Book Blurb:
Claire Nixon is a twenty-year-old college dropout with a secret.To Claire, Adam Parker is just another flirty customer at the cafe, until a chance encounter and seemingly innocent comment spurs a bet between them. The bet is simple: If Adam can get Claire to reveal the secret that made her drop out of college, she has to re-enroll. If he doesn’t succeed, she gets to keep her secret and he has to stop stalking her at the cafe.Claire thinks she has this one in the bag. She’s perfected the art of forgetting her past. But she isn’t prepared for Adam’s relentless pursuit or for him to share his own secrets. And she’s definitely not prepared for her rock star ex, and her secret, to come banging down her door one year later.
ANGIE E'S REVIEW:
Tears from the beginning. While reading this first scene I found myself heartbroken for this kid. The more I learn from Claire about her past the more I find myself drawn to her. I sympathize with her. I find myself reliving similar past incidents of my own life and immediately want to comfort her somehow. Through out this story I was so involved with Claire’s life that I physically felt her emotions. I cried, panicked and laughed with her.
Adam Parker (AKA: Jack Dawson) is such a hot cocky mess. He’s the boy next door literally =). He melts my heart. I fell in love with his determination and his sex appeal through Claire’s eyes. His generosity towards Cora is so heartwarming. I think I shall add him to my list of book boyfriends *sigh*.
Chris Knight was Clair’s first love. He was her EVERYTHING. She gave up everything for him to pursue his dream career. What you don’t know is what EVERYTHING entails till the ending. Chris is seem mostly through Clair’s flashbacks of her time with him. He seems like he is as good a guy as any gal could hope for in a first love. To see how much she loved and cared for him only makes me love him just as much.
So FIRST off CONGRATS to Cassia Leo for a JOB WELL DONE…… Seriously this lady has awesome writing TALENT. This book kept me so into it that I didn’t want to put it away BUT I didn’t want to go through it so fast that I would forget so much of it..I also did NOT want it to end. I go so into it that I forgot to highlight important things for this review on my kindle. LOL… so lets just wing it. Now…..LOVE THE TITANIC REFERENCES……2nd all time favorite movie next to Gone With The Wind ( of course ) . Lets discuss the actual book and well if you NOT into spoilers you may want to stop reading about……. NOW....
The sexual chemistry is SWELTERING between the two characters and I for one couldn’t wait for Clair to get over her hang-ups and GET IT ON with Adam. Once they did I was like WOOHOO you go girl. Now as you all know I read A LOT of EROTICA however this book did NOT disappoint me. It had that PANTY wetting factor in it. Lets just say. I would love to be Claire for a night. I was very curious into the secret past they both had. I felt bad to learn of Adam’s secret. It hurt me to know he carried this around thinking it was HIS fault all this time when it wasn’t. When Claire finds out more about her past my heart broke for her to hear such details. Claire’s secret…………..BLEW MY MIND………I was floored… literally. I sat there shocked . I couldn’t believe it…. REALLY??????? WOW.. I felt like I needed a nice nerve pill cocktail after that one. BUT it only made me understand her character more. She is truly a STRONG person. To endure what she has can ONLY make a person love her more which is why she and Adam are PERFECT for each other. To go through the struggle of loosing the first love with her through her flashbacks gave me more understanding of her issues and hang ups she is having today. This book is going on my MUST read list of 2013 and I’m biting nails waiting for book 2.. =)
Excerpt:
The tires squeal, skidding across the asphalt as the truck plunges toward me. I’m frozen as I wait for the impact. I close my eyes and the first and only thought that crosses my mind is that this was inevitable. I’m finally being punished for my sins.
The squealing stops and my nose fills with the stench of burnt rubber. I open my eyes as I feel the heat of the engine against my arm. The grille of the truck is inches away from me and a cloud of smoke surrounds the front of the truck. I hear a car door opening, but I can’t see anyone approaching through the smoke until he’s right in front of me, Jack Dawson.
