Showing posts with label Katie Ashley. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Katie Ashley. Show all posts
"Don't miss this hilarious and sweet adventure in the Green Valley Library series. Five Stars!"--Aleatha Romig, New York Times bestselling author
Shelf Awareness, an all-new hilarious romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Katie Ashley is available now!
After catching her husband in a compromising position, Finley Granger finds herself in a new hell: reentering the dating world. When she moves in with her grandmother, her great-aunt, and their best friend, Finley finds herself surrounded by a trio of well-meaning yet bumbling matchmakers.
In spite of their efforts, Finley only has eyes for one person, and that’s Zeke Masters—the 6’4”, impossibly built, and ridiculously good-looking new man in town. Along with her nether regions, Finley’s journalistic spidey-senses tingle as to why he’s on sabbatical from Seattle. Is he on the lam or escaping a bad breakup? What’s his story?!?!
As Finley finds herself reluctantly drawn to the gorgeous IT guy, she can’t help but wonder: should she indulge in a rebound tryst with the mysterious Zeke, or has she finally met her match?
‘Shelf Awareness’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
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or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Excerpt
As Zeke worked on uploading the census records, I hoisted one of the many boxes from the Henderson’s donation onto the table. It kicked up an epic dust cloud. I reached inside to pluck out one of the moldering tomes of historical literature. Wrinkling my nose, I fought the urge to sneeze. Instead, I cleared my throat. When it still felt like I had swallowed a wad of sawdust, I coughed. And that was my grievous mistake.
The force of the cough dislodged the Ben Wa ball, sending it into an epic downward dive. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Ben Wa ball had left the building. Whirling away from Zeke, I used my hand to try an inconspicuous crotch shuffle to send the ball back to its point of origin. What happened next was truly against the laws of motion. Because the universe apparently hated me, the ball escaped the confines of my thong. As it started its descent down my thigh, I squeaked and clamped my knees together.
“Are you all right?” Zeke asked behind me.
I threw a glance at him over my shoulder. “Uh, yeah, I . . .” Okay, I had no idea how I was going to get out of this one. It wasn’t like I could say, “Well, here’s the thing. The Ben Wa ball I was using to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles to keep my vagina healthy for the D just slipped out and is about to make a very unhappy trail down my leg.”
“I think a bug bit me or something.”
“Oh no. Want me to take a look?”
“No!” When Zeke’s eyes widened at my outburst, I said, “Sorry. I’m okay.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Totally.”
“I think I might’ve found something interesting for your research.”
The only thing I was interested in at the moment was getting the Ben Wa ball out of my pants without Zeke seeing it. “Oh?”
“I definitely see some Native American female names.”
Damn him for being enthusiastic about my research. The last thing I wanted to do was walk the couple of steps back over to him while trying to keep a Ben Wa ball from rolling down my pants leg. Since I couldn’t see any other way out of it, I nodded. Gritting my teeth, I started shuffling over to him.
When I started lurching like Frankenstein’s monster, Zeke tilted his head curiously at me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yep. Totally fine,” I muttered. Just as I reached his chair, my knee shifted because of what I imagined was panic sweat overtaking me. As the ball became dislodged, I bit down on my lip to keep from squealing again. There was no saving the ball now or my humiliation for that matter.
As soon as it plopped onto my shoe, I flung my foot, sending it ricocheting into the desk. Of course, it’s size caused it to make a tremendous ching-ching noise, which in turn caused Zeke to rip his attention away from the screen. “What was that?”
“What was what?” I questioned innocently.
He furrowed his brows at me. “You didn’t hear that noise?”
“Uh, no.” Plastering a smile on my face, I said, “I’m sorry. I was just so into what you were saying.”
Ignoring my response, Zeke quickly assessed the area around us. After I’d flung the ball away, it had come to a rest to the right of his desk chair. When he bent over to examine the ball, I inwardly began screaming noooooo while at the same time cursing Estelle for even bringing the Ben Wa ball into my orbit.
Since the universe hadn’t tortured me quite enough yet, Zeke picked up the ball. “Interesting,” he murmured as he twisted it between his fingers.
I decided it was best to play absolutely and completely clueless in this situation. “What is it?” Silently, I prayed he wouldn’t respond with, “It looks like one of those sex balls you shove up your cooch.”
