Ever wondered what happened to that boy you fancied at school? The one that was pure bad, that never noticed you except that once when you were left tongue-tied, the one that always hung out with the boys, but had the girls hanging on to his every word?
Jake is the bad boy I could have fancied, the one with the swagger who stopped just the once and was kind, who showed me a glimpse of the good guy inside.
Sometimes when we’re young we can’t do what we’d like to, daren’t take the risks – but when we get older we sometimes realize we can do what we want. Take the chances while we still can.
Georgie was always the good girl at school, but the girl who felt out of place and geeky. The girl who fancied the bad guy but didn’t do anything about it. Until she grew up, and decided she was going to do exactly what she wanted. Live her life her own way. Forget the past.
But however hard we try, we can’t escape from our past, we can’t ignore who we really are. But we can find the right path to take, if we look hard enough. And if someone is there to help us out…
Take one rich girl who has a thing for the bad boys.
Take one tough guy who wants fun and freedom.
Mix generously with a land dispute and a whole lotta lust…. And what have you got?
Sometimes being bad can be just too good to miss...
EXCERPT:
He chuckled and the sound fingered its way down her spine. “So, are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Psycho.”
“I’ll let you decide that.” She took a step closer to him, which just about took her to the spot where she could smell the mix of spice, wood and musk. Earthy. Nice. “Not that it would bother you, I’m sure.”
“Are you now?” He let her close that gulf of ten inches between them, let her reach out to rest a finger on the top of the zip of his leather jacket. Cold metal against warm, the tang of leather and oil layered over the tantalising scent of pure male.
“Very sure. Can I see your ‘bike?”
He looked faintly amused, but from the way his stance had widened and those gorgeous eyes had darkened she knew she had him. Hers for the taking. But he’d kept his hands jammed in his pockets, like he was determined to make her do all the running.
“And there I was thinking it was me you were interested in.”
“I am. You and the bike, together.”
“You’ll have to promise not to rake those heels down the tank.”
It was then that she recognised him. It was the way he said it, that ever so slight judgemental edge to his voice. Jake Harcourt. He’d been like that when he was cocky sixteen. Daring, in control. Leader of the pack. And she’d been the podgy teenage girl in her carefully ironed blouse and spotless flat shoes. If she’d not had a drink or five maybe she’d have clicked earlier, maybe not. It was a lifetime ago. And he wasn’t a lanky tearaway teenager now. He was a man. Boy, had he grown into a man.
Back then was another time, of schoolgirl crushes, of secret Valentine’s cards being pushed into lockers, of wanting the rough tough poster boys and knowing it was a step too far. Then. Bad had been plain bad back then, now it was good.
“I won’t leave a scratch. I promise.”
He raised an eyebrow and just like that he’d gone from a little bit naughty to full on bad, and Georgie felt her throat dry as the anticipation swirled into a knot ofexcitement in her stomach.
“No scratches at all?”
The smile twitched at her mouth. “Well, not from the heels. And not on the tank.” She rested the very tips of her nails on his jawbone, let them drag across the rough stubble until they rested under his chin, then she leant in, let her breasts rub against thesmooth hide of his jacket, closed her teeth around the fullness of his lower lip and pulled back just far enough so that she could glance up, see the look in his eye.
Jake met the coy look she shot through those long eyelashes and wondered if his luck was in or he’d just gone stark staring mad. He’d kicked up the motorbike from pure frustration, barely paused to grab his helmet, and then gunned into the centre of townlooking for something, but not knowing what.
Maybe he’d found it.
“Am I what?”
“Psycho.”
“I’ll let you decide that.” She took a step closer to him, which just about took her to the spot where she could smell the mix of spice, wood and musk. Earthy. Nice. “Not that it would bother you, I’m sure.”
“Are you now?” He let her close that gulf of ten inches between them, let her reach out to rest a finger on the top of the zip of his leather jacket. Cold metal against warm, the tang of leather and oil layered over the tantalising scent of pure male.
“Very sure. Can I see your ‘bike?”
He looked faintly amused, but from the way his stance had widened and those gorgeous eyes had darkened she knew she had him. Hers for the taking. But he’d kept his hands jammed in his pockets, like he was determined to make her do all the running.
“And there I was thinking it was me you were interested in.”
“I am. You and the bike, together.”
