Romantic Suspense by Nicole Blanchard
I thought it was just one night with my brother’s best friend. The boy I had dreamt about since he gave me my first kiss, under the lights of the Ferris wheel.
I knew he was about to leave for a year – no chance for a future.
But our one night together would create memories for a lifetime.
Our paths crossed again, but I had lied, and he was no longer the man he once was. He was warring against demons. Against the silence that was threatening to swallow him. And I had kept a secret from him, one he would never forgive me for.
But my secret was about to be ripped open. Displayed for the world on national news. And I had only one way to repair the damage.
I had to trust the man I lied to.
The man I never got the chance to make a life with.
The only man who could save what we had created together.
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/102028-77823.cloudwaysapps.com/jqxysxqutc/public_html/wp-content/themes/megashopNEW/inc/theme-functions.php on line 1233
Description
Find more from this author on:
About the author:
You may learn more about Nicole and her work at www.authornicoleblanchard.com. Join her mailing list for updates at http://eepurl.com/6zSvD
What inspired you to write your book?
My husband was in the military and was a contractor overseas. I’ve always wanted to write a book that dealt with the challenges couples face after being overseas and how love truly can conquer even the most devastating circumstances.
Here is a short sample from the book:
“I understand.” It’s devastating, but I do get it. It is worth it to have a part of him that I’ll always be able to keep. No matter how long he’s away.
“You sure? I don’t want to hurt you, Liv. That’s the last thing I want.”
I turn so that I’m facing him. “Trust me, I do.” I reach up to kiss him. “I don’t want you to worry about me while you’re gone. The most important thing is that you stay safe.”
His eyes turn serious as I look down at him. “I’m gonna miss you.”
My heart squeezes painfully in my chest. “You haven’t been here long enough to miss me.”
A ghost of a smile crosses his handsome face. “Last night changed that.”
I open my mouth to reply, but I’m interrupted by the sound of my cell phone going off on the nightstand beside me. I check and find a text from Jack asking if I knew where Ben went last night.
“What time is it?” Ben asks.
“Little after seven.”
“I promised Mom I’d have breakfast at my grandparents’ house.”
I’m grateful that my face is once again hidden in his throat because the news that our time is coming to an end makes me more upset than I’d like to admit. “Yeah,” I clear my throat, “I should be getting home before Jack sends out a search party.”
Ben kisses my forehead again before slipping out of bed. I take a moment to admire his beautiful male form as he walks to the bathroom. While he’s gone, I dress in my clothes from the night before, wincing as my sore muscles make themselves known.
I throw my hair up into a ponytail and smile in the mirror as Ben wraps his arms around me from behind.
“I’ll take you home when you’re ready.”
I force a smile on my face. “I’m ready.” Maybe if I fake it long enough, it’ll start feeling like the truth.
Ben places a hand at the small of my back as he leads me back to his truck. The sight of it throws me back to the night before and my face heats. He opens the door for me and I get in. I watch as he rounds the truck, his simple T-shirt and jeans do amazing things for the lines of his body. I can’t believe it took us this long to make it into bed together. If I’d known it was going to be so good, I would have found a way to get him there sooner.
“You need to stop anywhere before I drop you off?” he asks.
I swallow thickly. “No, I’m good, thanks.”
As we get closer to my house, the sense of dread grows like a rock in my stomach. This was why I never wanted to act upon the attraction between us. What if things get weird between us? Then again, who am I kidding? Sex always complicates things.
I’m mentally kicking myself when I feel a warm touch on my hand. I look down and find Ben twining his fingers with my own. He brings our hands to his lips and kisses my fingers, and I swear, my heart skips a beat.
“Whatever is going on inside that head of yours…whatever excuses you’re trying to come up with to explain away what you’re feeling, you need to shut that shit down now. If I had more time to show you what I’m feeling, I would, but I don’t and that’s on me.” He pulls the truck in my driveway, shuts off the engine and turns to me. “I need you to trust that it meant something to me. That you mean something to me.”
I move closer, grinning at him like an idiot. “You mean something to me, too.”