“I don’t know. Maybe a part off one of the desks or chairs. I should probably give it to maintenance, so they can check all the furniture in here.”
Oh hell no. Without a second thought, I snatched the ball out of his hands. Since I did it rather abruptly, Zeke’s surprise was apparent on his face. Waving my free hand dismissively, I said, “Don’t bother yourself with that. I’ll take it to them.”
“Thanks, Finley.”
After wheezing out a breath, I replied, “You’re welcome.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’ll go do that right now.”
I didn’t bother waiting for Zeke to reply. Instead, I power walked right out of the history room. I’m sure if he was watching me he would have been puzzled at my miraculous recovery, considering I’d been limping earlier.
At the first trash can I could find, I deposited the Ben Wa ball. It seemed abundantly clear that neither I nor my vagina were quite ready to handle the responsibility.
The force of the cough dislodged the Ben Wa ball, sending it into an epic downward dive. Yes, ladies and gentlemen the Ben Wa ball had left the building. Whirling away from Zeke, I used my hand to try an inconspicuous crotch shuffle to send the ball back to its point of origin. What happened next was truly against the laws of motion. Because the universe apparently hated me, the ball escaped the confines of my thong. As it started its descent down my thigh, I squeaked and clamped my knees together.
“Are you all right?” Zeke asked behind me.
I threw a glance at him over my shoulder. “Uh, yeah, I . . .” Okay, I had no idea how I was going to get out of this one. It wasn’t like I could say, “Well, here’s the thing. The Ben Wa ball I was using to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles to keep my vagina healthy for the D just slipped out and is about to make a very unhappy trail down my leg.”
“I think a bug bit me or something.”
“Oh no. Want me to take a look?”
“No!” When Zeke’s eyes widened at my outburst, I said, “Sorry. I’m okay.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Totally.”
“I think I might’ve found something interesting for your research.”
The only thing I was interested in at the moment was getting the Ben Wa ball out of my pants without Zeke seeing it. “Oh?”
“I definitely see some Native American female names.”
Damn him for being enthusiastic about my research. The last thing I wanted to do was walk the couple of steps back over to him while trying to keep a Ben Wa ball from rolling down my pants leg. Since I couldn’t see any other way out of it, I nodded. Gritting my teeth, I started shuffling over to him.
When I started lurching like Frankenstein’s monster, Zeke tilted his head curiously at me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yep. Totally fine,” I muttered. Just as I reached his chair, my knee shifted because of what I imagined was panic sweat overtaking me. As the ball became dislodged, I bit down on my lip to keep from squealing again. There was no saving the ball now or my humiliation for that matter.
As soon as it plopped onto my shoe, I flung my foot, sending it ricocheting into the desk. Of course, it’s size caused it to make a tremendous ching-ching noise, which in turn caused Zeke to rip his attention away from the screen. “What was that?”
“What was what?” I questioned innocently.
He furrowed his brows at me. “You didn’t hear that noise?”
“Uh, no.” Plastering a smile on my face, I said, “I’m sorry. I was just so into what you were saying.”
Ignoring my response, Zeke quickly assessed the area around us. After I’d flung the ball away, it had come to a rest to the right of his desk chair. When he bent over to examine the ball, I inwardly began screaming noooooo while at the same time cursing Estelle for even bringing the Ben Wa ball into my orbit.
Since the universe hadn’t tortured me quite enough yet, Zeke picked up the ball. “Interesting,” he murmured as he twisted it between his fingers.
I decided it was best to play absolutely and completely clueless in this situation. “What is it?” Silently, I prayed he wouldn’t respond with, “It looks like one of those sex balls you shove up your cooch.”
“I don’t know. Maybe a part off one of the desks or chairs. I should probably give it to maintenance, so they can check all the furniture in here.”
Oh hell no. Without a second thought, I snatched the ball out of his hands. Since I did it rather abruptly, Zeke’s surprise was apparent on his face. Waving my free hand dismissively, I said, “Don’t bother yourself with that. I’ll take it to them.”
“Thanks, Finley.”
After wheezing out a breath, I replied, “You’re welcome.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “I’ll go do that right now.”
