Saturday 16 August 2014

**Cover Reveal** Take Heart by Lauren Michelle Smith



RELEASING SEPTEMBER 2014
Twenty two year old Amelia Foster just can’t seem to catch a break. After surviving the sudden
death of her father, she’s forced to drop out of college in order to support her alcoholic mother.
Dealing with years of nonstop verbal abuse and strife, Mia decides she’s finally had enough.
She packs her bags and moves to Austin, Texas—leaving the remnants of her old life behind.
On her first night there, she unexpectedly meets Chase. Chase Williams plays a carpenter by day and a bartender by night. With his supreme confidence, unapologetic sarcasm, and undeterred motivation, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants—including Mia. Attracting women has never been a problem before, but getting Mia to come around, well, that’s something else entirely. Instead of spending all of his energies charming her, he must do damage control so he can secure a first date. When she ultimately
succumbs, sparks fly, and an intensely passionate relationship ensues.

As Mia tries to move forward with her new life, she finds that escaping her past isn’t as easy as
she thought. Will the love from a reformed womanizer make her stronger? Or will the demons of
her not so distant past tear everything apart?
Contains strong adult content


I squeeze my way off the dance floor to find the restrooms. Locating them at the
back of the club, I waste no time getting there. I turn down a long hallway and see the sign
that says “Women” but before I can walk in there, I feel a hard body come up behind me
and force me into a room that’s supposed to be for employees only.
Swiftly turning around, I see Chase shut and lock the door, his gaze trapping mine.
His face is hard, cold, and angry but his eyes are burning with desire. He slowly saunters
toward me. I stand completely still and try to hold onto my indifference. I’m losing that battle
at a rapid rate. He presses a palm flat against my stomach and my body shudders with
sheer delight. He walks me backwards until I have no where else to go. The wall cuts me
off.

Placing his hands on either side of my head, he cages me in. My heart is
hammering and my chest is rising and falling, drawing Chase’s attention to it. Bringing his
eyes back to mine, he carefully leans forward towards my cleavage and lets out a slow,
cool breath. It immediately hits my damp chest and I feel my sex clench in response. I lay
my head back against the wall and look up to the ceiling, arching my back, silently begging
him not to stop.

He doesn’t.

My nipples tighten and the hair on my arms rises. He makes no move to touch me,
he simply continues to blow cool spouts of air all over my heated body. My chest, my neck,
and my face. He smells like some spice that I can’t quite pinpoint,
and his own, personal scent. The two swirl together and create a delicious combination, making me want to claw my way up his body and never stop inhaling him, like some creeper.
“Are you done playing around?” he whispers in my ear. “I’m not playing around,” I lie.
He brings his knee up between my legs and strokes me against my jeans with a
firm, but gentle pressure. The friction is delicious and all I can focus on is my body’s
sensations shooting off everywhere.
“Are you sure about that?” He’s breathing just as hard as I am.
I moan as he strokes me again. My hands form fists at my sides. I try to control my
body’s reaction but it’s no use. Chase is everywhere. He’s on my body, he’s in my head,
and he’s slowly wedging his way into my heart.
“Does that feel good, Amelia?”
I close my eyes and say nothing. I feel his hair lightly brush against my skin as he
lays a kiss down on the top swell of each of my breasts, and then his lips are back at my
ear.

“Do you like it when I do that?” he rasps. I whimper. Holy fuck¨ I’m going to explode. My knees start to buckle and I sink down onto his thigh. My hips start a slow gyration against his leg, the seam of my jeans rubbing perfectly against the right spot. I stick my palms flat against the wall and use that as support to continue my grind on him. I lock onto his gaze and pour every ounce of desire I’m feeling
into him. My body is wound so tight. He looks like he’s about to combust just watching me
do this to myself. I don’t care about being shy. It feels too good.

Suddenly, he reaches down to grab my ass. He hoists me up and I wrap my legs around his torso. He halts my movements and I can feel how rock hard he is through his jeans. He laces his fingers through mine and lifts both our hands up and rests them on the wall above my head. His deep blue eyes are burning into mine. I’m sexually frustrated and I want the friction back.
“Does it drive you crazy when I do that?”
I swallow hard and nod.
“Good, because you’ve been driving me crazy all fucking night. Do you have any idea how pissed I am that you tried to pick up guys? Am I a toy to you? Something you think
you can play with?” he asks forcefully.
“Am I just a toy for you†to play with?” I snap, sending his question right back. My sexual frustration is now being redirected as anger. I don’t know which I want to do more—slap the shit out of him, or screw his brains out.
Confusion washes over his face.
“What are you talking about? Why would you think that? I think I’ve been pretty upfront with how I feel about you since day one,” he defends.
Is he joking right now? What an idiot!
I narrow my gaze and try to break his hold on my body but he doesn’t budge. It’s clear he isn’t going to let me go until we hash this out.
“Oh, really? Then explain Christa and Tamika to me, Chase. What are they to you?
What am I to you, huh? One of many? A casual fucking fling? Because if that’s where this is headed, we really need to stop.”
That was it. I just gave him an easy out.


Author of Take Heart. I was born and raised in Iowa, but I currently live in Austin, Texas. I graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Psychology. I'm an avid book reader who also enjoys writing during my spare time. My goal is to give people stories that they can relate to and characters they will fall madly in love with. Like most people, I also enjoy a good beer and a good vacation. Take Heart is my very first novel, and I hope to write many more in the future.





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