Wednesday, November 2, 2016

NaNoWriMo2016- Past, Present and Future

It has started! NaNoWriMo, peeps! Everywhere in the writing world, writers are attacking their new works in progress as they try to reach the word goal by the end of the month. Some may be successful and others may not. That’s okay. What you need to remember is that it’s not just the goal, it’s the journey along the way. So let’s talk about Nano’s journey.

The Past

For those of you who are new to the NaNoWriMo community, I’ll give you a little bit of background about this event. Every November, from 12:00 am on the 1^st until 11:59 pm of the 30^th, participants write towards the minimum goal of 50,000 words for their book. The goal is to get people writing and motivated throughout the process. The website provides tips for writer’s block, which I’ll include in the posts to come, as well as an online community of support. This event is about quantity not quality and the fact that you’re able to finish it as well as connecting with others who are in the same predicament. Don’t worry if you feel it’s bad and needs to undergo a massacre of edits. You’re going to have to do that later on anyway. But how can you edit something when you don’t have a draft to even work on?

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) started back in July of 1999 with only 21 participants. By 2010, over 200,000 people took part and wrote a total of over 2.8 billion words. As the years pass, Nano continues to grow and has become the world’s largest writing event. It’s so amazing that in 2015, Amazon has awarded National Novel Writing Month $25,000 for 6 years as part of its philanthropic grant program, Amazon Literary Partnership, as they commend this small organization who started it all on bringing hundreds of thousands of stories into the world.

The Present

If you feel like you want to join the Nano club, go for it. Don’t hesitate, coming up with all kinds of excuses like “I don’t have the time. I don’t have the story. I’ll do it next year.” Because next year will come and go and you will be saying the same thing: “I’m not ready”. Truth is, none of us are. We all have priorities that can make us busy and distracted. That’s fine. You can work on it as you go. I don’t have an exact outline of what my story will be about but that won’t stop me from trying to make Nano a priority. If you have time to watch TV, stop to go shopping or make that chocolatey dessert you’ve been craving, you have time to write. It’s simply a state of mind. So make Nano yours for this moment.

The Future

No one knows what the future will hold nor any clue if Nano will continue forever. So don’t you want to be a part of it at least once…or at least one more year?

Also, some Nano books have gone on to be published works. So come dive in and join the party. Don’t worry what ifs. “What if once I write my book it might not be perfect? What if it’s only a good idea in my head.” Let go of the ‘what ifs’. So what if it’s not amazing. That’s how most first drafts are but they don’t have to stay that way. The first step, and hardest one, is to get started. The one thing you must remember is that you’re not just beating a deadline. You’re beating yourself. So if this is the first Nano you’re doing, work to outdo yourself from last year. If this is another year of Nano that you’re in and have yet to have reached that goal, then aim for this to be that year. Or if you’re one of those who succeeds in Nano every year, aim to make sure this is another consecutive year.

All in all, start now and enjoy the journey and writing buddies and memories that will come from it.

***

I’ll be writing posts every week with updates on my writing and tips I come across. So don’t be afraid to do the same. Now tell me, how is your Nanowriting going? Are you getting the Nano fever yet? J

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Review: Written in the Scars by Adriana Locke + Giveaway

Title: Written in the Scars

Author: Adriana Locke

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense

Release Date: October 20, 2016

Falling in love is easy.

Falling out of love is the hardest thing in the world.

And Elin and Ty Whitt are terrible at it.

The first time the local basketball star smiled at Elin, she was a goner. It was just so damn easy to fall for the dark-haired hometown hero with his charming smile and strong, athletic build.

Thousands of sleepy smiles, aimless drives down country roads, and squeaks of the backdoor after a swing shift later, reality hits. And it hits hard. Falling in love was definitely the easy part. Watching it break apart was impossible.

Through the tears, the second-guesses, the memories of a life built together, the world keeps spinning. With each turn comes clarity and hope—sometimes in the form of a pair of muddy boots by the back door or from the words of a wise friend.

When Ty shows back up with a new found determination to put his family back together, Elin's torn between the fights of the past and the possibility of a new start. This is the man that holds her heart, the man she loves beyond anything else. But this is also the one person in the world that can cause her the most pain.

