze, hovering on her collarbone. He knew the feel
of her soft skin as well as he knew his own. But dammit, he couldn’t take the
weight of her breast in his hand, her nipple brushing against his palm, and
still maintain control.
She broke the kiss. “Don’t hold back,
Dominic,” she whispered. “You never have before. Don’t start now. You know how
to touch me. You’re the only one—”
His growl cut off her hushed words. He
was the only one who knew the color of her panties. The only man in her bed.
The only one who heard her sly humor. And yeah, the only man in Forever, Oregon
who loved her.
For now . . .
Cat's Review
"Stirring Attraction" by Sara Jane Stone. Absolutely LOVED this story. Our lovely couple are so meant to be that it is plain as day, at least to me. Dominic is so alpha male yet so broken too. He's strong and tough yet, when it comes to Lily, a big mush. I adored how he wanted to protect her and keep her safe. Lily - she's just lovely. Fighting to get over her broken heart, she works hard to move on. Will she accept Dominic back in her life? Can she resist? The story itself has a touch of everything - smiles and tears and danger and angst. It's a second chance story that had me rooting for our couple to make it. Ms. Stone has once again written a tale that touched my heart and kept me invested in the story throughout. Her writing style flows easily and the characters and plot are easily believed. I look forward to future works in this series, as well as checking out her other books too. (received copy for honest review)
★★★★★
After
several years on the other side of the publishing industry, Sara Jane
Stone bid goodbye to her sales career to pursue her dream-writing
romance novels. Sara Jane currently resides in Brooklyn, New York with her very
supportive real-life hero, two lively young children and a lazy Burmese cat.
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Fabulous review! So happy you loved it!
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