“Are you all right?” he asks. I’m shaking with adrenaline, but I don’t have a scratch on me. I nod and he grabs my arms. “You look like you’re in shock. I should take you to the hospital.”
“No!” I shout as I shrug my arms out of his grasp. “I’m fine. I just want to go home.”
“I’ll take you.”
“You almost killed me!”
He lets out a sheepish chuckle and it infuriates me. “Which is why you should let me take you home, so you don’t step in front of any more moving vehicles.”
“You think it’s funny that you almost murdered me?”
“It would have been manslaughter. And, hey, I saved you from that ‘roid junkie this morning. I guess this balances that out. Now everything is right with the universe.” I curl my lip in disgust and he smiles as he nods toward the cabin of the truck. “Come on. I’ve already tried to manslaughter you once tonight. I promise I won’t try again for at least another twelve hours. You’re safe for now.”
I roll my eyes as I walk toward the passenger door. He skips after me and opens the door for me to climb in. I step into the truck, using the handgrip to pull myself up, and bounce down into the seat. It smells like the coconut-scented sunblock I’ve had to purchase by the case since moving to Wrightsville Beach. He shuts the door and I flinch, still jumpy from nearly being mowed down by this monster.
He slides into the driver’s seat, but his hands make no move for the ignition. “Why were you running across the street in the middle of the night without looking both ways?”
“I was just walking home from a party. Can we go now?”
“A party? Are you drunk?”
“I don’t drink.”
He cocks an eyebrow as he studies me, as if his gaze is the equivalent of a Breathalyzer test.
“Hey, I’m not going to sue you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I’m not worried.”
Ugh. This guy is annoyingly cocky.
“Let me take you to lunch today to make up for almost killing you.”
I turn to look through the rear window of the truck. Where are all the cars? Not that this street is exactly buzzing past midnight, but I’m beginning to think I’m never going to get home if someone doesn’t come along and force him out of this intersection.
“I’m sleeping in today.”
He tilts his head inquisitively. “What do you mean by sleeping in?”
“I mean curtains drawn, eye mask on, electronic devices switched off. Dead to the world sleeping in,” I say as I pull the house keys out of my purse and set the purse on the floor next to my feet.
“Sounds serious.”
“Sleep is serious.”
“What are you some kind of health nut?”
“I like getting my rest after a night of partying.”
“You just said you weren’t drinking.”
“Are you going to keep asking me questions or are you going to take me home? ‘Cause I can walk.”
He smiles as he turns the key in the ignition and pulls the truck forward. “Cora was right about you,” he says, then reaches across the console and shakes my knee.
I slap his hand away, accidentally jabbing him with the keys in my hand. “Hey, there’s this thing called personal space. And how do you know Cora?”
“I don’t believe in personal space. Separateness is an illusion. We are all connected.” He turns to me and flashes me a cunning smile as he pulls into my apartment complex. “Welcome home.”
There is only one way he would know where I live and also know Cora.
“You’re the new tenant?”
He continues to grin as he guides his truck into the parking space next to Senia’s empty space and kills the engine. A million sarcastic remarks about living underneath the person who nearly murdered me whiz through my brain, but I keep them to myself. If there’s one thing I hate it’s getting on bad terms with a neighbor. I never had neighbors growing up in the middle of nowhere with my mom. When I stayed with Senia for a few months after dropping out, I couldn’t believe how friendly her family was with their neighbors. They have parties almost every weekend together. Cora has practically become a surrogate grandmother to me. The least I can do is show her new tenant some courtesy.
“Well, then, welcome home to you, too,” I say, determined not to let our neighborly relationship get any more awkward.
He glances down at the steering wheel, unimpressed with my attempt at easing the tension. “Don’t you want to know what Cora said about you?”
