Release Day Blitz: The Love Series by Melissa Collins ~ (Excerpts + Giveaway)
***SPECIAL RELEASE WEEK PRICE OF 99 CENTS*** The entire series is together for a limited time. This box set includes the complete Love Series - Let Love In, Let Love Stay, Let Love Heal, Let Love Shine, Let Love Be, and Let Love Live. From New Adult to M/m Contemporary Romance, there's something in here for everyone. Laugh, cry, and fall in love with the couples of this bestselling series.
NOW AVAILABLE
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1OvYM83
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1EzaZWH
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/LoveSeriesNook
Google Play: http://bit.ly/LoveSeriesGoogle
**Please choose one excerpt**
Excerpt 1 – Let Love Live
“So where do we sign?” Dylan’s voice cuts through my sidetracked brain.
Refocusing my attention back on him, I stammer. “Huh? What?”
He steps next to me, pats me on the shoulder, but his touch lands more on my chest than my arm. I stare down at his hand, struck dumb – well, dumber than I currently sound, anyway. He pulls his hand away, chuckling at me. “The gym. We like it. Where do we sign?”
Reid laughs along with Dylan as they follow me back out to the front entrance. I give them the paperwork and before long, they’re both off to the locker room to get changed.
I do not think about what Dylan looks like out of his suit. Nope, I definitely don’t do that. It’s been so long since anyone has worked me up like that. And it’s ridiculous really, if I think about it.
Dylan’s here with his partner. They have a kid together. And here I am fantasizing about someone else’s man just because I think he’s attractive.
Though, anyone would be a fool to think otherwise. His light blond hair flops forward in his blue-grey eyes. Everything about him screams perfection; a hard jawline, dusted with the perfect five o’clock shadow; high cheekbones create a square shape without being too hard-edged. The one thing that’s not perfect, his nose; it’s crooked, looks like it’s been broken more than once. It actually makes him even more perfect than if it had been straight, somehow.
I can’t let myself go there, though. There’s too much on my plate right now to add in a relationship. When the hell did staring down a gorgeous man become looking for a relationship.
Maybe I just need to get laid.
Or sleep. Yeah, that’s it. I definitely just need some sleep.
It’s official. I’ve crossed the line into crazy.
Just as I try to shake the crazy away, I look up from my paperwork, and see Reid and Dylan step out of the locker room. Mesh shorts and t-shirts replace Dylan’s high-end suit, but he doesn’t look any less attractive. If it’s possible, he looks even more so.
I take a deep breath and get back to work. I need to get a ton of crap done if I want to stay on top of everything, especially since chances are Rachel won’t be in tomorrow either. Her migraines always last at least two days. So much for that day off I was hoping for.
An hour passes quickly, and as I focus my attention back into the gym, shamefully, I’m disappointed that I don’t see Dylan anywhere. Leaning forward on the desk, I stretch across it, trying to look into the weight room.
I’m not sure what sight makes me happier, seeing a small handful of people in there or watching Dylan do lateral side raises.
I’m gonna go ahead and cast my vote for Dylan. He’s got his short sleeves rolled up, exposing his muscled arms and golden skin. The cords of his upper arms bunch and pull with each movement, causing my dick to strain in my khaki shorts.
It’s a good thing I’m not wearing workout shorts because nothings screams “I’m a professional” like sporting wood at the front desk of your own gym.
Excerpt 2 – Let Love Live
A deep breath of air fills his lungs and he looks at me. Something dances in his eyes. With a trembling hand, he brushes my hair out of my eyes. “If someone would have told me that you’d walk into my life and turn it completely upside down, I’d have told them they were crazy.” He drags my hand into his and brings it up to his mouth. “For far too long, I was far too happy to keep everyone on the outside. And then you came along, and for the first time in so long, I felt something.”
“Me, too.” Tugging at our hands, I bring them to my mouth, feeling the shaking in his hands relax marginally.
“I was too afraid to let myself love anyone, thinking that I’d lose them somehow. The fear of loss kept me closed off from my own life. And now, with you…it’s not like that,” he pauses, looking for the right words. “What I mean is,” he clarifies, focusing his deep blue eyes on mine, “that with you, it’s not about being afraid of losing you.”
“I’m that easy, huh?” I joke. The look of growing frustration on his face tells me I’ve misunderstood him, and that now is not the time for jokes.
“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m petrified of losing you. When you fell yesterday, the only thought I could put together was one of sickening concern. What if he hits his head? What if he’s permanently injured? What if he blacks out and never comes back? But then, when I saw you were okay, the only thought going through my head was that there was no way in hell I could ever go through the rest of my life without you.”
His words cut through me. Stripping me bare, they reflect the exact same way I feel about him.
