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Seven years have passed since shy Lexie Peterson had her heart trampled by her teenage crush. And Luke Marchetti walks into his flat to find Lexie in a negligee, all he can think of is having a little flirt and fling.
But Lexie’s determination to keep him at a distance makes him realize she deserves more than he can offer. Is one kiss enough to entice the two to take a gamble on love?
Excerpt
Her skin chilled, her breathing shallowed. She really didn’t want to do this. But at the same time she did, because she didn’t want to show weakness in front of him. Not again. Not when she remembered how he’d tried to calm her nerves that last time.
But bone-deep instinct won, and at the last minute Lexie tried to tug free and back out. Luke flexed his killer muscles so hard she quickly quit that idea. He’d break all the bones in her hand if he wasn’t careful. She glared at him, and encountered his equally scorching expression. Her heart stopped altogether. He suddenly tugged her hand. Taken by surprise, she stumbled toward him. He wrapped his other arm firmly around her waist to haul her closer. The next second, his lips swept across her cheekbone in a light caress.
A violent tremble shook her.
“Don’t be scared, Lexie.”
Oh, it wasn’t fear causing her to shake now. She sucked in a deep breath. She hadn’t been this close to Luke in years. Not since… She blanked out that memory and turned her head away. It wasn’t going to happen again.
Well, her hands were no longer cold, that was for sure. One was still locked within his, the other spread wide on the expanse of his chest in a defensive gesture. But man, was he hot. And now so was all of her. She was totally burning up because in that split second every fantasy she’d ever had flashed through her head.
“Luke…” She lost her words as she watched his black-brown eyes go even darker. Watched as for once he looked at her—right at her—for eons, before his eyes slid lower to spend forever on her mouth. And it seemed the longer he looked, the closer he was.
His gaze seared her skin and her thoughts turned to chaos. Surely he wasn’t going to kiss her? Never. But maybe he was—was he going to kiss her just to soothe her nerves? The way he had all those years ago? She wriggled, trying to put an inch between them. Because she was not turned on by that idea. So not turned on.
So turned on.
His eyes glittered wickedly. “Do you remember that time on the Ferris wheel?”
Of course she remembered it. He’d done it then, hadn’t he—kissed her to calm her down. Only it had the opposite effect.
She breathed hard, wishing she could stop the huge blush. Her skin felt on fire. “No. What time was that?” She desperately wanted to play it cool.
He laughed. “Liar. You were scared shitless.”
He’d found her. She’d lost Dani at that big fair. She’d been looking up at the big wheel and wishing she had the guts for it. But heights had always been hard for her. Then he’d come along and she’d wanted to prove she could. He didn’t try to cajole her, he didn’t really say anything. He just looked at her as though he knew she could do it. And she’d wanted to—with him.
“You sat there next to me, refusing to acknowledge you were scared out of your mind,” Luke stepped closer so his rock-hard stomach was sealed to hers. “And when we finally got back to the zenith you turned and smiled at me. First time you ever really smiled just at me. Your lips, your eyes…your skin was glowing. You were so pretty.”
Lexie swallowed. She remembered that exact moment. The wheel had stopped—they were stuck at the top for a moment, only a moment. But that had been enough.
GIVEAWAY
Natalie will be awarding sets of the first two eBooks in the series, "Seduction in Silver" and "Bargain in Bronze" to three randomly drawn commenters during the tour
Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better you chances of winning.
The tour dates can be found here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/08/nbtm-tour-gamble-in-gold-by-natalie.html
Thanks for introducing me to a new book and author. Off to do some research about the books!
ReplyDeleteI've already got this on my wish list! Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good
ReplyDelete