Life’s not always easy. Love’s not for the faint of heart. But with life comes lessons and Ty and Elin have the scars to prove it. But it's their love written in those scars that will hold them together … or break them apart.

My Review:

*I received an advanced reader's copy of this story and it has in no way affected my opinion about this book*

I really enjoyed this book and the characters. At first, the hero and heroine were hard to get into. You get thrown right in the middle of the conflict and I didn't like all the wavering and fighting they did. But I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. As the story progresses, I saw the character growth and by the end, I loved all the characters. When they laughed or cried, so did I. Adriana Locke displayed a beautiful story were one is able to follow along on the characters' marred journey and see what it took to get them where they were. Because those scars they obtained are not just wounds brought on by suffering and conflict but insight into the fact that they have lived and they have loved.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK

Available in Kindle Unlimited

Author Bio

USA Today Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.

She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket.

For sneak peeks, giveaways, and more, please join Adriana's Facebook Group, Books by Adriana Locke, or her Goodreads group, All Locked Up.

Author Links

WEBSITE / FACEBOOK / TWITTER

GOODREADS / INSTAGRAM

PINTEREST / NEWSLETTER / AMAZON
FACEBOOK GROUP / GOODREADS GROUP

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Okay my next review covers a best-seller. I'd been putting off reading the book for a while now since it touches on a heavy subject and I wasn't ready to be gutted just yet. But there's only so long you can put off a book before it eventually calls to you, you know? So I put on my big girl pants and dived right in and I'm so happy I did. So for your viewing pleasure, I present to you Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why.

Publisher: Razorbill; Reprint edition (June 14, 2011)
Publication Date: June 14, 2011

You can’t stop the future.
You can’t rewind the past.
The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

My Review:

This story had been on my to-be-read list for so long but I never got around to reading it until now. I'm glad I did. Thirteen reasons why takes you on a emotional roller coaster as you listen to a young girl explain why her reasons for committing suicide. But it also shows you that your actions to someone else has its effects. I know it made me more aware of that and I hope it affects you to be more caring and attentive to others as well.

Reading this book really hit home for me because someone I knew recently committed suicide. He was a coworker of mine and I didn't really know him that well since he was in a different department that I was in but the one time we really talked, I had been really tired and hadn't been really wanting to have a conversation first thing in the morning. I wasn't rude or anything. I just wasn't...what's the word...there. And I hadn't had my coffee yet, so talking to me must've been like talking to a brick wall. But he never showed it and happily talked my ear off about pumpkin spice k-cups. And I let him. Even though I didn't say much back because it would be rude to interrupt and walk away, to ask him what was the point of this conversation. But looking back, I wonder if he just needed to talk to someone...anyone...about anything. Maybe I could've done more. Maybe I could've talked to him about how life was treating him but all I remember is wishing him a good morning and walking away. And I didn't look back. Because that's how we all are. We're so focused on our needs, our wants, our problems that we forget to look and see that sometimes behind those smiles and forced laughs, there are eyes begging someone to reach out to them. So I hope this book is a reality check like it was for me. I hope, like me, you realize that sometimes a nice gesture, a kind word or compliment, can really make an impact on someone's life. Because it's like Hannah says in the book: Everything affects everything.

Review: Wilder (The Renegades) by Rebecca Yarros

Okay, I'm back. So first on the list. The book that makes you swoon and throws you over the moon. Rebecca Yarros' latest book: Wilder!! *hits round of applause button*

Publisher: Entangled: Embrace (September 19, 2016)
Publication Date: September 19, 2016

I'm Paxton Wilder--

Motocross phenom with more tattoos than scars.

I've never seen a stunt I couldn't pull off--

Or a girl I can't get off.

Until she walks in.

My new tutor is sexy, smart, more stubborn than I am, and one hundred percent off limits.

That's right--the only rule this semester is Don't Touch the Tutor.

For the first time in my life, I want someone I can't have.

She's the girl who obeys every rule.

I'm the guy who breaks them.

Our biggest risk is falling for each other,

But I live for risk..

My Review:

*I received an advance readers copy for my honest review and this has not affected my perceptions in any way*

I went into this book with high expectations after reading the bits and pieces that Rebecca teased/almost killed us with. And let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed. Like with all of Rebecca's works, there's a deliciously wonderful alpha male who steams up the pages and blows our minds with his mere presence and flirty/dirty words. His name here is Paxton Wilder. But like in all Rebecca's works, there's so much more. We get the priviledge of reading about these beautiful loves and the work it takes to fight for it and keep it alive. I won't go into detail about that fight that happens in Wilder because you need to dive into it for yourself but I will tell you a little about the characters and how I felt about the writing.

Paxton Wilder is a twenty-two-year-old, five-time X Games medalist and the world's heart throb/daredevil. He's all about the stunts and the rush. To go faster, higher, whatever it takes to push himself to the limits and beyond. But for him to continue doing all this he needs help from his new tutor, Eleanor "Leah" Baxter.

Leah is offered a chance to do the Semester at sea program in exchange for tutoring a student and she jumps at the chance as it'll help her for grad school. She's the school work driven, play it safe kind of girl. You think that the two wouldn't go together well, right? Wrong.

From the start the chemistry between the two jumps of the page, from the sexual tension to the intimate cutesy moments. As you read this book, you begin to see a different side to both characters and you are able to delve into their minds and understand their pasts and how it shaped them to who they are.

The writing was so descriptive and painted not only the characters but the setting in vivid detail. Because of this, I was feel like I was there and I have now made Mykonos a definite must see on my travel plans.

I think Rebecca did an excellent job on these characters and their story and I can't wait to read the rest of this series.

I'm Back!

Everyone!

How are you?! It's been so long hasn't it? Man, I haven't written in this blog since the beginning of the year and now it's already October. Shame on me. I know. Sorry. I've been super busy with the whole agent thing (did I forget to mention I recently became a literary agent? I did? Well I'll post more about that soon) and then the whole trying to be a writer thing and recently moving and then trying to adapt to all of life's little hiccups that have been thrown my way. But anyways, I'm back! And better than ever!

So I just wanted to touch base with anyone who's still reading my blog. How are all of you? Did anything exciting happen in your lives? Any good books you wish to share. Any one? Any one? Have you all left me behind for my lack of communication? Well that's okay. I guess I'll have to get you back.

In the meantime, I'll post some reviews of the books I've read recently and some interesting ones that are coming up soon. Man, guys. These books have been awesome. And sound awesome. I can't wait to tell you about them so you can find out too.

So stay tuned and I'll talk to you lovelies soon!

Sincerely,

Yours Truly. :D

Monday, January 25, 2016

Hallowed Ground Book Release!! + Review + Giveaway

Yes it is! Why? Because it's the day we all been waiting for! The release of final book of the Flight and Glory Series, Hallowed Ground. Now on one hand, I'm excited to be able to share this experience with all of you. But on the other hand. It's the FINAL BOOK in what I consider the best series of all time. So... I kind of feel like this too...

As you can see, I'm all kinds of screwed up. But enough about my issues, let me finally present to you:

New Military Romance!

Hallowed Ground by Rebecca Yarros is

Now Available!

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1OVPJ0w

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1Y05StF

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1NeMPn1

iBooks: http://apple.co/1lywj8A

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1QhPU9O

Blurb

There are some debts you can’t repay.

Josh Walker is loyal, reckless, and every girl’s dream. But he only has eyes for December Howard, the girl he's craved since his high school hockey days. Together they have survived grief, the military, distance, and time as they’ve fought for stolen weekends between his post at Ft. Rucker and her college at Vanderbilt. Now that Josh is a medevac pilot and Ember is headed toward graduation, they’re moving on—and in—together.

Ember never wanted the Army life, but loving Josh means accepting whatever the army dictates—even when that means saying goodbye as Josh heads to Afghanistan, a country that nearly killed him once before and that took her father. But filling their last days together with love, passion, and plans for their future doesn’t temper Ember’s fear, and if there’s one thing she’s learned from her father’s death, it’s that there are some obstacles even love can’t conquer.