I open the car door and slide out of the truck, letting out a small grunt as I land on the pavement. “Nope. I think I’ll let Cora tell me herself. Goodnight….”
“Adam,” he says. “I’ll tell you my last name at lunch.”
CHARACTER FUN :
Top Ten Favorite
Things – Claire Nixon
Meditation
Adam’s
jokes
The
way Chris toys with his tongue piercing
Music
Living
with her best friend, Senia
The
way Adam smells
Water
Cora’s
Midwestern wisdom
Adam’s
face scruff
The
beach
Adam's POV:
Claire watches me watching her as she
undresses next to the creek. She has the kind of body that begs to be
taken. Most of the girls I dated in high school were surfers who ran
in our circle. They had strong bodies. Claire is tiny compared to
those girls, almost fragile. But nothing about her personality is
fragile, which is why I’ve fallen so fucking hard for her.
“You look like you’re
ready to devour me,” she says once she’s removed everything but
her yellow bikini.
“Devouring you is the
least I’m going to do to you,” I say as I grab her hand and lead
her into the creek.
The bank of the creek is
muddy and we both slip as we reach the water’s edge. She screams as
she flails and throws her arms around my waist. I laugh as we both
fall sideways into the water.
She screams again and kicks
away from me. “Oh, my God! Something just brushed up against me!”
Julia and Locke burst into
gut-busting laughter as they watch her freaking out. I lock my arms
around her waist before she can climb out of the creek. Her skin is
slippery and we both fall back into the water again.
“You asshole!” she
shouts as she attempts to push me away, but even as my arms weaken
with laughter she can’t fight me off.
“It’s just a fish. It’s
not going to kill you.”
I pull her further into the
water and she stops fighting when the water reaches the top of our
chests. The water is nice and warm, having been warmed by the summer
sun all day long, but it has a stagnant briny smell that’s not as
refreshing as the smell of the ocean. Claire grabs my hands and I
loosen my grip as she turns around in my arms. Julia swims past us
and I splash her. Locke climbs out on a tree limb until he’s
dangling over the creek.
“Get a life!” Julia
squeals as she splashes me back.
Claire’s brow furrows,
but she doesn’t even bother to block it as some of Julia’s splash
attack hits her in face. She’s mad. If she could only see the mucky
weed tangled in the back of her hair she’d be even more pissed.
I brush a bit of mud from
her cheek and she turns her face like a stubborn child. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out with our hillbilly creek,”
I say as I try to keep myself from slipping my hand inside her
bikini. “I promise if you feel something nibbling your foot you can
leave.”
“You’re so funny.”
She swipes her thumb across my bottom lip to wipe away what looks
like a soggy piece of a leaf. “This creek is disgusting.”
“It’s the lack of
sunlight that makes it look gross. It’s really not that dirty.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Okay, how about a joke
to calm your nerves?” She rolls her eyes and I turn toward Julia.
“Hey, what’s the joke about the melons?”
Julia swims back toward us.
“What does it mean if life gives you melons?”
I turn to Claire and she
cringes as if she’s anticipating another bad joke. “It means
you’re dyslexic.”
After an hour or so of
mucking about in the dark and trying to convince Claire not to leave,
she’s had enough.
“Come on, Claire, the
critters are half the fun!” Locke hoots as he dangles from the same
tree branch. “They’re harmless so long as they don’t slither
into your swimsuit.”
I grab Claire’s foot
before she can swim away and yank her backward. “You can’t leave
yet,” I say as I wrap my arms around her waist and press my chest
against her back. “We haven’t even played Marco Polo yet.”
I slide my hand over her
stomach and down toward her bikini bottoms. She spins around to face
me and I expect her to slap me. Instead, she throws her arms around
my neck and wraps her legs around my waist. I smile with surprise as
she squeezes her legs tightly, crushing herself against my growing
hard-on.
She leans in and whispers
in my ear. “If you take me inside, I’ll play Marco Polo with you
upstairs.”
