Exclusive Excerpt: Stay With Me by Sharla Lovelace

I’m excited to feature an excerpt from the just-released Stay With Me, the new contemporary romance from Sharla Lovelace, author of one of my favorite books this year, Don’t Let Go (Amazon | Review). Stay With Me is an emotional rollercoaster of a story, of past and present colliding in a way our protagonist, Savi, never expected.

✦ Order Stay With Me: Amazon | B&N ✦

Synopsis

Ian was the wild boy every girl dreams of, a renegade who thrived on breaking the law and setting Savi’s body on fire. It was all fun and games and hot excitement, no strings attached, until the one day he got serious—and then disappeared without a trace.

Savi has spent the ten years since committing herself to her work, her daughter, and to not thinking about Ian—or love. Just when it’s possible she might have found the one man who can change her mind, Ian pulls into town, bringing with him all of the lust, danger, and excitement Savi remembers.

As Ian stirs up old feelings and draws Savi back into memories and passion she’s too weak to fight, he’s also digging up dirt on the man Savi is falling for, doing everything he can to prove that Duncan is not who he seems to be. And Savi, unsure whether she can trust either man, will be forced to decide between rekindling a love that never really burned out and building a new one that looks ready to catch fire.

Excerpt

I turned slightly, my boots sliding a little in the muck, and Duncan caught me at the waist. It was a little overkill, I suppose. I wasn’t headed for a face plant or anything, but finding myself held tightly against his body was not a problem.

So what did I do?

I laughed like a maniac. Nervous laughter bubbled up and all I could do was beg him for forgiveness with my eyes. To his credit, he didn’t throw me in the mud for foiling his romantic move. One eyebrow lifted as he watched me lose all self-respect.

“I’m—s-sorry,” I managed, my body still hiccupping with giggles. I buried my face in his chest and prayed for good sense.

“You are a hard one to read, Savanna Barnes,” he said, his voice rumbling through his chest.

“Oh, I’m really not that mysterious,” I said, looking up at him, a little drunk on delirium and the yummy smell that had just filled my nose. “I’m just a mess.”

His hands moved up my back slowly, his fingers finding my hair and threading into it. “You’re a beautiful mess,” he said, his eyes dropping to my mouth.

I licked my lips in anticipation, acutely aware of Dolly and Max stomping around and snorting for attention. Of the crickets chirping all around us. The bugs making some kind of funky noise to my right. The smell of the mud, and the mosquito having dinner on my left arm. What the hell? Why was I noticing all these completely ridiculous random things at the very moment I’d been fantasizing about for months?

“There’s one I haven’t been accused of before,” I whispered nervously, just before his hands found my face and his lips brushed mine. And oh—the bugs went away. The mud went away. Dolly and Max could watch all they fucking wanted, because his mouth was glorious. Soft and searching. Kissing my top lip and then my bottom one. Slow. Sexy. Yum.

I let my arms wrap around him and he followed suit, pulling me in closer, tasting me with a flick of his tongue, finding mine, and bringing one hand behind my head to delve deeper. My insides tingled as I let myself enjoy the sensations of his mouth, of his body against mine, of the heat of his skin warming the fabric under my hands. His muscles were tight and hard, his arms strong, one hand travelling an excruciatingly slow path down my back. All my important parts woke up and stretched, coaxing my heart a little faster, heating up the air around us. As his kiss intensified and that hand stopped at the top of my ass, I curled my fingers a little, letting my nails lightly rake his back. Testing his reaction. Controlling mine.

Connect with Sharla

Facebook | Twitter

✦ Check out my Facebook page for a weekend flash giveaway to win an ecopy of the book ✦ 

Subscribe for Updates: