Meet Liam & Megan
in the newest stand alone
in the Hope Town Series by Harper Sloan!
NOW AVAILABLE
Blurb
I've loved once. I gave everything that I had
to that love. Blindly believing that nothing could ever take that feeling away
from me. Away from us. And when my little world of happiness was ripped from my
fingers, I felt a loss that still haunts me to this day.
Now I use that lingering grief as a shield to keep my heart from loving again. It's that fear that keeps me from letting anyone, except my daughter, get close enough to make it hurt. To make my heart bleed when I inevitably lose again.
Until the day I met Liam Beckett and everything I thought I had protected myself from was shoved back in my face.
He's on a mission to prove to me that a love worth having is a love worth fighting for.
Excerpt
His mouth leaves mine and with his hand still on my leg, he demands, “Dig your heels in deep, baby.” I give him what he wants, but not because he told me to. I give him what he wants because when his hand leaves my leg and pushes into the mattress, bringing his body up he goes even deeper into my body and those heels push hard.
Just as he demanded earlier, my hands go to his shoulders on my own accord and as he takes my body hard, my nails dig in with my heels still pushing hard against the small of his back. Our eyes never his, so full of lust that I know there isn’t an ounce of control left in his leave each other’s probing gaze. Never once do I take my eyes away from body.
He drops his head and I lift up to meet him in a kiss so sweet it doesn’t match the powerful way that he’s taking my body. A kiss that gives me more than words ever could at this moment. His hips slow and as his tongue rolls against mine, his hips start to take me in low, deep rolls. He doesn’t pull back, just rocks his hips against mine.
I push up and cry out when he slips even deeper.
His lips come from mine and his hooded eyes open a sliver. “Feels like heaven,” he says softly. “Everything, darlin’. Feels like everything.”
Just as he demanded earlier, my hands go to his shoulders on my own accord and as he takes my body hard, my nails dig in with my heels still pushing hard against the small of his back. Our eyes never his, so full of lust that I know there isn’t an ounce of control left in his leave each other’s probing gaze. Never once do I take my eyes away from body.
He drops his head and I lift up to meet him in a kiss so sweet it doesn’t match the powerful way that he’s taking my body. A kiss that gives me more than words ever could at this moment. His hips slow and as his tongue rolls against mine, his hips start to take me in low, deep rolls. He doesn’t pull back, just rocks his hips against mine.
I push up and cry out when he slips even deeper.
His lips come from mine and his hooded eyes open a sliver. “Feels like heaven,” he says softly. “Everything, darlin’. Feels like everything.”
Prologue - Megan
Holy shit.
What am I doing?
“Oh, God! Right there…
I’m coming… Don’t stop!”
Is that me screaming like
that?
Holy shit.
I didn’t even know that
noises like that could come out of my mouth!
“You like that?” he asks with
his lips pressed against my neck – the vibrations shooting straight to my core.
I focus, my now alcohol free
vision, on the man thrusting above me. His dark hair is blending in with
the shadows that are dancing around the room. His face is a mask of
ecstasy as he thrusts into my waiting body. It’s a look of pure desire
that I will never forget.
What the hell am I doing?
“You feel so good. Your
body so greedy for my cock. You want it harder, darlin’?”
I moan shamelessly and feel
my body get even wetter with his huskily whispered words.
Screw it – this feels way too
good to stop now.
I reach down, dig my fingers
in the firm globes of his ass, tip my head back and beg. Beg with
incoherent cries for him to take me harder. To take everything he can.
**Two
Hours Earlier**
“You look beauuuutiful,” I
sing as Dani Reid – No, Dani Cage – walks over to sit next to me at one of the
tables scattered around the backyard wedding.
She looks at me, her stunning
green eyes bright with love and happiness.
“And you sound a little
drunk, my friend,” she laughs.
I just smile at her, running
my fingers through the lace on her wedding gown. “This is soft.”