I didn’t bother waiting for Zeke to reply. Instead, I power walked right out of the history room. I’m sure if he was watching me he would have been puzzled at my miraculous recovery, considering I’d been limping earlier.
At the first trash can I could find, I deposited the Ben Wa ball. It seemed abundantly clear that neither I nor my vagina were quite ready to handle the responsibility.
About Katie Ashley
Katie Ashley is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Top Five Best-Selling author of both Indie and Traditionally published books. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia, her two rescue dogs named for Disney Princesses, Belle & Elsa, an out-numbered cat, Harry Potter, and one Betta fish. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Shakespeare, Harry Potter, and Star Wars.
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Today we are celebrating the release of REINING HER IN by Katie Ashley by participating in the blog tour. This is a standalone, contemporary romance title that is available now to read as part of Kindle Unlimited. Check out the blurb and links below, and follow Ashley's Group for details.
REINING HER IN by Katie Ashley
Blurb
The last time I saw Declan St. James was at our rehearsal dinner. That was shortly before he jilted me at the altar. To avoid the swarm of whispers and finger pointing every time I dared to show my face in public, I fled two hours south to Atlanta and never looked back. Over the last decade, I’d planned hundreds of scenarios about how our next meeting would go down. The expletives I’d hurl at him. Which knee I might use to annihilate his balls. Which dimpled cheek on his ridiculously handsome face I would send a stinging slap across.
But being elbow deep in a cow’s ass was not one of them.
Normally, I didn’t get up close and personal to a bovine’s rectum. At least not since veterinarian school. But desperate times found me back home to attend my grandfather’s funeral, who happened to be the town’s large animal vet. Those two facts had left me wading through manure in Roy Wallace’s pasture to care for a distressed heifer.
While time and maturity seemed to have changed him from the boy I knew, I still wasn’t falling for his charm. Or his hard, chiseled body. Or ass you could eat dinner off of.
No, I wasn’t going back down that street again. Unfortunately, Declan didn’t seem to get the message. Instead, he seemed as stubborn as he ever was and ready for a fight. It’ll be the fight of his life for me to let him back in my heart.
But being elbow deep in a cow’s ass was not one of them.
Normally, I didn’t get up close and personal to a bovine’s rectum. At least not since veterinarian school. But desperate times found me back home to attend my grandfather’s funeral, who happened to be the town’s large animal vet. Those two facts had left me wading through manure in Roy Wallace’s pasture to care for a distressed heifer.
While time and maturity seemed to have changed him from the boy I knew, I still wasn’t falling for his charm. Or his hard, chiseled body. Or ass you could eat dinner off of.
No, I wasn’t going back down that street again. Unfortunately, Declan didn’t seem to get the message. Instead, he seemed as stubborn as he ever was and ready for a fight. It’ll be the fight of his life for me to let him back in my heart.
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About the Author
Katie Ashley is a New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author of both Indie and Traditionally published books. She lives outside of Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia, and her spoiled mutt, Duke. She has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Shakespeare, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Scooby-Doo.
With a BA in English, a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English Education, she spent eleven years teaching both middle and high school English, as well as a few adjunct college English classes. As of January 2013, she hung up her red pen and expo markers to become a full-time writer. Each and every day she counts her blessings to be able to do her dream job.
Although her roots are firmly planted in the red Georgia clay, she loves traveling the country and world to meet readers and hang out with fellow authors. When she’s not writing or chasing down her toddler, you might find her watching reruns of The Golden Girls, reading historical biographies, along with romance novels, or spending way too much time on Facebook.
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Today we are celebrating the release of ROOM MATE by Katie Ashley. This is a standalone, contemporary romance title that is available now to read for FREE in KindleUnlimited. Check out the blurb and links below.
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Blurb:
Growing up as the only girl and with two overbearing older brothers, I’m no stranger to being overprotected. Just as I finished up college and prepared to truly dip my toes into the adult world, my father was elected President of the United States, which added a whole new level of protection with the Secret Service team attached to me. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly be more smothered, I began receiving threats, and my family decided it wasn’t enough to just have an agent living down the hall from me. Nope, I was to have one move in with me, and not just any agent, but Ty Frasier—my brother, Barrett’s best friend, and my brother, Ty’s, head agent. While most women would enjoy living with a sexy, buff Brit, having a roommate threw a wrench into all my plans. Especially when I began noticing Ty was so much more than a hot guy.