“You’ll have to promise not to rake those heels down the tank.”
It was then that she recognised him. It was the way he said it, that ever so slight judgemental edge to his voice. Jake Harcourt. He’d been like that when he was cocky sixteen. Daring, in control. Leader of the pack. And she’d been the podgy teenage girl in her carefully ironed blouse and spotless flat shoes. If she’d not had a drink or five maybe she’d have clicked earlier, maybe not. It was a lifetime ago. And he wasn’t a lanky tearaway teenager now. He was a man. Boy, had he grown into a man.
Back then was another time, of schoolgirl crushes, of secret Valentine’s cards being pushed into lockers, of wanting the rough tough poster boys and knowing it was a step too far. Then. Bad had been plain bad back then, now it was good.
“I won’t leave a scratch. I promise.”
He raised an eyebrow and just like that he’d gone from a little bit naughty to full on bad, and Georgie felt her throat dry as the anticipation swirled into a knot ofexcitement in her stomach.
“No scratches at all?”
The smile twitched at her mouth. “Well, not from the heels. And not on the tank.” She rested the very tips of her nails on his jawbone, let them drag across the rough stubble until they rested under his chin, then she leant in, let her breasts rub against thesmooth hide of his jacket, closed her teeth around the fullness of his lower lip and pulled back just far enough so that she could glance up, see the look in his eye.
Jake met the coy look she shot through those long eyelashes and wondered if his luck was in or he’d just gone stark staring mad. He’d kicked up the motorbike from pure frustration, barely paused to grab his helmet, and then gunned into the centre of townlooking for something, but not knowing what.
Maybe he’d found it.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Ms. Stoneley's book deals with one of my favorite themes, that of the attraction between the bad boy and the good girl, and had me hooked from the very beginning. From there though things got a bit rocky as the protagonist's daddy issues keep them in limbo when it comes to their futures and their relationship. Misunderstandings and stereotypes further work to keep them apart but don't dilute the sexual tension that leads to repeated steamy and intensely erotic encounters.
Georgie grew up quiet in a world of the rich until the day her parent's broke up and her world collapsed. She became completely different from then on, a woman of numerous sexual encounters with no desire for the lie of love. She's become hardened and desperate to regain the happiness of her youth which puts her in a battle with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Jake. He too is trying to find the happiness that was lost in his youth but is hesitant to commit to any one thing for fear it will be taken away again. These two hurt and lost souls engage in a lot of rapid fire verbal banter full of sexual tension but I never felt a strong romantic connection between them. Georgie remains too demanding and slightly arrogant to let Jake in completely and he seemed too apathetic to become too committed to Georgie.
I enjoyed the depiction of small town living though with its gossip grapevine along with the elderly and all-knowing and all-seeing neighbor, Rowena. The sexual tension was palpable with numerous intensely erotic scenes that added to an already fast-paced storyline. Though I didn't find myself drawn to the main characters, particularly Georgie, I still found this an entertaining story and will definitely read more from Ms. Stoneley in the future.
My rating for this is a C+
*I received this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
Author Zara Stoneley has been writing stories for just about as long as she’s been reading them. She sold her first erotic novel to Xcite Books in 2012, and since then has had her hot romances accepted by several publishers, including HarperCollins. Her stories have featured on romance and erotic bestseller lists in the US and UK.
Zara divides her time between a country cottage in the UK and a Barcelona apartment, and loves her family, sexy high heels, sunshine, good food and wine, coffee, cats, horses, dogs, music, writing and reading - but not necessarily in that order! She likes her heroes just how she likes her coffee – hot, strong and moreish.
WEBSITE - http://www.
BLOG – http://zarastoneley.
TWITTER - @zarastoneley
FACEBOOK – http://www.
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – http://amazon.com/
GOODREADS - http://www.goodreads.com/
Zara divides her time between a country cottage in the UK and a Barcelona apartment, and loves her family, sexy high heels, sunshine, good food and wine, coffee, cats, horses, dogs, music, writing and reading - but not necessarily in that order! She likes her heroes just how she likes her coffee – hot, strong and moreish.
WEBSITE - http://www.
BLOG – http://zarastoneley.
TWITTER - @zarastoneley
FACEBOOK – http://www.
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – http://amazon.com/
GOODREADS - http://www.goodreads.com/
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