He full-on smiles at this, his eyes running across my face, almost as if he’s trying to commit it to memory. “First chance I get when I get back, I’ll find you.” He looks out the windshield for a moment before returning his gaze to mine. “I shouldn’t tell you to wait for me, Liv, but I’m a selfish bastard so I hope you will.”
The next nine months are going to be hell on earth, but what I have to deal with is nothing compared to the dangers he’s going to face. I don’t know how he does it, and goes back again and again. Just watching him leave and knowing he may not return causes tears to spring to my eyes. I fight to keep my voice from cracking. “You remember what I said, Benjamin Hart. You stay safe. Or else.”
“I will, I promise.” He spares me a quick kiss. “C’mon, I’ll walk you to your door.”
Each step down the walkway to my small house makes the yawning chasm inside my chest crack open a little more. How am I supposed to say goodbye when we’ve barely said hello?
We reach my front door and turn to each other. I can only stare dumbly at the concrete.
Ben pulls on my hand until I’m in his arms. I inhale the scent of his cologne and detergent, steeling my overwrought emotions. I don’t want to make this harder on him than it already is.
When I’m reasonably sure I can control myself, I take a step back. My five foot five height puts me about eye level with his chest, where remnants of my mascara have dirtied his shirt.
“I messed up your shirt,” I mumble, fingering the stain.
He smiles and cups my cheek with one hand. “It’s fine. Now kiss me and say goodbye.”
His lips press against mine for a moment, but those few seconds say more than any words ever could. I can feel the way his fingers grip my cheek more tightly, the way his body strains against mine, and the way his breath catches in his chest. He breaks our connection, resting his forehead against mine, his eyes closed.
“Now say goodbye,” he whispers.
I manage to choke out, “Goodbye, Ben.”
Related products
-
DESTROY ME. (The Obsession Series Books 1-3 Complete.) by Laura Bailey
How can someone save you when they threaten to break you in two? My captor, My enemy, My everything. He promises to save me. He tells me to leave while I can. A man as menacing as he is seductive, a man whose touch scorches me, a man whose moments of devotion are more heartbreaking than his callousness. From the moment his eyes held mine I had no choice but to surrender to everything he was; his dark desires, his passion, his strength. A powerful obsession and forbidden needs consume us both. Bound to his dark sexuality, we embark on a battle of wills. He pushes me to the edge. He seeks release in me, momentary escape from the pain and loneliness that fills him. He carries the scars of the haunting legacy of dark secrets. His desires are undeniable, our obsession inevitable, but he doesn’t trust me. Whatever it takes, he says he will protect me… but he will never let me in. He promises to save me. He tells me to let go. We can’t be together. Enemies are like ghosts and what he does for me will either bind us closer…or destroy us completely. (With strong scenes of an explicit sexual nature, this is suitable only for those eighteen and over) An erotic haunting powerful love story, with strong scenes of sexual acts. The Complete ‘Obsession Series,’ featuring ‘Surrender to Me’, ‘Break Me,’ and Part Three, ‘Destroy Me.’
Double Blind (Vittorio Crime Family #2) by Vanessa Waltz
I’m in so deep that I can’t see the way out.
The boss of the Rizzo family needs me. I need to get closer to Carmine Lucchesi, a captain in his family. I need to steal information from him. He’s a sweet man, but underneath there’s something damaged, something deranged.
The boss wants me to leave Vincent, the man I love. End the engagement. I’m with Carmine until he says so. Until I get what he needs.
Or he’ll kill Vincent. He’ll kill my mother, and Vincent’s mother, and everyone I’ve ever cared about.
I don’t have a choice. I need to end it with him, even though I love him. Even though it just might kill me.
Just a Fling (Billionaires on the Beach Book 1) by Olivia Noble
Sweet and hardworking Eva has just graduated from college. Her sexually adventurous best friend, Nicole, has convinced her to take an island vacation to let off some steam and relax. Eva does not expect to meet a handsome man with a rock-hard body that reminds her of a Greek god, on her first night on the beach.