Excerpt
After we spent a considerable amount of time perusing the aisles of the Piggly Wiggly, Caroline was finally finished, and we made our way to the checkout. In true small town fashion, she struck up a conversation with the middle-aged cashier. While she appeared utterly charming, I probably came off as an ass because I kept looking around and narrowing my eyes at anyone who might look suspicious. Especially the male middle-aged cashier who seemed utterly enthralled by Caroline.
At the sight of us coming out the mechanized doors, Stuart began easing the SUV closer to our place on the curb. After popping the hatch, Caroline wheeled the cart over to the back of the SUV. Just as I was about to start helping her with the bags, I heard a shout behind me. “Hey! Come back here.”
Whirling around, I saw a man waving wildly at Caroline. “Fuck! Assailant!” Stuart shouted.
I shoved myself between the man and Caroline, shielding her from him. Grabbing her by the waist, I hoisted her up and threw her in the back of the SUV. “Omph!” she cried as her body bounced on the carpeting of the hatch. After slamming the door, I stepped back just as Stuart screeched away from the curb.
Now that I knew Caroline was safe, I turned my attention back to the man. Hurling myself at him, I took him down to the curb. “What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Stay down. I’m calling the police.”
“The police? But what did I do?”
“You’ve been harassing the President’s daughter.”
“I just came out to give her the coupons she forgot.”
“What?”
He nodded. “Look in my right hand.”
After rocking back on my knees, I grabbed his arm and pried the contents out of his hand. Once I unraveled it, I grimaced. “Son of a bitch.”
I had completely and utterly misread the situation. Speaking into my microphone, I said, “Stuart, it’s a false alarm.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he blared into my ear.
“No, I’m not.”
“We’re headed back.”
“Roger.”
I figured then it was past time for me to get off the man. I rose to my feet before reaching down to help him up. I brushed off his white shirt I had accidentally dirtied when I knocked him to the ground. Upon closer inspection, I saw the nametag on his shirt. “Sheldon, I’m terribly sorry for my actions.”
He narrowed his brown eyes at me. “I think it’s me who needs to be calling the police.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Reaching into my pocket, I fished out my badge. As I flashed it at him, I said, “Agent Fraser with the U.S. Secret Service.”
His eyes bulged before he gasped. “Wait, that was President Callahan’s daughter?”
“Yes, sir, it was. I hope you can understand that we take the safety of the president’s children very seriously, and upon first reflection, it appeared you might’ve been preparing to harm Ms. Callahan.”
“Oh, no. I would never want to do that. I voted for her dad. Never thought I’d vote for an Independent, but he won me over.”
“I’m happy to hear that, sir. I certainly hope this unfortunate incident won’t in anyway skew your views on him.”
He waved a hand dismissively at me. “No, no. I understand. More than that, I can’t wait to go home and tell my wife that Caroline Callahan came into my store today.”
For my sake, I hoped he left out the part where a Secret Service agent mowed him down because he thought Piggly Wiggly coupons were a weapon. Once the other agents found out about this, I was going to catch hell in the form of their constant ribbing. At least Stuart would be going down with me. He’d made the assumption to start with.
After Stuart drove up, he made quick work of putting the SUV in park and opening the hatch. I hopped off the curb and went over to the back. Caroline sat with her knees pulled against her chest. When she pursed her lips at me, I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. It was a false alarm.”
“That’s what Stuart said.”
“We can never be too careful.”
An amused look twinkled in her blue eyes. “Apparently not when we find grocery cashiers a threat to my safety.”
“He appeared to have a weapon in his hand, and he was shouting at you,” I argued.
“I believe the weapon turned out to be coupons.”
Man, she was really on my dick about this one. Shit. I should never think of Caroline on my dick in any form or fashion. It was just too wrong. “Yes, the weapon turned out to be your coupons.”
“Right.”
I extended my hand to her. “Come on and get out, so we can load the groceries up and get the hell out of here.”
