Spotlight Excerpt & Giveaway—Stripped by H.M. Ward

Stripped
H.M. Ward
Ferro Family #1
Publication: September 2nd, 2013 by Laree Bailey Press
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

The V Card. Virgin. Most of us want to punch that sucker ASAP, and hide the fact until then, but not Cassie Hale. Three years ago she frickin' covered hers in glitter and laminated the thing, proudly telling me that she's waiting for the perfect guy.

So when I see her half naked, tangled together, rolling around on the floor with another stripper, I'm kind of shocked. Okay, that's an understatement. I'm enthralled. I have to know what cracked her picture perfect world and landed her here, and I hope it's something horrible-an event that broke her the way she broke me. Because, that's who Cassie Hale is—the woman who stole my heart and crushed it in her hand.

** Stripped features the third Ferro brother, Jonathan, and intertwines with The Arrangement  and Damaged  series. **

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CASSIE

Jon throws me into a chair and then tosses a blanket at me. I’m barely dressed, still wearing my stripping outfit. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“With me?” I yell and jump up from my seat. “With me? You’re seriously asking what’s wrong with me—”

“Yes, I’m asking. You’ve been acting like a goddamn lunatic since the moment I saw you!” He’s in my face, yelling down at me. My shoes are in the dressing room and my feet ache, my head aches, and my heart aches. I turn to leave. I’m not doing this right now. I can’t. But Jon grabs my arm and stops me from walking away. “Where do you think you’re going? You can’t run away every time something doesn’t go your way. You’re not a child anymore, Cass.”

“And neither are you!” I shove my palms into his chest, and then do it again, harder. “You can’t fuck every girl who works here. That makes it a whore house and I’m not a fucking whore!” I try to hit him again, but he grabs my wrists.

“No one said you were.” His voice softens. I try to pull away, but he won’t let me. His lips are dangerously close and I’m aware of his scent, of the way his breathing is becoming more ragged, even though we’ve stopped yelling. His dark lashes are lowered, his blue eyes singularly focused on my mouth. “What happened to you, Cass?”

My lips part, but no words come out. How can I say it? How can I tell him? I shake my head and refuse to look up. Jon remains close enough that I can feel his warm breath. I want to lean into him, wrap my arms around his neck, and just cry until there are no tears left.

A hot wet tear slips from the corner of my eye and rolls down my cheek. Jon’s thumb catches it and smoothes it away. “Talk to me Cass.”

I make the mistake of looking up into his face. His heated gaze catches mine and I’m lost. His hand is still on my cheek and it happens so suddenly that I don’t have time to think. Jon lowers his lips to mine and kisses me softly. The taste of his mouth, the way he holds me, makes me want more. The blanket falls to the floor and I step into his arms.

All the regrets I’ve ever had come boiling to the surface. I never gave him a chance. I wrote Jon off when we were younger and I shouldn’t have. Our mouths press harder together, and his tongue slips into my mouth. I can barely breathe and I don’t care. I don’t stop to catch my breath. I kiss him harder, feeling his lips mash into mine as his hands travel down my back, tracing my bare skin. It’s hotter than any kiss I’ve ever had. Jon presses his lips to me like he’ll never get the chance to do it again. There are no words that describe the longing I’ve felt for him, and what it means to feel him like this now—his body pressed firmly to mine, our lips tangling together as our tongues intertwine.

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H.M. Ward

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New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author H.M. Ward is a native New Yorker living in Texas. Ward was featured in the Washington Post for her debut novel Demon Kissed. Romance series by H.M. Ward include Damaged, Secrets, Scandalous, The Arrangement, andThe Secret Life of Trystan Scott.

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