I slide my hands inside her
bikini bottoms and take both her sweet ass cheeks in my hands. I let
out a groan of frustration as I kiss her neck, tasting the muddy
water on her neck. If it were just the two of us out here I’d be
deep inside her right now.
I tear my lips away from
her neck and pull my head back to look her in the eye. “Not here. I
want our first time to be perfect and this is not the right place or
the right time. Not that I don’t want to take you upstairs and
destroy you. Just not tonight.”
“I can see your boner
from here!” Julia shouts at me from as she attempts to pull Locke
off the tree branch.
I shake my head and set
Claire down on the creek bed. She doesn’t look disappointed with my
reaction to her offer, but it only takes a second for her to squeal
at something in the water.
“Ouch!” she screams as
she reaches down to grab her foot.
“What happened?”
“I kicked a rock. Fuck!”
She swims for the edge of
the creek and this time I don’t yank her back. My heart pounds as I
follow her out of the water and onto the muddy bank. I race toward
her as she plops down and tries to get a look at her foot. It’s
covered in mud and it’s too damn dark out here to see anything.
As soon as I reach her, I
scoop her up in my arms. “Let’s go clean it up.”
“Put me down. I can
walk.”
“Fine,” I say as I set
her down on the grass.
Her face screws up in pain
as soon as her feet hit the ground, but she holds back her screams
and curses this time. She’s too fucking stubborn. I reach for her
again and again she pushes me away.
“You’re not carrying
me. The house is like a quarter mile away. It’s too far. I can
walk.”
I turn my back to her and
look over my shoulder. “Hop on my back. I’ll be your horsey.”
She shakes her head as she
climbs onto my back. “In case you couldn’t tell, I’m trying not
to make several comments about riding you.”
I smile as I hook my arms
under her knees and trudge forward. “In case you couldn’t tell,
I’m trying really hard not to ride you.”
Top Ten Favorite
Things – Adam Parker
Surfing
Making
Claire laugh
Family
Architecture
Competing
MTV
Making
Claire scream
Sunset
Pretending
to be a celebrity chef
Traveling
Chris's POV:
I toss the empty Capri-Sun
pouch into the waste bin under the kitchen sink then gaze at Claire
across the kitchen island. She’s sitting cross-legged on the
barstool. Claire is the only person I’ve ever known who has to sit
cross-legged at all times. It’s one of the quirks I love the most
about her.
“What are you grinning
at?” she says as she looks up from the magazine she’s reading.
“Why do you read that
shit? None of those girls are as beautiful as you.”
“I read it for the
articles.”
I round the island and
stand behind her as I wrap my arms around her waist. “I know a few
articles I’d like to do away with today,” I say as I bury my face
in her neck and taste her skin. “Happy birthday, baby.”
“Stop. What if your mom
walks in?” she says as she pries my arms off her and pushes me
back.
“They just left. They
won’t be back for at least three hours. Come upstairs with me.” I
spin the barstool around so she’s facing me. “Please.”
She narrows her eyes at me
as a smile curls her lips. She grabs the front of my shirt and pulls
me toward her.
Her lips hover over mine as
she whispers, “Okay, but only if you promise not to sing the
birthday song.”
I laugh before I plant a
quick kiss on her lips. “Asking me not to sing to you on your
birthday is like asking me not to breathe. Not gonna happen.” I
grab her hand and pull her off the stool. “Come on, babe.”
I grab her hand and she
follows me upstairs to her bedroom. My mom doesn’t know shit about
us, but I’m going to tell her as soon as Claire gives me the
all-clear. I can’t stand keeping this kind of secret. I want to
everyone to know how much I love Claire.