After I helped Caroline slide out of the back, she started helping me load the bags. “Should I go inside and offer an autograph to smooth things over? This is the closest grocery store to the apartment, so I’d hate to not ever be able to come here again because you clothes-lined a guy.”
“I didn’t clothes-line him. I merely took him down as part of protocol.”
“I’d say you lost your calling in football, that’s for sure.”
Previous titles in the series
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About the Author
With a BA in English, a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English Education, she spent eleven years teaching both middle and high school English, as well as a few adjunct college English classes. As of January 2013, she hung up her red pen and expo markers to become a full-time writer. Each and every day she counts her blessings to be able to do her dream job.
Although her roots are firmly planted in the red Georgia clay, she loves traveling the country and world to meet readers and hang out with fellow authors. When she’s not writing or chasing down her toddler, you might find her watching reruns of The Golden Girls, reading historical biographies, along with romance novels, or spending way too much time on Facebook.
Author Links
Join Katie's Newsletter
“The race will be a fight to the
death finish, and that’s not even the actual campaign.”
Meet Barrett Callahan in Running
Mate by Katie Ashley!
NOW AVAILABLE!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2lB9gdp
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2lW8kBx
iBooks: http://apple.co/2lu1FNa
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2leN3G4
Full Blurb
Barrett
The name’s
Barrett Callahan. Yeah, that Barrett Callahan—the one the press dubbed “Bare”
after those naked sexting pictures surfaced. At twenty-five, I was armed with
an MBA from Harvard, an executive position at my father’s Fortune 500 company,
a penthouse, and a different piece of delectable eye candy in my bed every
weekend. I had a life most men dreamed of. But then my father decided to run
for president, and my playboy lifestyle became a liability to his campaign that
was built on family values. My “makeover” comes in the form of a fake fiancée
who I don't even get to choose--one who is an uptight, choirgirl acting priss
but also sexy-as-hell.
Addison
My latest
relationship had gone down in flames, and I was drowning in a sea of student
loans when in true Godfather status, James Callahan made me an offer I couldn’t
refuse. Seven figures for seven months on the campaign trail pretending to be
the adoring fiancée of his son, Barrett. As soon as he won the election, our
engagement would be dissolved amicably for the press, I was free to ride off
into the sunset a million dollars richer, and because of the NDA, no one would
be the wiser. Sure, I’d never met the guy, but I’d been a theater nerd in high
school. I could pull off any role from Lady Macbeth to Maria Von Trapp. But
that was before I met my fake fiancé—the infuriating, self-absorbed,
egotistical, drop-dead-sexy King of the Manwhores.
About the Author
Katie Ashley is a New
York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author. She lives outside of
Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia, and her two very spoiled dogs. She
has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter,
Shakespeare, Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.
With a BA in English,
a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English
Education, she spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching
MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
GIVEAWAY
$100 Amazon Gift Card
Sports + Bad Boy + Second Chance
The Hard Way by Katie
Ashley NOW AVAILABLE!
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Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2bzDAWm
**Additional retailers
to follow**
Blurb
Cade Hall has always been the golden boy of
the gridiron. Because of his talent at football, coupled with his father’s
wealth, he’s always gotten his way. But when a night of drunken debauchery
lands him in hot water with the college athletic board, neither his influential
father nor his charming grin can save him. Cade finds it a total buzz kill when
he is sentenced to community service with troubled youth at an inner-city
shelter. But his nightmare is only beginning when his greatest high school
regret is the very one in charge of the program, and she has him by the balls
in more ways than one.
For Avery Prescott, senior year was a
nightmare of epic proportions, and Cade Hall played the lead villain. After she
fled her small town for college in the bright lights of Atlanta, she thought
she had escaped the painful memories of her past. She never could have imagined
Cade would waltz through the door of the outreach program she presided over.
But Avery has news for Cade—she isn’t the same shy, doormat of a girl she was
in high school. Since she holds Cade's football future in her hands, she’s more
than ready to make payback a real bitch.
Will they stay in the defensive zone or
discover that sometimes life's greatest lessons are learned the hard way?
My Review
Excerpt
“Is this one of those old-timey
record players?”
“A Victrola,” I answered as I joined
him.
