A past connection comes burning back to the surface for two people trying to find themselves and find their way back to each other. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Ridge by S.L. Scott, along with my impressions of this engaging romance full of heart and soul, then add this fourth installment in the Crow Brothers series to your bookshelf too!
The One didn’t exist.
Then I met Meadow.
The band's honorary little sister was off-limits. Too late for that. She says we’re “nothing serious,” but she’s gotten under my skin and I can’t stop thinking about her. And when I touch her, I know we’re meant to be.
Happy Endings don’t exist.
Not even with Ridge.
My big plans never included falling for a rock star. Too soon for that. He wants to make us a “thing,” and I can’t deny our chemistry is combustible. His persistence is wearing me down, making his proposition hard to resist.
If true love only exists in fairy tales, why am I beginning to believe that Ridge just might be my happily ever after?
EXCERPT:
Prologue
Dave “Ridge” Carson
Somewhere between El Paso and Tucson, I found my soul under the bright stars of the Southwest.
Looking up, I drink her in. Meadow hates when I stare at her, but beauty like hers is rare. Her chin dips down, and she kisses my cheek, trailing more toward my ear where she whispers, “You feel so good inside me.”
“You have it all wrong. You make me feel good inside you.” I capture her lips on the edge of a laugh and kiss her while she continues to rock on top of my lap.
The sound of our bodies, our skin slick against each other becomes part of the hum of the desert outside the car. A night wind whistles through the cracked open window as the temperatures continue to fall well after sunset. We couldn’t wait—not for a hotel or a rest stop. When her hand dipped to my pants and she rubbed over me, causing my body to react, I pulled over.
Time is our enemy. There’s never enough of it when I’m with her. Every time I’m with her, I want to drain every ounce of life from the seconds, minutes, few short hours we get to be with each other.
My gaze rolls over the bottom of her jaw as her head tilts back, her mouth open, her bare breasts in front of me. I want to hold her still, hold her here, right the fuck here on top of me.
I run my hands over her body as I make love to the woman who’s become an addiction of mine. I breathe better, easier when I’m with her. The music of our bodies together is the only melody I hear. She’s become my friend.
My lover.
My muse.
Lifting up, she eases back down and then lifts again, gripping my shoulders and digging her nails into my skin. The pain is pleasure when doled out in provocative ways. “Dave,” she whispers on the end of a purr. No other name has been uttered in pure ecstasy like the way she says mine.
I hold her by the hips in the back seat of the SUV taking in the full view. “Hey,” I say.
She comes back to me, her eyes open, her soul exposed in such a vulnerable way, setting my heart on fire. “Hey.” She smiles, and I hold her still again, wanting this to last forever while equally wanting to rush the release.
A few sips of the wine we’ve been drinking straight from the bottle make her eyes sparkle. Caught between want and need, her smile is even until the corners, which curve up. It’s a smile that both hurts and heals my heart when it appears. “Don’t leave.”
Leaning down, she kisses my forehead, my nose, my mouth. With her lips against mine, she whispers, “I have to go.”
I’ve been careful about making plans with her for so long that the words feel foreign to me even now when this feels more intimate than any other time before. Every time with her is like this—better than the last. “I want you to stay.”
I fell for the free-spirited beauty long before we left Austin. But like all who are meant to soar, she can’t be caged by antiquated notions of romance. Meadow Fellowes has been clear about what we are or ever could be—nothing serious. But sometimes, when she looks at me, I see more hidden in the emerald pools of her eyes. I understand the yearning. She says, “My flight is tomorrow night.”
We’ve been so good at keeping it casual, but nothing serious means we’re fucking because we want to have sex. This isn’t fucking, just like we’re not casual, not to me. “Can you change it? Give us another week. Another day. Give us a chance.”
Leaning down, she kisses me and then sits back up. With her palms on my chest, she holds her smile. “I am. By leaving.” Her eyes close, and she starts moving on top of me again.
So I grip her a little tighter, holding her while I can. I meet every one of her pushes with a thrust of my own. As she comes back to me, the lids are half-mast, but her gaze is fixed on me. She whispers, “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m thinking how good this feels. Just us. Alone. In the desert, making love, having sex, fucking. All of it. All of you. You feel so good to me. Maybe we should be more to each other.”
