Excerpt – Something New

For those of you who still haven’t had a chance to read, Something New, I figured I’d give you a little excerpt of what you’re missing! NOTE: Something New has been on the top 100 best-selling ebooks on Amazon’s -multi-cultural list for the past three months!

A Blurb About the Book

Entrepreneur, Simone Edwards, did what any intelligent woman with a ticking biological clock would do: she asked her longtime boyfriend to marry her. Devastated when he turns her down, and fed up with dead-end relationships, Simone swears off men … and takes a vow of celibacy. How hard could it be? She soon learns it’s harder than she thinks when the most irresistible man in the world, Tim Hollister, shows up at her job. She hasn’t seen him in over ten years, and quickly realizes he is a temptation she doesn’t want to resist. But isn’t there some rule about dating your friend? Simone must decide if a romance with Tim is worth risking their friendship, and her reclaimed virginity.

Tim Hollister has placed a padlock on his heart. But when Simone, an old high school friend, falls back into his life, he soon forgets his promise to stay clear of beautiful women. Simone was always like a sister to him, but he discovers that his feelings for her aren’t very brotherly. He’s captivated by the woman she’s become and is on a mission to take their friendship to the next level, and prove that he’s the man for her.

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Excerpt – This is part of a scene where Tim finally let’s Simone know that he’s interested in taking their friendship to the next level.

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“Hey. You left your notes for the new business plan in my office,” Jessica said and handed them to her. She propped her hip against the edge of Simone’s desk and crossed her arms. “I guess that means you’re still a little distracted by thoughts of a tall, dark, and fine brother who I haven’t seen in a few days.”

Simone smiled at her friend, knowing she was fishing for information. “He’s not scheduled to be back here until the day after tomorrow. I still have a little more information to put into QuickBooks before he returns for my next lesson.” Her mind burned with memories of them standing on her front porch, kissing. The more she tried to ignore the thoughts, the more they persisted. It had been over a week since she’d last seen or heard from Tim, and she missed him.

“Are you going to share what’s been going on with you two, or do you plan to keep it to yourself?” Jess asked and moved to sit in one of the upholstered chairs near the desk.

“Well, we put most of the accounts into the QuickBooks software, the employee information, and now I need to—”

Her partner glared at her through narrowed eyes. “You are not funny. You know what I’m talking about. Last I heard, you guys were going to a movie, but you didn’t tell me how things went.”

“You were at meetings all last week, and besides, there’s not much to tell. We went to the movies, then—”

Two light taps against her closed office door stopped her explanation.

“Come in,” Simone called out.

Nothing could’ve prepared her for the tall, devastatingly handsome body that stood in the doorway. Her heart jolted at the sight of Tim. He walked into her office, and her eyes traveled from those inviting lips to his broad shoulders covered by an expensive-looking double-breasted suit. She stood slowly, gripping the edge of her desk while her pulse pounded in her ears. She hadn’t seen him in a suit since he first showed up at the school, and he looked hot.

“Hey,” he said, his voice like silk against her skin.

Had she imagined it, or was that a smoldering flame she saw in the depths of his eyes?

He turned to face Jessica, whom Simone had forgotten was in the room. “Can you give us a moment?”

A wide grin curved her friend’s mouth. “Of course.” She stood and glanced at Simone. “We’ll finish our discussion a little later.”

Once the door was closed, Simone gave her attention to the man standing before her. He walked around the desk, grasped her hand, and pulled her body tightly to his. Before Simone could say anything, his mouth covered hers in a sweet, delicious kiss that caused her to mold into him. Moments later, he raised his mouth from hers and gazed into her eyes.

“We need to talk.”

She groaned inwardly, preferring a kiss over talking, as he led her to the cozy sitting area on the left side of her desk. She sat on the sofa, while he unbuttoned his suit jacket before sitting next to her.

“First, let me say that I’m sorry I haven’t called you.” He reached for her hand and held it snugly within his. His eyes trained on her. “Though I haven’t called, there hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about you. Hell”—he shrugged—“a night either. You have me so turned out I can’t think straight. I haven’t been eating, sleeping, or able to concentrate on my work because of you.”

She looked down at their joined fingers, enjoying the way his thumb caressed the top of her hand. “If it’ll make you feel any better, I haven’t been faring much better.”

He smiled for the first time since entering her office, and her heart leaped into her throat. The fact that he could turn her on with just a smile let her know that she was losing her heart to this man.

Tim stood, walked a couple of feet away, and then turned back to her. “I want more. I know we agreed to rekindle our friendship, but I no longer want to be friends.” Apparently noticing her surprised look, he added, “I want to be so much more.”

Simone sat speechless, fighting to control the nervous flutters in the pit of her stomach. She ran her sweaty palms over the thighs of her pants and stared at the floor. Yesterday, she had made up her mind that she would keep her relationship with Tim at a friendship level, nothing more. But now, with the way he was looking at her, and the way he made her pulse quicken with just his presence, she wasn’t so sure.

Tim sat next to her and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “All I’m asking is for a chance. I know you just got out of a relationship, but give me a chance to show you how a man treats a woman he cherishes.”

Simone shook her head, though loving his words. “I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered.

“Sweetheart, you’re not going to lose me.”

Before she could say anything, she heard a series of beeps and looked around to see where the sound was coming from.

“I’m sorry, that’s me,” Tim said and stood. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and turned off his alarm. “I have a meeting in a little while, and that was my reminder.”

“Oh, okay.” Simone made a move to stand, and he helped her up. With one arm around her waist holding her close, he caressed her cheek with his free hand, his face inches from hers.

“I meant everything I said a few minutes ago. I want you, and I plan to do whatever it takes to have you.”

His mouth came down over hers, and within seconds, a wave of pleasure crashed through her body, sending her desire from one to ten within a heartbeat. His lips devoured hers, coaxing her without words to agree to dating him, and at the moment, she wanted to scream to the world: Yes!

He lifted his head, and his dark, assessing eyes stared into hers. “I’m looking forward to being more than your friend.” And with that, he buttoned his jacket and walked out of her office.

Lord have mercy.

****

Tim shook his head as he slid behind the wheel of his car minutes after leaving Simone’s office. Never had his feelings been so intense for a woman like they were for Simone. Was he nervous about taking their friendship to the next level? Yes. Could he picture his life without her if things didn’t work out between them? No. Was that going to stop him from pursuing her until she was all his? Hell no.

He groaned out loud and closed his eyes, his head falling back against the headrest. His fixation regarding her was scaring the hell out of him. He thought about her constantly, even in his dreams. And no way was this lust he was feeling. He had no doubt that he was in love with Simone Edwards.

Buy Links:

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In Paperback:  Createspace    Amazon

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