She just laughs and leans
back and looks across the yard to where her new husband, Cohen, is standing by
the dock talking to some of his friends. This is another one of those
moments when I’m reminded that this group doesn’t have a single unattractive
person in it. I take a second to look at all the well-built, good-looking
men standing around him. When my eyes meet Liam Beckett’s, I look away
quickly. For months now Liam has made no secret that he would love
nothing more than my undivided attention.
“They’re all so unfairly hot.
No men should be that attractive,” I whisper in awe,
gaining me another chuckle from Dani. I blush when I realize that my
thoughts aren’t staying in my head, where they belong. When I look back
over to where the group of men are standing, my eyes hit the familiar pair of
deep brown ones again, eyes that always seem to know each and every time I’m
looking their way. I quickly look away, feeling that blush get even
brighter. I’m not ready to deal with him right now. At least not when I’m
this tipsy.
Picking up my wine glass, I
take another healthy swallow as I do a quick scan, taking in all that is the
Reid Family property. They’ve done a beautiful job transforming the
backyard of Dani’s family home for Cohen and Dani’s wedding. I still
can’t believe that Dani managed to pull off a surprise wedding without Cohen
even catching the smallest hint of her plans.
“Are you sure you’re okay
with Molly spending the night with my parents, Megs? I know it’s hard for
you to leave her overnight, but they just love your daughter to pieces.
And I know Owen loves having her around.” Dani reaches out and takes
the hand I had resting against the table while she speaks.
“Yup,” I smack and nod my
head.
“You’re drunk,” she says,
repeating her earlier observation.
“I’m not drunk, I’m tipsy.
There’s a huge difference there. If I was drunk I wouldn’t be able
to walk. Watch!”
I jump up from my chair with
a little more power than I mean and quickly stumble when the narrow heel of my
five-inch shoes sinks into the soft grass beneath me.
“Whoa, there darlin’.”
I feel it, those words, every
single syllable deep down in my gut. Each rumbled word vibrating through
my body creating a slow burn until they end with a sharp pulse between my legs.
His arms locked at my elbows and my back solidly against his front – where my
graceless stumble caused me to end up. I jerk my body tight and feel his
laughter reverberate through my body once again.
I attempt to pull my arms
from his loose but strong hold, only to give up when it becomes clear that he
isn’t going to let go. Shifting until my face is turned, he lets one arm
go and helps me spin until I’m facing him, and moves his hands from my elbows
to my hips.
“Hey,” he says with a smile,
the dimple in his cheek popping out.
“Liam,” I sigh and then curse
myself for not being able to hide my reaction to him.
His smile turns knowing and
his eyes darken before dropping to my lips.
I gulp.
“You should be more careful,
Megs.”
“It’s Megan,” I snap.
“I know, babe, you don’t have
to keep reminding me.”
“Then why can’t you seem to
actually remember it?” I squeak and try to pull my body away from his grip – and
fail, again.
“Someone doesn’t sound drunk anymore.” I hear Dani speak but I
don’t take my gaze off Liam. “She does look it though.” She muses on a
laugh, which finally gets my eyes to snap to hers.
“I’m fine! I just had a
few glasses of wine and I haven’t eaten much. But, I most definitely am
not drunk. I think I would know if I was drunk.”
Okay, so that’s a lie.
I might not be drunk, but I am definitely slightly past tipsy.
Dealing with Liam – or rather my attraction to Liam – is hard enough for me
on a good day, when I’m completely sober. But with this amount of wine
flowing through my body, I just can’t trust myself.
It’s taken everything I have
to keep him, and his obvious interest, at bay for the last couple months.
When he’s around he goes out of his way to get me alone and lay it out.
He wants me.
“You look stunning when those
shadows aren’t rolling around your shoulders,” Liam whispers, his lips press
close enough to my ear that I can feel his words one by one against my skin.
I shiver, his words hitting
me close to home, but the tone causing me to forget I should be pushing him
away. Especially when he’s talking about things that he has no business
speaking about.
“I’m fine,” I stammer.
“Yeah, darlin’, I know you
are.”