“You’re more than you know,” she purrs softly and then leans back as if our connection is too much before she starts a slow gyrate. God, she feels amazing. A hand rubs over my chest, and this time, my eyes meet hers, coming back from the hazy edge of release. “We’re not those people.”
“What people are those?”
“The kind of people who make plans.”
Our bodies glide together as I say, “We’ve made plans before.”
“Spur-of-the-moment plans. Those don’t count.”
“They count.” They fucking count. I want to argue, but my mind clouds as our bodies move of their own volition. My eyes dip closed, and I swim in the moment, buried deep inside her.
We fall, tipping over that line that keeps us safe and the one that will end us—heart, body, and soul. It’s where I prefer to be with her. If only we could stay in this place longer than it takes for our breathing to recover.
My heart calms, and my breathing steadies. Meadow slides down with me still inside her and rests her head on my shoulder. Her fingers toy with the hairs on my chest before a kiss is placed on my neck. “Six months,” she says. “I’ll be back in six months.“
I tighten my arms around her. I don’t care that my body’s too big for this back seat or that we’re covered in sweat. All that matters is that I have her in my arms for a short time, and I intend to savor every second until she boards that plane.
I tighten my arms around her. I don’t care that my body’s too big for this back seat or that we’re covered in sweat. All that matters is that I have her in my arms for a short time, and I intend to savor every second until she boards that plane.
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BUY AT AMAZON here.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
The best romances don’t need suspense or over-the-top melodrama to make them satisfying. The best romances just are as they pull at reader’s heartstrings and engender feelings full of heart and soul with each turn of the page. Through three previous books readers have become fully invested in these characters and will find themselves rooting for Ridge/Dave and Meadow to find their way back to each other. By the final word readers will be left satisfied but saddened that our time with these immensely likable cast of characters has come to an end, but looking forward to what Ms. Scott has planned next.
Ridge/Dave Carson seems to have everything as the guitarist for The Crow Brothers, but in actuality he’s feeling unsettled. The only time he feels joy is when he’s on stage...as well as six months ago when he and Meadow Fellowes found an intense connection that he’s hoping to reignite now that they’re back together in the same city. Ridge/Dave is a delicious hero, one with a kind heart and a strong need to be supportive. He’s always there for others while balancing his own difficult home life where he’s left feeling as though he’s not enough. He’s a sexy and sweet man, willing to wait for Meadow as he knows she’s the one for him. His own difficult family life has him understanding the emotional chaos she’s going through and being infinitely patient with her even as he wants oh so much more with her. He wears his heart on his sleeve, boldly proclaiming what he feels for her throughout this story and through every word and deed. He quickly showed himself to be the quintessential book boyfriend, wanting the best for the woman who saw the man behind the fame and who brings peace to the chaos his life has become.
Meadow Fellowes has been in the background of this series as her sister found HEA with Rivers Crow and it’s a tragic upbringing that readers were given a glimpse of. She learned at a young age, courtesy of her mother, that you could only count on yourself and that love is just a lie waiting to break you. She’s still trying to figure out who she is throughout this story and what she wants and it leads her to some frustrating choices that hurt my heart. She wants to be there for Ridge/Dave, wants to be his safe place, but as the story progresses it becomes harder for them to be just friends as their emotional tug-of-war picks up steam. Through it all I was rooting for Meadow to get herself together, to find herself and stop letting the past dictate her future. She was so scared of things ending, of losing herself, before letting things even begin. It was a frustrating journey but one that was needed as it ultimately made them a stronger couple, one fully committed to each other’s needs.