We get to her room and she
starts straightening up, putting away clothes and straightening the
pictures of us she has tucked in the frame of her mirror. I come up
behind her and press my body against her as I reach for a picture of
us. I slip the picture out of the mirror frame and hold in front of
her face. It’s a picture of us in front of the movie theater the
day we went to see Iron Man 2. She was wearing a T-shirt I
bought her and I remember how hard it was to not touch her as Jake
took the picture. Of course, inside the theater the “no touching”
rule didn’t apply.
I hold the picture up in
front of her face as I kiss the back of her neck. “This was one of
my favorite days. This is the day you told me you loved me.”
She spins around and looks
me in the eye. “Yeah, but I loved you for a long time before that.”
I toss the picture onto the
floor and grab the back of her neck as I mash my lips against hers.
Her tongue slides over mine and I instantly get hard.
“Fuck,” I whisper as I
pull her toward the bed and lay her down.
She wraps her arms around
my neck as I put one of my legs between hers and lie on top of her. I
slip my hand under her shirt and her skin prickles with goose bumps.
She’s so fucking soft. I slide my hand farther up and her body goes
rigid.
“I love you,” I whisper
against her lips and she immediately pushes me off.
I sigh as I lie back next
to her.
“I’m sorry,” she says
as she stares at the ceiling. “I’m just scared that it’s going
to hurt and then I’ll feel different about you. I don’t want to
feel like you’ve hurt me.”
I flip onto my side and
kiss her cheekbone as I slip my hand under her shirt again, eager to
feel her skin again. I try not to be possessive with Claire. That’s
not what she needs. And I’m pretty good at knowing what Claire
needs. I trace my finger around her bellybutton and she smiles.
“I could never hurt you.
You’re my Claire-bear,” I say. “But I can’t fucking lie. I
want to be inside you so bad.” I continue tracing a light circle,
imagine my fingers between her legs and this hard-on is getting
unbearable. “I want to make you feel as good as you make me feel.”
I lift her shirt and lay a soft kiss on her belly. Her skin is warm
against my lips. I want her so bad. “But I’ll wait as long as it
takes.”
She brushes my hair out of
my face as my lips hover over her belly. “I love you,” she
whispers and I scoot up to plant a quick kiss on her temple before I
spring off the bed.
“I’ll be right back,
babe,” I say as I leave to get my guitar.
Top Ten Favorite
Things – Chris Knight
Claire
Music
His
guitar, Lucille
His
dog, Mr. Miyagi
His
tattoo artist, Shayla
Seafood
Jimi
Hendrix
Japan
Racing
motorcycles
Reading
Want more CHARACTER inspiration? Check the Relentless
PINTEREST page out . Or you can check out the song inspirations playlist on the
YouTube page.
AUTHOR INFORMATION:
Author
Contact Information:
Cassia Leo grew up in Florida and moved to California after graduating with a degree in journalism. She worked at two small newspapers before discovering her passion for writing romance. Her favorite color is lavender and her dream is to one day score a record deal based on her awesome shower singing skills.
Ten Fun Facts About Cassia Leo
Favorite movies: The Jerk
and Waking the Dead.
I'm four degrees of separation
from Kevin Bacon.
Favorite books: The Book Thief,
Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Perks of Being a Wallflower.
I'm tri-lingual and I've lived in
three different countries; most recently, I spent six months in
Portugal last year.
Favorite movie quotes: From The
Jerk, “My mother gave up everything to put me through
cosmetology school,” and, “What’s happening to my special
purpose?!” If you’ve read Relentless you won’t be surprised to
know that I wrote a techno remix consisting of my favorite lines
from Titanic. The first line of the song is, “I see the
iceberg and I see it in your eyes.” Maybe someday I’ll record it
and post it on SoundCloud. ;-)
My favorite word is wanderlust.
Favorite music artists: Adele,
Florence + the Machine, Agnes Obel, The Beatles, Rage Against the
Machine.
I can do a one-handed cartwheel.
Favorite TV shows: Sex and the
City, Homeland, Revenge, So You Think You Can
Dance.
I drink my coffee black and with a
pinch of salt.
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