“You see, with you, the thing that scares me isn’t the thought of losing you. What scares the shit out of me is not having you in my life in the first place,” Dylan says, softly.
He lowers his face to mine, cradling my jaw, and searching my eyes. “I love you, Conner. You brought me back to life simply by just being here. And I don’t ever want to picture a life that you’re not a part of.”
With the softest of caresses, he strokes his thumb against my lower lip before pressing his own in the same spot. As his forehead rests against mine and our breaths mingle in the small space between us, I inhale him. This sweet, angry man who turned everything I thought I knew about my own life completely upside down.
“I’m not as good with words as you are, but know that I love you, too.”
With hands and hearts joined, we fall asleep, a sense of peace that, before this moment, was foreign to both of us, covering us like the warmest of blankest on the coldest of nights.
Excerpt 3 – Let Love Heal
“Hello.” I call out timidly. I hear a thud, as what I assume is a head bumps into the underside of the desk. A male voice calls out “Crap” and I can’t help but giggle that I’ve surprised whoever is under there. He then says, “I’ll be right with you.”
“Okay, take your time. Sorry for interrupting. I’ll be waiting out in the lab.” I make my way back out to the main room and wait patiently for “under the desk mystery man” to meet me. And when he does, oh my dear sweet Lord of all things hot. I was fully expecting suspenders, a pocket protector, glasses, and plaid pants pulled up to his chest. I was expecting someone more along the lines of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, but what I got was Bradley Cooper from The Hangover.
That’s two very different Coopers.
My mouth goes dry and I’m suddenly struck dumb. As he walks to me, he wipes his hands on his faded and oh-so-soft looking jeans and then inspects them to make sure they’re clean. Standing before me, he extends his hand, and by some miraculous force, I’m able to put together, “Hi. I’m here to apply for the job.” My voice is squeaky as I wave the hot pink sign in between us. Shaking his hand causes sparks of electricity to course through my arm. “Wow. I just put that sign up this morning. I didn’t expect anyone to apply for a few days.” His voice is like velvet and it does funny things to my insides. When he releases my hand, it’s still hot from his touch.
“Let me go get some paperwork for you to fill out …” His sentence hangs in the air between us and I realize that I haven’t told him my name.
“Melanie. I’m Melanie Crane. It’s nice to meet you …”
“Bryan Mahoney.” And when he smiles at me as his name rolls off his tongue, I feel like a giddy school girl.
“Okay then, Melanie. Let me go get that paperwork and we’ll get the ball rolling.” He turns to walk away from me and my eyes are glued to his body. What the hell? A hot computer geek. You have got to be kidding me. This boy is seriously fine. Tall, lean and just plain beautiful. I should leave right now. I thought this would be a nice quiet job where I could go completely unnoticed, but there’s no way in hell I can work with him. He’s freaking hot and I’m, well, I’m not. I’ll be a bumbling fool the entire time I’m around him.
Just as I’m about to walk out the door, Bryan calls out to me. “Hey, Melanie! Where are you going?” Call me crazy, but there is a hint of desperation in his voice. With my hand hovering above the door knob, I inhale deeply and figure what the hell. I might as well go for it. The truth is he probably won’t even know I exist. Guys like him never notice girls like me anyway. I turn toward him and smile as I say, “No, I just have class in a few minutes. I wasn’t expecting to actually do an interview or anything. I don’t want to be late; that’s all.”
I flat out lie and just hope he doesn’t catch on.
His returning smile is blinding. Perfectly straight, white teeth flash before me, but what hits me in the gut is how his eyes smile along with his mouth. They crinkle in the corners and he shakes his head just a little. It looks like he’s laughing at me, but not in an “I’m making fun of you way.” Maybe he’s caught on, after all.
“Okay, so can you come back after class, Melanie?” The way my name sounds coming from his full lips makes my pulse skitter. For the first time ever, I feel noticed. This hot piece of man-cake is actually talking to me and looking at me and saying my name. And, call me crazy, but he’s not just being nice because I’m applying for this job. There’s something playful and flirty going on in his eyes, in his voice, in his body language.
Excerpt 4 – Let Love Be
After knocking on his door, I wait patiently and just hope that he’s not too busy. His truck is in the parking lot, so I know he’s here, but after two minutes, he still hasn’t answered. I knock again, but still no answer.
I try the knob and it’s unlocked, so I crack the door open slightly and peek into his living room. He’s not there, but I hear music buzzing through the space. I step inside and pinpoint the loud bass of Pink Floyd pounding out from his bedroom. He’s singing along, loudly and horribly off key, but it’s genuine and full of life. Hearing the words of “Wish You Were Hear” fall from his lips makes them sound even sweeter − the rhythm more sensual, the beat more erotic.