His eyes keep their
hypnotizing hold on my own. I hear Dani excuse herself. I don’t
turn to watch her disappear in the lingering crowd of party-goers that are
still left milling around. The music is still floating in the air around
us. As I look into his eyes everything around me feels like it’s…alive.
It’s a feeling that I’ve been missing for the last few years. A
feeling that only comes to visit when I’m with my daughter, or until recently,
when Liam Beckett is in the same room. It’s a feeling that, even though I
shouldn’t, I feel guilty for allowing myself to enjoy.
Whether it’s the wine, the
fact that Molly left a few hours ago with Dani’s parents, or the man standing
in front of me, all I know is if I don’t hold on to this feeling for as long as
I can right now, I’ll regret it for years to come.
“Megs,” he says on a sigh,
his fingertips digging in and his eyes swirling with a rich hopefulness that
turns those golden flecks you can normally see swimming in his brown eyes into
a burning fire lighting his gaze.
Hungry eyes.
I don’t think. If I had
given myself just a second to process my next move, I’m sure I would have
backed out of his hold and run as fast as I could to my car. But, I
didn’t think, so my next move was pure, one-hundred-percent Megan. But
not the Megan I’ve been for the last couple years since my husband died.
No, this Megan feels like I’ve finally dug myself out of those ashes I’ve
been living in since my life burned up around me. The cloak of
depression that normally lingers loosely around my shoulders, dropping to my
feet with the feel of Liam pressed tight. I know this feeling won’t last,
but I suddenly want to hold on to every second I can of this experience, until
it leaves me.
I reach out and curl my
fingers around his forearms. My eyes growing wide when his brow lifts.
With a quick push I rock up and close the distance that is left between
our mouths. When my lips touch his, that feeling of being alive burns so
bright every nerve in my body feels it, each inch of skin boiling and cooling
so quickly it’s as if I can’t make up my mind if I want to be hot or cold.
My hairs stand on end, my skin pebbles – going cold before rushing heat
fills my veins, and the very thump of my heart seems to skip a beat the second
our lips touch.
One thing I know for sure.
I want this. I want this and Liam’s going to give it to me.
He doesn’t pause. His
groan vibrating against my chest only lights the feeling that is firing through
my skin. My hands move from his forearms and I run my hands up his chest
until both hands curl around his neck and I use the hold to pull my body even
closer to his.
His hands move from my hips
and he curls them around my bottom, pulling me tightly against his body.
When I feel the very obvious sign of his attraction, I moan deeply, and
shiver when he answers with one of his own.
I can’t tell you how long
this kiss lasts. When his tongue moves to swipe against my lips, I open
without reservation. We continue, our tongues dancing together while each
of our moans are swallowed by the other, until I have to pull away to gulp a
breath of air before I pass out – however, the way I feel right now, passing out
might very well be a possibility.
“This is finally happening,”
he snarls in a tone that should scare me, but all it does is act as kerosene to
our already uncontrollable fire of lust.
“It is,” I agree without
question.
“Now,” he says.
“Okay,” I agree on a sigh and
sway toward his hard body.
With the encouragement he
needs, his hands finally leave my body. He turns me, wraps one thick arm
around my shoulder, and turns to walk toward the front of the house.
“We’re leaving?” I question
lamely.
“Darlin’ I didn’t stutter.
This is happening,” he says, pausing when he reaches the side of the
house and the shadows that will give us the privacy we need. His body
turns, moving me to stand before him once again. “I need to know you’re
with me, Megan. I’ve wanted this since the day I met you, but I knew you
weren’t ready for me. I’ve been trying to keep my distance, just waiting
for those clouds to leave your eyes. If you don’t want me to take you
back to my house, strip you naked and fuck you until you can’t walk for weeks,
then say so now, because the second I have you I won’t be letting go.”
“Oh, boy,” I whisper.
“I prefer oh God, but I’ll make that the
first item on my to-do list.”
“You’ll make what?”
“My to-do list, Megs.
The list of things I’ve wanted to
do to you for months now.
Making you scream oh God will be number one, followed by my
name, of course.”
“Oh, God,” I repeat, my mind
swilling with the promise his words inflict.