Flight school is over.

This is war.

Review Time!

*I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I was so hesitant to read this book. Never being one to like to say goodbye to a series, especially when it comes to my favorite characters, I almost didn't want to read it. I would open it, read a chapter and then tell myself not to read the next. I just wanted things to never change -to have my Flyboys with me always -but curiosity eventually won out and I finally worked up the courage to take the plunge and read the rest of Hallowed Ground. I'm glad I did.

I absolutely...ABSOLUTELY...loved this book from start to finish. I laughed. I cried. I wanted to smack Josh and Ember upside the head sometimes at their behaviors. Ultimately there was a connection between myself and the characters that made them so incredibly realistic to me. This just goes to show that Rebecca Yarros has created characters so three-dimensional and full of heart and soul that they don't feel limited to just inked words on pages. These characters have been such a part of my heart since I first was introduced to them in Full Measures and I'm glad I got to read the end of their story as well as what happened to the others. This story not only focuses on the flaws of our characters but their strengths as they battle their demons for the sake of love and each other. Though it breaks my heart having to let them go, I know their stories are done. When I finished the last page of the chapter, not only did I cry because of the ending but because of the beauty of their beginnings; the ones we'll never be privy to. So thank you, Rebecca Yarros. For gracing us with these wonderful characters. For showing us a love worth fighting for. And for putting a little bit of Josh and Ember in our hearts always. Thank you.

Excerpt

I pulled her onto my lap, gently squeezing the sweet curves of her hips.

“Behave,” she whispered into my ear, but ran her tongue along the edge.

My fingers flexed, teasing under the edges of the black skirt that had slid higher on her thighs as she sat. I couldn’t help it—her skin was a magnet for my hands. “You like it better when I don’t,” I answered.

She locked those blue eyes on mine, and for that second, I wanted everyone to go the fuck away so I could get my remarkable girlfriend out of her clothes. Not a girlfriend for long. Not if I found the perfect moment for that little velvet box hidden upstairs.

Mrs. Walker. December-fucking-Walker. Sounded perfect to me.

“Earth to Josh and Ember,” Jagger called, waving his hand like he’d been at it a while.

“Yeah, yeah, a toast,” Ember said, wiggling against my now-hard lap. I locked her down with my hands, and she threw me a smug grin, well aware of what she’d done.

Jagger raised his beer. “To friends. Hell, that doesn’t even cut it. You guys, all of you...I wouldn’t be here”—he looked over to Paisley—“or even the man I am, without you. So more than friends...to family.”

We glanced around the fire at the family we’d made, and I felt it—one of those moments you can’t forget, the kind that stay with you when it’s long past, so you try to memorize everything. It was a deep peace, a contentment laced with the silent knowledge that we wouldn’t be together again for far too long. “To family,” we all said in scattered rhythm, and I kissed the underside of Ember’s jaw.

**VIEW THE Hallowed Ground TRAILER HERE: https://vimeo.com/148520997 **

About the Author

Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and lover of all things chocolate, coffee, and Paleo. In addition to being a mom, military wife, and blogger, she can never choose between Young Adult and New Adult fiction, so she writes both. She's a graduate of Troy University, where she studied European history and English, but still holds out hope for an acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Her blog, The Only Girl Among Boys, has been voted the Top Military Mom Blog the last two years, and celebrates the complex issues surrounding the military life she adores.

When she's not writing, she's tying on hockey skates for her kids, or sneaking in some guitar time. She is madly in love with her army-aviator husband of eleven years. They finally can call Colorado home along with their gaggle of rambunctious kiddos and snoring English Bulldog.

Stalk Rebecca here:

Website: http://www.rebeccaelizabethyarros.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RebeccaElizabethYarros

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/327562767450842/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebeccaYarros

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccayarros/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7539785.Rebecca_Yarros

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Rebecca-Yarros/e/B00HYKBU1W/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1449029619&sr=8-2-ent

GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, January 8, 2016

Full Measures Sales Blitz

In anticipation of the January 25th release of Hallowed Ground, the newest stand alone to the Flight and Glory Series, Rebecca Yarros has placed Full Measures (Book One) ON SALE.

