One of the assumptions people make about me as a romance
writer, is that my life mirrors my writing. Now I’d love to say that’s true.
Picnic style dinners on a lawn with an orchestra playing, or a wine tasting where
I’m being fed strawberries would be amazing! The reality is, I’m the mother of
two tiny tots with a marine husband. With his erratic schedule and the demands
of two children under three, we rely on ingenuity and creativity to keep the
flames going. It’s the small moments that make my heart race. Dinner and a
movie at home after the kids have gone to sleep can be just as satisfying as
anything I’ve dreamed up on paper. Last week the most romantic thing my husband
did for me was let me sleep in. You’re laughing, but after staying up till five
in the morning three nights in a row with an infant, a little bit of rest felt like
a cruise to the Bahamas.
My writing allows me to experience the first moments of a
relationship all over again. When your lips meet and fireworks go off behind
your eyes lids, making your knees shake, and the world around you disappear.
The first time you hear those magical three words and tears well in your eyes;
because you know this special persons feels the exact same way you do. Those
are all great moments! But to me, there’s a depth to true love that can’t be
topped. Real love is enduring. It’s been
tested. It’s gone through hills, valleys,
and our own issues and insecurities. Yet still triumphed to come out on top. That is the kind of love I
strive to write and live. If you don’t leave my story feeling like my
characters are going to grow old together, I haven’t done my job.
My characters,
Oliver, and Juniper from What the Heart Knows are a great example of forever
love in my mind. They come together broken and flawed, and find happiness as
they heal and lay themselves bare. Oliver is a widower who’s having a tough
time moving on, and Juniper is a woman determined to move on from a painful
past. From the moment they met sparks
fly, and possibilities seem limitless. When their past resurfaces they make the
decision to stay together and attack insecurities, past hurts and the
paranormal as a united force.
Here’s a taste of their tale.****This has content not suitable for people under 17.****
Juniper was amazed at the reverence
Oliver paid her scar. It was as if he was determined to heal her from the
outside in. When the shirt cleared her head she reached down to bury her
fingers in his silken hair and arched her back to allow him more access. He reached around to unhook her bra like a pro
and she trembled as he laid her down across the couch.
“I want to taste you, Juni.” His words were gruff, and she felt her face
heat as she propped up on her elbows to glance down at him.
“No one’s ever done that before,”
she said.
“They didn’t know what they were
missing.”
“Actually, I think they were
terrified of giving me a heart attack.”
His eyed filled with understanding
as he unbuttoned her pants.
“Makes it easier for me to spoil
you for any other man. Now be a good girl and lift your hips.”
Her heart thudded in her ears as
she watched him peel off her pants and move between her legs. He reminded her
of a panther. His body was lithe and toned and his movements were full of
purpose. She felt stalked. He glanced up and pierced her with those jade green
eyes and she was incapable of looking away as he lowered his face to her sky
blue boy shorts. He purred as he inhaled deeply.
“You smell good, Juniper.” He
traced down the seam of her lips and pulled her damp underwear between the lips
of her pussy. “You’re so wet; you soaked through your panties.” She cried out at the friction he created as
he rubbed them against her sensitive clit.
“That’s it, baby, drip for
me.” Her hips moved with the rhythm he
created as her tiny nub became engorged with blood. She gave a whimper of
protest when he pulled away only to cry out when he eased a finger inside her.
“You’re so tight.” He removed his finger and lifted it to his
lips. “Mhmm, and sweet.” He eased the
slender digit back inside her and pulled out again. “Have you ever tasted
yourself?”
“No,” she said. Her voice was
barely above a whisper in the silent room. “Then you have to try it.” He offered her the glistening finger and she
twirled her tongue around it. It wasn’t bad, salty and rich with a hint of
musk.
“Fuck, who knew you were such a
dirty girl?”
“I did say I wanted to experience
everything I never got to before.”
“You will.”
His words were a vow as he undid
the bows on either side of her hips, and removed her sky blue boy shorts, which
had become a torture device. He spread her wide and licked a path that made her
cry out as she bucked.
“That’s it. I want to hear how much
you’re enjoying it.” He pulled back to place a kiss on her neatly trimmed bush.
“I can tell you’ll need to be
restrained.”
His arm was a dead weight as he came up to
hold her hips in place. His stiff tongue plunged deep as his nose stimulated
her clitoris. Juniper’s world narrowed to the swirls, thrusts, and flicks he
skillfully applied. Her hands came up to grip the arm of the couch and she
clamped her thighs around him as tremors came over her body. A searing heat
burned its way through her body as she found her release.
“Oliver!”
His name flew from her lips as she ground her
pussy into his face and rode out the most explosive orgasm she’d ever
experienced. He continued to lick her slit as her breathing evened and her eyes
refocused.
“I want to be inside you, Juniper.
I want to feel those wet walls around me.”
He peered up at her from beneath long blond lashes. “Do you want that?”
“God, yes.”
“Not here.” He moved away and held
out hand to help her off the couch. “When I make love to you for the first time
it’s going to be in my own bed.”
“And that’s what we’re going to
do?” she asked. Her eyes narrowed as she
studied his face carefully. They’d never really spoken in depth about their
emotions.
“Would you rather I fuck you?” The crude word made her eyes shine with lust.
“I’d rather you do both. You did
promise me everything on my list.”
He growled low in his throat,
wrapped an arm around her hips, and pulled her body flush against his.
“Don’t tempt me, Juniper. You’ll
find yourself ass up in my bed, begging for mercy.”
The words made her lick her
suddenly dry lips. The thought of him pounding into her from behind while she
held on to the bed for dear life made her pussy flutter. This was what she’d
been dreaming about since that night up against the wall at Cupa.
“Interesting, I think you might
like that,” he said.
She met his gaze and nodded, unable to break
the intense connection as one his hands stroked up her back.
His warm hand cupped the back of her neck and he pulled her closer. She
melted against him as he walked backwards, never breaking their lip lock. She was a quivering mass of need by the time
they reached the bedroom. When her knees
hit the edge of the bed, she allowed herself to fall back. She propped up on
her elbows, tense as she anticipated his next move. She watched the fingers
that had brought her so much pleasure just moments before unbutton his jeans
and lower his zipper. She sat up and licked her lips as his cock sprang free.
He was thick, about eight inches long, with a prominent vein that ran down the
side. Pre-cum leaked from the swollen red tip.
“Can I taste you?” she asked.
Her gaze fixed on the milky white drop that threatened to fall.
“You can do whatever you want to
me.”
She bent down and licked the
pearl-colored liquid. It was brackish with a hint of musk that belonged to
Oliver. Her tongue darted out to explore his slit and cum flowed freely.
“God, Juni.”
She moaned when his hips bucked, and he buried
his fingers in her hair, pulling her closer. Her throat relaxed as she licked,
sucked and stroked him to a trembling mess of man. The control he’d
relinquished was heady and she found herself approaching her own climax right
along with him.
“Stop, baby, stop!”
He pulled free and she frowned,
licking her lips. “I wasn’t done.”
“Unless you want me to come, you
are.”
His hands were gentle as he pushed
her back onto the bed. Oliver followed suit once he’d kicked his pants and
boxers away. He eased two fingers inside
her and stirred. Her hands fisted into the bed sheets as she sought more
friction.
“You’re ready for me, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Do you have a condom?”
“I bought some, especially for
you.” He leaned over her body and opened
the top drawer of the nightstand beside the bed. He tore the top off the silver square with
ease, and rolled it down his shaft before he settled in between her legs. He
teased her with his thick head, easing in and out until she was desperate for
real penetration.
What the Heart Knows will be available July 23rd.
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