Cade snapped his fingers. “That’s
right. There was one of these at my grandparents’ house.” He eyed the
contraption curiously. “Does it work?”
“Sure.” I set my cup down before
winding up the crank. Then I placed the needle on the record, and a slow
instrumental tune came out of the Victrola’s horn. At Cade’s groan, I grinned.
“Not a fan of classical music?”
“No. It’s more about the fact that
it’s one of Strauss’s waltzes.”
Cocking my brows at him, I asked,
“You know Strauss?”
With a snort, Cade said, “Don’t look
so surprised, and no, I didn’t learn about him in Harlington’s music
appreciation class either.”
I held up my hands. “I wasn’t
alluding to anything.”
“Yes, you were alluding, as you say,
to the stereotype of me being an uncivilized jock,” Cade teased in a
snooty-sounding voice.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got to stop doing
that. You really are so much more than a jock.”
He swept his hand to his heart.
“Why, thank you.”
“So tell me how you know Strauss.”
“I have waltzed at ten cotillions
and three debutante balls.”
“Wow. That’s quite impressive.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve never been to a cotillion or
deb ball.”
“No, I mean, haven’t you ever
waltzed before?”
I laughed. “Oh yeah, I often
practice my dance skills out in the corn.”
“Every lady should know how to
dance.”
“But I’m not a lady.”
Cade smiled. “Yeah. You are.” When I
started to protest, he said, “Money and position aren’t what make a lady. It’s
what’s inside you that counts.”
His words and his tone caused the
breath to wheeze out of my lungs. Just when I thought he couldn’t surprise me
any more with the things he said, he went and said something like that. “Thank
you,” I finally mumbled.
“You’re welcome.” The world seemed
to slow to a crawl around us as we stood there staring at each other. The sound
of Cade clapping his hands together caused me to jump. “Okay. One waltz lesson
coming up.”
“I’m going to warn you that you’re
probably going to regret this. I’m the worst dancer ever.”
“How can anyone who plays the piano
suck at dancing?”
“I’m not sure how it’s possible, but
trust me, it is.”
Cade laughed. “We’ll see.”
A tingling jolt of electricity shot
through me when Cade took one of my hands in his. After he put his other hand
on the small of my back, he drew me closer to him. Even with all the times I
had sat next to him while we worked on our project, I hadn’t been this close.
“Now you put your other hand on my
shoulder.”
“Okay.”
“Step back with your left foot and
then bring your right to the side.” After I followed Cade’s lead, he said, “Now
bring your left foot to your right, and then step forward with your right.”
My mind spun as I frantically tried
processing Cade’s instructions. Somehow it managed to click together, and I
followed his lead. “Hey, you’ve got it,” he remarked with a smile.
“It’s not because of me—it must be
the teacher.” I glanced up at him and smiled. “Sports, brains, and dancing;
you’re really a true triple threat.”
“You forgot devastating good looks
and charm.”
I grinned. “Does that make you a
quintuple threat?”
“Make it a sextuple threat if you
throw in the money.”
“I should have known you’d find a
way to have ‘sex’ in your title.”
Cade threw his head back and
laughed. “Always busting my balls, Prescott.”
“Yep. Just consider me your Little
Ball Buster like Judith in Walking Dead
was called Little Ass Kicker.”
Cade’s brows rose in surprise. “You
watch Walking Dead?”
“Sure I do.”
“That surprises me.”
“Why?”
“I guess I just figured you only
watched pretentious stuff like Downton
Abbey.”
“Downton
Abbey is not pretentious.”
Cade grinned. “I’ll take that as a
yes that you watch it.”
“I certainly do.”
“At least I’m 1 and 1 on picking the
TV shows you like.”
“While you know me pretty well, you
have a lot more to learn, Mr. Hall,” I teased.
“I look forward to you educating
me.”
As I stared into his face, Cade’s
expression grew serious. The idea of educating him suddenly seemed to take on a
deeper meaning—one of both mental and physical knowledge.
Cade dipped his head to where our
mouths were just inches apart. His breath fanned across my cheek, causing me to
shiver. I stared into his eyes, silently pleading with him to go ahead and kiss
me. We’d already been down this road before. Since Thanksgiving night, I’d
wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on mine again.