I drop the bags next to my feet, lean up against the doorframe and watch him as he pulls a plank for hardwood flooring out of the box next to him. The floor is bare except for the small area he’s completed in the corner. There’s a small table saw set up and tools scattered all over the sub flooring. Completely void of furniture and a rug, the sound fills the room harshly, echoing off the walls and bare floor. How he still hasn’t heard me, I’m not sure. It probably has something with the sheer volume of the music, but I am thoroughly enjoying the show without him noticing me just yet.
With his shirt off, I see every rippled plane of hard muscle gracing his back. Watching him feed the flooring carefully through the guide on the saw, makes my mouth dry. His biceps flex and pull; his ass looks like a work of art shifting under his threadbare jeans. They slide down his narrow hips slightly and he just lets them hang there, unknowingly letting me enjoy the show.
When the song comes to an end, and he’s done trimming the plank of dark, maplewood flooring, he grabs a bottle of water and chugs down half of it in one large gulp.
“Hi,” I mumble, my voice all breathy and filled with lust.
He turns at the waist, swiping his chorded-with-muscle forearm across his mouth. “Hey,” his word holds a moment of surprise, before licking his lips seductively. “You look breathtaking, love.” He scans my outfit − a tight black skirt that falls in a cute ruffle right above my knees and a pale pink shirt with pearly buttons down the center. I’ve come to realize he has a thing for legs so I purposefully chose a pair of shiny, black three and a half inch heels to wear today.
Strutting over to me, he reaches into my hair and pulls out the clip that’s holding it up in a messy knot. “There, that’s better.” He kisses my cheek as he inhales the vanilla-scented cloud that my falling hair provides.
Pressing my hands to his chest, I stretch up on my toes a little, pressing my lips right next to his ear. “No. You look…” Words escape me, so I trace the tip of my tongue in a steamy, hot line around the outer shell of his ear. I move my hands from his chest, enjoying the feel of his chest hair under my fingertips, and coil them around his neck as I assault his skin with my lips. A groan of pleasure rumbles in his throat as I lace my fingers into his hair, pulling his neck to the side. Lightly grazing my teeth over his skin, I nip gently. “You are absolutely edible.”
His mouth attacks mine, roughly and passionately. The velvety slide of his tongue against mine sets a pulse of desire coursing through my body. A small flicker of pain erupts at the nape of my neck as he grabs a fist full of my hair, holding me in place as his tongue plunges hotly into my willing mouth. The pain vanishes quickly and he licks and nips along my jawline and down the exposed skin of goose bump covered neck. Mumbling against my skin, he asks, “What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting later?” He reaches down and grabs my ass, hitching my leg over his hip.
“You don’t seem too upset,” I rasp as I grind my hips against his rock-hard erection. His only response is a low groan that I feel vibrating against my chest, pebbling my nipples even more than they already are. In two long strides, he moves us to the wall, sandwiching me between him and it.
“God, you’re so fucking hot,” he says in between sensuous kisses that leave my skin feeling as if it’s been licked by a flame. Holding both of my wrists in one hand above my head, he stares fiercely into my eyes as his other hand works the buttons of my shirt. He pulls it out of the waistband of my skirt and gazes down at my breasts as they threaten to fall out my sheer lace, pink bra.
My nipples press against the thin fabric and his hungry stare makes them harden even more − almost to the point of being painful. “Please, Evan,” I beg, but all he does is lick his lips and lean his forehead against mine.
“Please, what?” he challenges before moving his mouth across my neck and collarbone. Arching my back, I shove my breasts into his face, hinting at what I want.
“Real subtle, love,” he chides as his fingers dance across my ribcage, coming close to, but never touching me where I want him to. “But if you want something, you’re going to have to tell me. I want to hear you.”
The moan that flies out of my mouth and reverberates through the empty room is one born out of desire and frustration. We haven’t made love in weeks and now he wants to test me, to make me beg. Turned on and beyond annoyed, I arch my back again.
He simply tsks at me as he licks his lips. “I don’t want anything between us this time, or ever again.” He holds my chin in his hand, angling my head to his. “Now, tell me what you want,” he demands, sending shivers of desire racing throughout my overheated body.
About the Author:
Melissa Collins
Melissa Collins has always been a book worm. Studying Literature in college ensured that her nose was always stuck in a book. She followed her passion for reading to the most logical career choice: English teacher. Her hope was to share her passion for reading and the escapism of books to her students. Having spent more than a decade in front of a classroom, she can easily say that it’s been a dream.
Her passion for writing didn’t start until more recently. When she was home on maternity leave in early 2012, she read her first romance novel and her head filled with the passion, angst and laughter of the characters who she read about it. It wasn’t long before characters of her own took shape in her mind. Their lives took over Melissa’s brain and The Love Series was born.
No comments:
Post a Comment