What results is a night of passion that will change her life… This is the first part of a serialized contemporary romance, with a length of about 14,000 words. It contains strong sexual content and is not intended for readers under 18.
Sweet Perdition by Cynthia Rayne
She’s been a good girl too long–now she’s ready to be bad. And on the back of a Harley is the best way to get there.
Elizabeth Williams, single small-town librarian, knows she doesn’t belong in the notorious biker bar, Perdition. Especially not alone, in a frilly pink bridesmaid dress. But after watching her best friend marry her ex-boyfriend,she’s ready to drink her cares away. And break out of the good girl mold she’s been stuck in most of her life.
Ryker,member of the Four Horsemen MC, can’t take his eyes off the gorgeous, curvy redhead at his club’s bar. He suddenly has a taste for pink … and he’s going to get him some. Just for one night, of course, because Ryker doesn’t do relationships. Ever.
One night turns into more–until a wild party and a pair of naked blondes get in the way. Now she’s ready to run, and his pride demands he let her go. But when Elizabeth’s ex begins to stalk her, Ryker realizes he’ll do anything to keep her safe. Can a rough, tough biker hang onto both his pride and his woman?
Prescribed by D.D. Parker
Emma Wells thought she had it all figured out. She went to college wanting a brand new lease on life, thinking she was going to become a doctor and make her mom proud. She just wasn’t planning on passing out her first day of volunteering at the hospital because she couldn’t handle the sight of blood.
After banging her head on the floor, she’s taken care of by Dr. Ryan Matthews, an unfairly hot specimen of a man. Even after waking up in a cloudy, post-concussion daze, she can’t take her eyes off of him and their chemistry is becoming undeniable.
Strong. Handsome. Charming.
Even that couldn’t encompass everything Ryan had to offer. There was just one problem; Emma already had a boyfriend.
One that would never let her go.
Ever.
Will Dr. Matthews still be able to prescribe Emma just what she needs or will Emma’s own demons come to threaten more than just their relationship?
**Recommended for 18+ due to sexually graphic scenes and adult language.
This is Book One in The White Coat Series (New Adult Romantic Suspense). It can be read as a stand-alone story without a cliffhanger.
DESIRE & PREJUDICE by Jean-Louis McMillan
Desire & Prejudice promotion: $0.99 (instead of $ 2.99) From Fri. 03/28/14 to Fri. 04/11/14
Desire and Prejudice is about the healing power of true lovemaking and the damning power of ethnic bias.
When Jasmine and Adam first meet, they are both totally caught by surprise; their inner feelings are the magnetic force that draws them to each other. Their burning desires toward one another are unstoppable, but they are condemned by their separate lives – he is a French official and she is a Muslim.
They find ways to be with each other when they couldn't.
The poetic letter takes the reader into the minds of two lovers desperately wanting one another, but each holding back because of their cultural backgrounds and the fear of getting caught in their dangerous game.
The erotic descriptions are vivid enough, but scarcely the right quantity of description to know precisely what is going on.
Desire and Prejudice is much more than “boy meets girl, they fall in love”; it tells a realistic, believable story that readers haven't heard before.
These characters, nor the twisted end of the story, are definitely not the stereotypical a reader can predict.
“Desire & Prejudice” climbed to #1 on free Erotica category and #11 on free Fiction, during the last KDP Free Days Promotion.
Reverb by J. Cafesin
James Whren is brilliant, beautiful, rich, and taken—with his genius for creating music. Desired by many, he commits to no one but his muse. On the eve of his brother’s funeral his father shatters his life, and James is left abandoned in hell with no one real to save him.
Until Elisabeth, and her son, Cameron.
Reverb is a love story, a psychological thriller paced with romantic suspense. Spun from The Magus (John Fowles), also about a man who learns to love someone other than himself, and way beyond 50 Shades of Gray (E.L. James), Reverb is told like Crime and Punishment, modern, tight, dark, edgy verging on sharp. It’s like nothing you’ve read, guaranteed.
5/5 Stars / Top Pick! “This is one of those stories that pulls you in immediately and has you frantically turning the pages to see what happens next.”–Diana Coyle, Night Owl Reviews
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.