When he finally kissed me, it sent
energy humming all over my body. I’d kissed other boys, but it had never felt
the way it did with Cade. It was all-consuming of my mind, body, and spirit.
Considering his experience, it
shouldn’t have been too surprising that Cade was a good kisser. What surprised
me the most was the emotion behind his kiss. It ran so much deeper than just a
physical act, as if he was putting his heart and soul into kissing me.
Cade deepened the kiss by plunging
his tongue into my mouth. It tangled along with mine in a waltz of its own
composing. My hand snaked up his back to capture the hair at the base of his
neck, and I ran my fingers through the silky strands, marveling at how much
softer it was than I had imagined.
The Victrola ran out of steam, and
the only sound filling the room was heavy breathing. At the loss of music, Cade
stopped leading me around the floor, and his hands slid underneath my buttocks.
He gripped the globes of my ass before hoisting me up to wrap my legs around
his, and I molded myself tighter against him. I couldn’t seem to get enough of
him—the way his strong arms felt around me, his thick waist against my legs,
his broad, muscular back underneath my hands. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I
wanted all of him.
When we crashed into a chest of
drawers, Cade momentarily released my lips to breathlessly ask, “Are you okay?”
“Mmhmm.” I gazed into his hooded
eyes. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”
I rubbed myself against the ridge in
Cade’s pants, causing him to groan against my throat. “Jesus, Prescott, if you
keep doing that, I won’t be able to stop.” When I did it again, my action was
rewarded with a growl.
Cade’s wild eyes glanced around the
room before leading us over to the wide red settee in the back corner. We
collapsed onto the smooth velvet material. I widened my legs to allow Cade’s
hips between them and his mouth sought out mine in a frantic kiss.
As our tongues battled against each
other, Cade’s hand came to my breast. He kneaded and cupped it over the fabric
of my uniform, my nipples hardening under his touch. When he began undoing the
buttons of my dress, he broke the kiss to glance at me as if asking my
permission. At my nod, he practically ripped the remaining buttons open.
He gave me a sheepish grin as he
pulled me into a sitting position. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” I said as I slid my
arms out of the sleeves.
My breath hitched when Cade’s arms
snaked around my back to undo my bra. Once it was unhooked, I couldn’t help
bringing my arms to cover my chest and keep the bra in place. I hated that in
this moment I couldn’t seem to get past my modesty, or my fear that my
average-sized chest would turn him off.
Cade tilted my chin with his
fingers, forcing me to look him in the eye. “You sure you’re okay with this,
Prescott?”
“I am, I promise.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I’m just a little scared,” I
whispered.
“That I’ll hurt you?” Cade
questioned with a wounded look.
I gave a quick jerk of my head.
“That you won’t like what you see.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been with so many other
girls. I’m afraid I won’t measure up.”
His expression darkened. “That’s the
stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”
I ducked my head. “I’m sorry, but I
can’t help the way I feel.”
Cade cupped my face in his hands.
“There’s only right here and right now, and there’s no one else but you and me.
None of the past, just us and this moment.”
My heartbeat thrummed wildly at his
sentiment. “Okay,” I murmured as I stared deeply into his eyes.
“And you could never not be
beautiful to me. I like everything about you, both inside and out.” At what
must’ve been my incredulous look, Cade grinned. “And I’m not just saying that
so you’ll let me in your pants.”
“I know you wouldn’t.” Deep down, I
knew it to be the truth. If Cade had really wanted to just screw me, he would
have attempted it over the past two months.
“I wouldn’t be here tonight if I
didn’t want to be with you for the long haul.”
Once again, my heart began to beat
so erratically that I felt a little dizzy. “Really?”
He nodded. “You’re all I need,
Avery.”
About the Author
Katie Ashley is a New
York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best-Selling author. She lives outside of
Atlanta, Georgia with her daughter, Olivia, and her two very spoiled dogs. She
has a slight obsession with Pinterest, The Golden Girls, Harry Potter, Shakespeare,
Supernatural, Designing Women, and Scooby-Doo.
With a BA in English,
a BS in Secondary English Education, and a Masters in Adolescent English
Education, she spent 11 1/2 years educating the Youth of America aka teaching
MS and HS English until she left to write full time in December 2012.
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