“Yeah, you’re getting it.”
His mouth crashes down on
mine for a hard but quick kiss before pulling back and giving me another one of
those knee-melting smirks. “Last chance, Megan,” he whispers while his
hands are framing my heated face.
Whatever he sees in my eyes is enough, he gives me a light kiss,
takes his hands from my face and curls one around my left hand and pulls me
toward his truck.
FGBB Reviews…
5 GOEY STICKY BUBBLEGUM STARS …
I loved every single moment of this book, it’s got it all!
“I’ve been waiting, Megan and after last night, I’m done waiting. It’s time for me to help you see.”
Bleeding Love is Liam and Megan’s story…
Megan lost her husband Jack a few years ago and since then she has been going through the motions of raising her beautiful five year old daughter Molly, writing and existing. (We met Megan briefly in Dani and Cohen’s book Unexpected Fate, book 1 in the Hope Town series.) She’s not really living and even though she has found a great new group of friends that have truly become more like family, she never really lets’ anyone in. She never discusses her past, she’s secretive and a little defensive when asked about her marriage to Jack. She keeps herself locked away emotionally and Liam Beckett is becoming impatient waiting for her to wake up from her grief induced slumber. Liam has been drawn to Megan for a long time, and while he totally understands her grief, he’s now realizing that unless her hand is forced Megan is never again going to be open to love. Being that Liam is positive that Megan is his “one” makes it even more impossible for him to sit back and idly wait for her to wake up and see what is directly in front of her and has been for quite some time. The night of Dani and Cohen’s wedding brings passion and the walls seem to vanish between Liam and Megan at long last, but soon enough morning comes and they are right back where they began, or at least that’s how it seems…
“And for one night I let myself forget the weights that have held me down. For one night I lived in the now. I allowed myself to open up and feel all those things that I have always been convinced I would never have. For one night I felt the promise of more and it scared the crap out of me with the power of those emotions.”
Liam reminds me so much of his father in this book and this series is allowing me to re-visit some of my all-time favorite characters while also discovering new ones. I fell in love with Liam from the very start, it’s impossible not to. He’s determined, sensitive, incredibly thoughtful, passionate, sexy, and wonderful with Megan’s daughter Molly. He melted my heart so many times; I swooned and sighed over and over again. How Megan ever managed to resist him for as long as she did boggles my mind. But she has/had her reasons and when all is revealed, it all makes sense, it’s heartbreaking actually.
“This ends now,” I state. “What does?” “The games, baby. No more avoiding me.”
Bleeding Love is in a way a second chance romance, its sweet, funny, sexy, beautiful, heartfelt and emotional. The writing is fabulous and the story travels along effortlessly. Before I knew it I was finished, and left wanting more. Liam and Megan are impossible not to love. Being able to experience Megan overcome all of her worst fears, facing and overcoming her past and finally being able to move forward in her life is incredibly moving. This story will make your heartache, race, and swell. It has the perfect balance of feels combined with enough steamy bits to make you blush and flush. It’s just a fabulous read from start to finish. I love that even though Sloan is giving us a brand new series, we are given glimpses into what happens after the happily ever afters in all of the Corps Security relationships. She never fails to give me a story that I can fall into and fall in love, and Bleeding Love did it all over again. I’m now totally and completely hooked on this new series and I cannot wait for the next book. If you loved the Corps Security series you’re going to devour the Hope Town books, guaranteed!
“A love worth having is worth fighting for.”
Also in this series
Unexpected Fate (Hope Town Book 1)
AMAZON CANADA
AMAZON UK
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Meet Harper…
Harper lives in small town Georgia just
a short drive from her hometown of Peachtree City. She (and her 3 daughters)
enjoy ruling the house they dubbed 'Estrogen Ocean', much to her husband’s
chagrin. Harper has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books; you can almost
ALWAYS find her with her eReader attached. She enjoys bad reality TV and cheesy
romantic flicks. Her favorite kind of hero--the super alpha kind!
Harper started using writing as a way
to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy
it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn't take long before a head full of
very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.
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