by Celeste Grande
Publication date: October 27th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
Broken…
Shattered…
How can you begin to live again when you’ve already been forced to…die?
Evangelina Ricci is trapped in a world that’s a never-ending nightmare, a constant ache in which consumes her every breath. Unable to bear the torture any longer, she does the one thing she can to take back control.
Run.
With her best friend Jace in tow, Evangelina attempts to escape her darkened past by leaving for college and diving head first into an aggressive schedule, determined with everything she is to make a name for herself. There’s only one problem—she can’t run away from the demons she struggles with. The demons that’ll forever be there, locked inside, battering her soul. Hiding behind a flawless façade, Evangelina faces her ghosts until her world is turned upside down, invaded by…him.
Blake Turner. Sweet, witty, flirtatious and drop-dead gorgeous, he finds Evangelina at every turn. Scared he’ll uncover the truth she keeps so well guarded, Evangelina tries her best to put on her act, deterring him like she has so many times before—only this guy’s different. He’s relentless. Utterly, absolutely and completely relentless. He sees her and he wants her and won’t stop until she’s his.
Will Evangelina succeed in pushing Blake away? Or will he break down her walls and be the person to make her realize life is worth living?
EXCERPT:
By the time we reached the hallway in my building, all
awkwardness was gone and we were laughing and joking.
“Thanks for the help. If I fail another test, I’m gonna kill myself.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh please, you’re such a drama queen.”
“Am not!” I
swatted at him playfully, but he skillfully dodged me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a ginormous, skeevy monster dash out
from under a door. With its beady eyes and giant wings, it was raging at me,
fists flying.
“Ah! Oh my God!” I
yelped. Before I could think better of it, I jumped up and wrapped my legs
around Blake’s waist, nearly strangling him with my arms. “Kill it, kill
it, kill it!”
He secured me by my waist and spun around. In every attempt to keep my eyes on
the ferocious beast, my head flew to the right and left as he swirled and
whirled, trying to see past me to the ground.
“Calm
down, it’s only a water bug, sissy girl,” he said through his laughs.
I didn’t care. “Come on! Get it!” I screamed.
He twisted, maneuvering me on his hips, stomping his foot, trying to extinguish
the hideous demon. I shrieked into his chest. My body was jolted and shaken,
flying from side to side as Blake danced a jig, thrashing madly.
As the pounding died down, awareness prickled up my body. I suddenly realized
the severity of what I’d done. My face was buried in the soft hardness of his
chest, feeling his heart beat against my cheek with each rise and fall. My nose
taking in the scent that was just…Blake. My hands were buried in the hair at
the back of his head, and my legs securely wrapped around his…
Oh
my God!
I could feel his appreciation of me
spearing me in my girl parts. The skirt I’d decided to wear did nothing to
create a shield against his prodding tip. It tantalized me, teasing me, begging
to be set free and touch me without any barriers. Of its own free will, my body
opened up to him, welcoming him. Telling him to come inside and take a seat,
stay for a cup of tea. The feeling was so strong, I was nervous I’d leave
evidence of my own appreciation on his clothes through my thin undergarments.
Feeling him nuzzle his nose on the top of my head, all movement ceased, other
than his chest still heaving from exertion. At least, I thought it was still
exertion.
My voice was muffled in the peaks of his chest. “Is it dead?”
“Yes, you’re safe.” He
smoothed his hand down the length of my hair, keeping me tightly clasped with
the other.
I lifted my head, then immediately regretted it. Our faces were so close, I
could see flecks of white mingled into his blue eyes. They flicked to my lips
and he took a deep, long swallow, then his gaze moved back to my eyes, seeking
approval. The tension in the air was massive, the pull to each other fierce. It
would be so easy to give in to what we both knew we wanted, what we craved. My stubbornness
was the only obstacle.
Abruptly, I wiggled and unhinged my legs, signaling he should set me free, but
his grip tightened, preventing me from hopping off. The corner of his mouth
raised and he slid me down excruciatingly slow, my body pinned to the front of
his, dragging down his length, feeling every—every—bit of his…length.
Fuck.
As I traveled down, his hands traveled up, feeling each
curve of my body, and coming to rest on my shoulders. I swallowed hard and
realized my hands were still rooted deep into his hair. That as much as I was
trying to tell my body to relinquish him, it was grasping at straws, defying
me.
I uncurled my fingers, one at a time and dropped my hands to my sides, willing
him to do the same. Realizing this would not be the time, a look of
disappointment came over him. He dropped his arms but didn’t back away.
“See. Drama queen.” His
voice was gentle now.
I smiled weakly. “Shut up.”