Do not miss out on the opportunity to grab this beautifully written, emotional military romance about love, loss and survival for ONLY $0.99!

ON SALE NOW!

**Limited Time Only - Each book can be read as a stand alone**

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1mAypW4

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1O9CKGj

B&N: http://bit.ly/1xVnZ6m

iBooks: http://apple.co/1Z728qN

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1PLTOqk

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1PLTOqk

She knew. That’s why Mom hadn’t opened the door. She knew he was dead.

Twenty years as an army brat and Ember Howard knew, too. The soldiers at the door meant her dad was never coming home. What she didn’t know was how she would find the strength to singlehandedly care for her crumbling family when her mom falls apart.

Then Josh Walker enters her life. Hockey star, her new next-door neighbor, and not to mention the most delicious hands that insist on saving her over and over again. He has a way of erasing the pain with a single look, a single touch. As much as she wants to turn off her feelings and endure the heartache on her own, she can’t deny their intense attraction.

Until Josh’s secret shatters their world. And Ember must decide if he’s worth the risk that comes with loving a man who could strip her bare.

Full Measures Hallway Scene - Josh POV

The tile floor was cold under my bare feet as I leaned back against the kitchen counter, eating even colder ice cream. Muffled voices came from the entry hall, which probably meant Jagger had another girl over. Not that I cared, but it was a harsh reminder that the only girl I wanted was literally a wall away and wanted nothing to do with me.

Then again, after watching her set that shirt on fire yesterday, I was beginning to think it was less me she was angry at and more the entire world. I got it, really. She’d lost her dad, her mom wasn’t functioning, and she couldn’t get a moment peaceful enough to get her feet under her. She was frustrating as hell, and I couldn’t even blame her for it. Stronger women would have crumbled under what she’d been handed. So I flipped Jagger off when he’d asked me if we needed to call Oprah about my “manpain,” ate ice cream like a heartbroken girl, and tried not to fantasize about licking it off Ember. Looks like I failed that one, too.

“Barbies?” Ember’s voice came through clear as a bell, and I nearly dropped my spoon. Chills ran down my arms, and it wasn’t because of the ice cream currently melting on my tongue. Nope, just my skin reacting to her nearness. I licked off the back of the spoon, abandoned the bowl on the counter, and moved to straighten my shirt, but I wasn’t wearing one. I didn’t give it a second thought before I quietly rounded the corner, leaning back against the wall to get a better look at her.

“Walker! You got company!” Jagger called out, not realizing I was right behind him. Then again, neither did Ember, which gave me a coveted minute to soak her in, adorable bare feet and all. “Just in case he isn’t what you’re looking for… My name’s Jagger.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jagger.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure.”

Oh, hell no. I knew that voice on Jagger, the one that sought any good-looking woman in a five-mile radius, and couldn’t stay quiet. “Jagger, back the fuck up off Ember.”

His head dropped a fraction of an inch, just enough to let me know he’d heard me stake the claim. I’d pulled some kindergarten shit and basically licked her like a snack I didn’t want to share — I didn’t give a fuck if it was immature.

“And another one bites the dust,” Jagger said as he passed by me. He shot up his eyebrows in question, and I answered with an almost indistinguishable nod. Yes, this is the girl I’ve been talking about.

He laughed so quietly I almost missed it. Almost. Laugh it up. One day it will be you.

I locked my gaze on Ember and waited to see what she would do. She was like a wounded animal, and every time I reached my hand out, she’d bite, so this time I’d let her move first. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to move toward her.

She walked inside the entry hall, stopping close enough for me to kiss. Damn, she was beautiful. I would have killed for even a hint of what was going on behind those blue eyes. She blinked, but stayed silent.

I reached out before I could stop myself and palmed her cheek. “December?” Damn if she didn’t lean into my touch. It was there, the crackle of energy, the invisible tie that kept me tethered to her no matter how hard or far she pushed me away.

