Can two people who are destined to be opposites ever find common ground?
SYNOPSIS:
Taren needs a do-over. She’s decided the best way to put the high school bullies behind her is to pledge a Taylor-Swift-lip-syncing, beer-guzzling, sorority. Sisterhood helps Taren find the acceptance she’s always craved, but not the love she needs.
Alec wants freedom. To escape his father’s iron fist and unrealistic expectations, he pledges a campus acrobatics club where he finds that drugs and alcohol aren't the only ways to get high. His addiction to danger helps him gain his independence, but it comes at a heavy price.
When the two cross paths, Alec fears his undeniable attraction to the party girl just might threaten everything he's worked so hard to earn. Taren hasn’t forgotten that Alec humiliated her back in high school, but she also can't deny the chemistry they share.
Alec and Taren have nothing in common, but fate is bound and determined to bring them together. They know falling in love is a risk, and yet it’s too hard to ignore. When their worlds clash and they both end up suffering, will they fight to stay together? Or are some pledges too hard to keep?
EXCERPT:
“I dreamt about this.” Alec dragged his fingertips down my neck and to my hair that lay splayed across his pillow. He leaned over me, and his weight rested on his forearms. “I pictured you just like this. Laying in my bed, your hair spread out on my pillow, your scent on my skin.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Your lips begging to be kissed.” Alec slipped his tongue along my lower lip. “I missed your taste. I missed…you, Taren.” He dipped his tongue inside my mouth, pulling me in for a deep, slow kiss.
The words coming from his lips were too much. I moaned into his mouth as emotion stung the corners of my eyes. He was hard as he pressed against me, and my eyelids fluttered shut as I lifted my hips into him. My hands ran all over his arms, and my fingers molded themselves to the muscles of his shoulders and back. I would never have enough time to feel him. Never.
Alec’s kisses were eager, his lips pressing against mine with such intensity I hardly had time to catch my breath. He moved down, trailing his lips along my neck until he reached my chest. Every place he left a kiss felt hot, and I felt flushed.
“I missed the way you tuck your hair behind your ear when you’re nervous.” His lips branded my right shoulder. “I missed the way you smile when you know you’re out-debating me.” His mouth traced the words into my skin before leaving a scorching touch on my rib cage. “I missed the way you can get lost in a book and fall into its pages.” His kiss settled between the swell of my breasts, and his breath feathered across my skin.
A tear rolled down my face as emotion overwhelmed me. I wasn’t just another body. He saw me. The real me.
He looked up and propped himself up on his elbow. He reached up and wiped the tear away with his thumb. He left his hand on my face and gazed down me. “What’s wrong?” His fingers stroked my cheek.
I closed my eyes, taking a deep, shaky breath. “I’m so happy we get a second chance.” Another tear escaped me, and his face pinched as he reached up to wipe that one away, too.
“Second chances don’t change the past. They just prove we can learn from our mistakes.” He pressed his face into my neck, his mouth just below my ear. “I’m not the same guy I was in high school. I’m going to prove that to you.”
Visit Laura Ward at www.laurawardauthor.com
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