Ridge/Dave and Meadow are a memorable couple, one easy to relate to for all the ups and downs they went through. Their journey to HEA was an emotional one, one that pulled me in wholeheartedly, and it broke my heart a time or two along with putting a smile on my face. I enjoyed seeing where their connection started and how easy they are together when they let themselves just be. Their slow and steady journey to HEA was hard-fought and richly rewarding for all the various emotions it engendered in me. There were erotically-charged encounters balanced with sweet words that kept me glued to the pages. Surrounding this appealing main couple are a cast of equally likable secondary characters, characters that have become like family. Though Ridge/Dave isn’t family by blood it’s clear he’s cut of the same cloth as The Crow Brothers as he’s sexy, supportive, and willing to fight for what he wants. Along with these sexy rock stars, and the women they’ve chosen, there’s also Meadow’s friend Darcy who left an indelible mark. She’s bold and brash and pushes Meadow to live life to the fullest and I found their scenes very entertaining. On a whole this was yet another delightful addition, and a heartfelt conclusion, to this engaging series. Fans of rock star romances will find much to enjoy in this romance of second chances that’s full of heart and soul.
Ridge/Dave Carson seems to have everything as the guitarist for The Crow Brothers, but in actuality he’s feeling unsettled. The only time he feels joy is when he’s on stage...as well as six months ago when he and Meadow Fellowes found an intense connection that he’s hoping to reignite now that they’re back together in the same city. Ridge/Dave is a delicious hero, one with a kind heart and a strong need to be supportive. He’s always there for others while balancing his own difficult home life where he’s left feeling as though he’s not enough. He’s a sexy and sweet man, willing to wait for Meadow as he knows she’s the one for him. His own difficult family life has him understanding the emotional chaos she’s going through and being infinitely patient with her even as he wants oh so much more with her. He wears his heart on his sleeve, boldly proclaiming what he feels for her throughout this story and through every word and deed. He quickly showed himself to be the quintessential book boyfriend, wanting the best for the woman who saw the man behind the fame and who brings peace to the chaos his life has become.
Meadow Fellowes has been in the background of this series as her sister found HEA with Rivers Crow and it’s a tragic upbringing that readers were given a glimpse of. She learned at a young age, courtesy of her mother, that you could only count on yourself and that love is just a lie waiting to break you. She’s still trying to figure out who she is throughout this story and what she wants and it leads her to some frustrating choices that hurt my heart. She wants to be there for Ridge/Dave, wants to be his safe place, but as the story progresses it becomes harder for them to be just friends as their emotional tug-of-war picks up steam. Through it all I was rooting for Meadow to get herself together, to find herself and stop letting the past dictate her future. She was so scared of things ending, of losing herself, before letting things even begin. It was a frustrating journey but one that was needed as it ultimately made them a stronger couple, one fully committed to each other’s needs.
Ridge/Dave and Meadow are a memorable couple, one easy to relate to for all the ups and downs they went through. Their journey to HEA was an emotional one, one that pulled me in wholeheartedly, and it broke my heart a time or two along with putting a smile on my face. I enjoyed seeing where their connection started and how easy they are together when they let themselves just be. Their slow and steady journey to HEA was hard-fought and richly rewarding for all the various emotions it engendered in me. There were erotically-charged encounters balanced with sweet words that kept me glued to the pages. Surrounding this appealing main couple are a cast of equally likable secondary characters, characters that have become like family. Though Ridge/Dave isn’t family by blood it’s clear he’s cut of the same cloth as The Crow Brothers as he’s sexy, supportive, and willing to fight for what he wants. Along with these sexy rock stars, and the women they’ve chosen, there’s also Meadow’s friend Darcy who left an indelible mark. She’s bold and brash and pushes Meadow to live life to the fullest and I found their scenes very entertaining. On a whole this was yet another delightful addition, and a heartfelt conclusion, to this engaging series. Fans of rock star romances will find much to enjoy in this romance of second chances that’s full of heart and soul.
My rating for this is an A-
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE CROW BROTHERS SERIES:
SPARK (Book #1): AMAZON (US) | GOODREADS
TULSA (Book #2): AMAZON (US) | GOODREADS
AUTHOR INFO:
Living in the capital of Texas with her family, Scott loves traveling and avocados, beaches, and cooking with her kids. She's obsessed with epic romances and loves a good plot twist. Her favorite color is blue, but she likens it more toward the sky than the emotion. Her home is filled with the welcoming symbol of the pineapple and finds surfing a challenge though she likes to think she's a pro.
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