Her breath hitched as she turned into my hand, her lips parting as she skimmed over my skin, inhaling. Want slammed through me, and I forced it back on the bench. I wasn’t sure why she was here, or what she needed, but it wasn’t me pouncing on her.

Or maybe it is. I barely finished the thought before her mouth was on mine, hard and insistent. I was all too willing.

This wasn’t a gentle kiss, or even an apologetic one. It was open, carnal, and I sank into her, desperate to give her what we both craved. A growl ripped from my throat when she sucked my tongue into her mouth. God, she was warm.

I took control, stroking down her curves until her perfect ass filled my hands. With a squeeze, I brought her with me as I flipped to press her against the wall. Then I kissed her like I needed to, stroking her mouth with my tongue the way I’d used my fingers on her body back in Breckenridge—relentlessly and to every advantage.

Her fingers sank into my hair, and she moaned into my mouth, pushing me one step closer to losing what little control I had left. But when she rocked her hips against me, all thoughts of restraint fled. I licked down her neck, savoring her pulse against my tongue and the way she gasped when I gently kissed the patch of skin at the base.

Zip! Holy shit. She unzipped her hoodie, exposing miles of soft skin above her tank top. I picked her up, using the wall as leverage as I set my mouth to the delicate lines of her collarbone. Her taste, her scent, all of her surrounded me, blurring the outside world until there was only Ember.

I met her gaze, her eyes soft and hazed with the same lust streaking through my veins. “Josh,” she whispered, holding my face like I was something precious. I’d been a lot of things to a lot of different girls, but precious wasn’t really one of them, and she was infinitely more precious to me for it.

I set her down but didn’t back away, feeling every curve and hollow against my bare skin, and barely biting back a groan. I wish I’d had a shirt on. Oh, who the fuck was I kidding? Ten shirts couldn’t have protected me from Ember.

I kissed her again, using every ounce of skill I had to make her lose herself in the same way I had. I kept her guessing, never allowing her to settle into the kiss, changing the tempo, the pressure, anything to keep her as off-balance as she had me. She skimmed her fingers down my chest, along the lines of my stomach, and tensed. She dipped her fingers under the band of my flannel pants, and I was ready to rip every piece of clothing off her body so I could get to her skin. Another inch and she’d feel exactly how badly I wanted her.

Damn it. This was way too much, and not anything of what she actually needed. I’d be her whatever, but I had to draw the line when she was doing more harm than good. “December,” I whispered against her mouth, her lips swollen from mine, and pulled back just far enough to rest my forehead against hers. I closed my eyes until I had my body back under control. “I’m fucking desperate to carry you to my bedroom, but I don’t think this is what you want.”

Her eyes flew wide, and her skin stained pink before she hid behind her hands. “What am I doing?”

I got my shit under control, taking two deep breaths before I pulled her hands away. “What are you doing?”

“I came to say I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. Sorry for the mixed signals.” She laughed. “But apparently I jumped you instead, and now I’m sorry for that, too.”

“Sorry for jumping me?” Hell no. I smiled. She could be sorry for pushing me away, for going from hot to cold faster than the kitchen faucet she used to put that fire out yesterday. But I wouldn’t let her apologize for giving me a few minutes to glimpse heaven.

“No. I’m not sorry for jumping you. I’m sorry about my god-awful timing.”

My smile slipped as I ran my thumb across the lips I was becoming obsessed with. “I told you I’m here for whatever you need, Ember. Jumping, apologies, whatever.”

“I’d better get back to studying.”

Boom. She may as well have slammed the door on me, and I retreated a step. “I’d better get in the shower.”

“Didn’t you just…?”

I let my mind wander to the shower, to what I could do to her body, pressed up against mine, water making her slick under my hands – how easy it would be to slide inside her. Stop. “Yeah, but I think I need another one at a different temperature.”

She flushed brighter pink. “Oh. I’m sorry about that, too.”

I couldn’t stop a grin from overtaking me. “I’m not.” I stepped forward until her back hit the wall, then bent down, a breath away from her lips, from what I knew we both wanted but wouldn’t push for. “If you apologize like that, feel free to treat me like shit any time you want. I will be your personal doormat.”