“Shut me up.” Typically
his eyes were wicked when he said things like that, but right now they were
devoid of any humor. Longing and desire replaced his usual snarky confidence.
Seeing another notch in my already strained resolve break away, he moved
closer, closing the small gap that remained between us. “Shut me up,
Angel.” He
brushed the pad of his thumb over my lower lip. “I dare you.”
My body was in flames. It took everything I had not to jump back into his arms
and burrow into his pores. But I couldn’t do that to him; he was too
important. I looked at him, trying to think of a witty response, but came up
empty.
In truth, that was all I really wanted to do anyway. Catch
his bottom lip between my teeth and slide my tongue over his. Learn the curves
of his mouth from the inside out.
“It’s impossible to shut you up. I learned that already.” It was a struggle to get the words out
when I could smell the mint on his breath. His proximity made the hairs on my
entire body stand at attention, and they all seemed to be bending toward his
electric current.
“Try me.” He
hooked his hands underneath my arms and slowly lifted me back up effortlessly
so we were eye level again. “Wrap your legs around me.”
I did as he said.
My body was aching to please him. To feel him. To surround
him and be consumed by him.
He kept one arm securely fastened around my waist and buried
the other in my hair before bringing his nose to the sensitive flesh beneath my
ear. “God, you feel so good wrapped around me. You were meant to be where
you are right now. Do you feel that?” He pressed his chest tightly against mine, and our hearts
beat against each others in rhythmic thumps. Aching to get to one another and
finally mesh into their other half.
I licked my lips and nodded. I couldn’t deny it.
His gorgeous blues followed the trail of my tongue. “You kill me when you
do that.” He
brought the pad of his thumb to the glistening trail, yearning in his eyes.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t ever be sorry to me. You have nothing to be sorry for. But I do suggest
you refrain from any gestures involving this mouth.” He tugged at my bottom lip while
staring at me with a fierce, carnal longing to claim me once and for all.
He saw the desperate look in my eyes, the shattering of my resolve. The aching
desire and need coiling and twisting like a wicked little tornado. “Tell
me it’s okay, Angel. Tell me what you want me to do. That you want this as
badly as I do.”
“I can’t,” I
panted out my words in forced gasps, my eyes watering under the pressure of
trying to keep it contained.
“Why not? Tell me why not. What’re you doing to us?”
I cupped the side of his face. “You’re a beautiful soul, Blake. I don’t
want to ruin that. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. You’re too good for
me. I don’t want you to feel the anguish I go through every day. It isn’t right
to drag you into that.” I
blinked as the tears swelled over my bottom lids and trailed down my cheeks.
“It’s too late. I’m already there, baby. Can’t you see that? I’m not scared,
and I’m not running. I’m right there along with you, whether you want me to be
or not. When you hurt, I hurt. You reside right here.” He took the hand still blanketing his
cheek and placed it to the center of his chest, each pulse reaching out to
touch me.
“You’ve
taken up permanent residency. Give it to me. Let me take it away from you.
Protect you. Be with me and I swear, you won’t hurt anymore.”
His words wrapped around my heart and clenched. Helping it beat in its weakened
state. I wanted so badly to believe I could do this. To believe it would be
okay. That I wouldn’t destroy him.
“Just be sure when this happens, you’re ready because you’ll be mine from that
moment forward. I don’t intend on letting you go—ever.” He slid one finger under my chin and
lifted my tear-stained gaze to his. “Be with me, Angel. Be mine. Be my
forever.”
My insides shook violently. My whole body went numb, both unfeeling and feeling
everything at the same time. All I had to do was say yes.
Three little letters.
One word.
Yes.
Celeste Grande grew up loving words. From an early age, it was easy for her to open her heart through pen and paper and come away with something poetic. She never thought anything more than releasing her emotions would come of it though. A workaholic that can’t keep still, in her ‘real’ life, she’s a Certified Public Accountant who dreams of writing sexy books all day long. When she isn’t working, she’s reading, writing, mommying and being a wifey to the love of her life.
She lives in New York, still putting pen to paper and anxiously awaiting the debut of her first novel, Live Me, a new adult romance, in October of 2015.
She lives in New York, still putting pen to paper and anxiously awaiting the debut of her first novel, Live Me, a new adult romance, in October of 2015.
I have the honor of hosting an additional giveaway, there is also a grand prize giveaway. Simply complete the Rafflecopter form to enter. One winner will receive an E-Book copy of Live Me by Celeste Grande. Prize provided by the author. Open Internationally.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Wow! I love the excerpt given in this post! I would totally read this!
ReplyDelete<3
DeleteThank you for sharing!! <3
ReplyDelete:D No problem!
Delete