Parker Ryan is a man without a future. Sure, he’s a partner in one of New York’s most prestigious law firms, but he’ll never be more than a failure in the eyes of his boss, his father. Rather than break away from his father’s standards, he finds himself mindlessly pursuing them, in turn sacrificing anything that would actually make him happy.
When Liam’s and Parker’s lives collide, the ugly truth about who they really are, and who they hope to become reveals itself when they least expect it. As both of their lives become wrecked beyond all belief, they’ll learn how to rely on each other in their journey to become Repaired.
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Excerpt:
Walking
over to us with a full tray of shots, she winked at Annie. “To the birthday
girl.”
We each
took a glass, clinking them together before downing the clear liquid. “Shit,
that reminds me of college.” Coughing, I dropped the glass back onto the tray
as the 151 burned a path down my throat.
Liam had
no such issues, easily swallowing his shot and the spare one that Annie hadn’t
taken. Assuming the reason for her refusal was also the reason for the shocked
look on Drea’s face, Annie quickly excused Paulie and herself to go and greet
other guests. Drea trailed behind them like a lost puppy.
When I
turned to look at Liam, a similar look of shock was on his face. His jaw was
locked tight, so tight it looked like he might crack a tooth. “So,” I dragged
out the word, wondering why the hell Liam was so pissed off.
Liam gave
me no response, walking away from me and toward the bar. By the time I caught
up to him, he’d already ordered another round of shots. Figuring the night was
only getting started, I joined him in one more shot. I declined the next round,
but watched on in amazement as he downed his fifth shot within a matter of ten
minutes.
“You
better slow down.” Liam was a grown man and could make his own decisions and
maybe he had a high tolerance, but, in my experience, being as angry as he
seemed to be and drinking was never a good combination.
Without
moving his body an inch, he graced me with a rather seething look. “What the
hell is your problem?” I snapped.
“Nothing,”
he grumbled. Shifting his position, he rested his elbows on the bar top and cradled
his head in his hands. “Look, it’s nothing, okay.” Finally turning his head to
me, his tone softened. There was so much pain in his eyes it bordered on
anguish. My gut told me a man like Liam wouldn’t deal well with pity, so
instead of pushing the issue, I tipped my chin to the bartender, who was
starting to become overwhelmed with the growing crowd.
After she
handed me the round I’d ordered, Liam’s eyes widened in shock. “Calm down. I
didn’t get these for you.” In quick succession, I downed the two shots. Slowly,
and with determined purpose, I dragged the back of my hand across my lips.
Liam’s tongue darted out of his mouth, licking his own lips, almost as if he
was subconsciously reacting to my own movements. Angling my head out to the
dance floor, I reached down for his hand. “Let’s go.” Even if he’d thought I
was asking—which I wasn’t—he didn’t answer.
With his
feet glued firmly to the spot, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his
nose with his free hand. “Look, you don’t have–”
Stroking my
thumb over the soft skin of his wrist, I interrupted him. “I know I don’t have to do anything, but right now, I want to dance. So unless you have some
kind of objection to my body moving up against yours, or to other people seeing
us out there, then you have no choice.”
Liam’s
full lips quirked into a lazy grin, perhaps as a result of the alcohol, but I’d
like to think it had more to do with me. “I don’t care who sees us,” he said
with a carefree honesty.
“Good.
Then let’s give them a show.”
For the
briefest of seconds, I worried that maybe Liam didn’t dance, and that we were
about to make terrible, drunken fools of ourselves, but that concern was all
resolved when he started swaying his hips to the music. Shocked into staying
still, I watched from his side, more than admiring the way his body swayed and
popped. “Those are some mighty fine moves you’ve got there.” His joke was
barely audible over the loud bass of the band, playing a cover of a rock song
I’d heard once or twice. But his smile. Fuck, even in the dim, near-black
nothingness of the bar, his smile lit up the room and it made it impossible not
to fall in line behind him.
My hands
fell to his hips, pulling his back right up against my front. With his ear
right next to my mouth, I said, “I couldn’t get my brain, my feet, and my
dick”—I pressed up against him as I pulled him back toward me to let him feel
exactly what I’d meant—“to work all at the same time. Clearly, my body can only
control two at a time.” Liam’s hands covered mine on his hips, his body
gracefully undulating to the pulsing beat of the next, much slower, song.
Spinning
to face me, he dropped his arms around my neck. Speaking just loud enough to be
heard, he pressed his lips against my ear, sending an endless river of
excitement coursing against my skin. “I like the way your body works.”
My hands
found their way into his back pockets, squeezing the hard muscle of his ass.
“Your body works pretty well, too.” Pressing my thigh in between his, I felt
the hard heat of his erection. Almost as if there was nothing between us, I
could feel his pulse beating along what I imagined was a thick vein running
from his sac to his tip. My mouth watered at the thought of feeling it beat
against my tongue. He adjusted his stance, allowing his dick to press up
against mine and I barely concealed my pleasure, groaning into his ear. If the
song had lasted a minute longer than it did, I would have come in my pants like
some lust-ridden teenager jerking off for the first time.
Liam
pulled back from me, angling his face in a way that caught the yellow-white
glow of the lights he’d strung up earlier. Not for the first time, I was struck
by how attractive he was. Everything about him was the definition of male
beauty. From the naturally tanned skin and amber-brown eyes, to the day-old
scruff dusting his jawline, to the rock hard muscles moving against mine; Liam
was everything I wanted in a man.
And just
as that thought barreled through my brain like a train inches away from
derailing, he smiled at me—a gorgeously lopsided grin that somehow settled
something in my brain and my body.
When I
tried to make sense of it all, the band shifted gears once again, belting out
the words to what was apparently Annie’s favorite song. The crowd quite
literally went wild, filling what little space was left on the dance floor. We
all moved together, laughing and having a genuinely good time.
Honestly,
it was the most fun I had in recent memory. Watching Liam dance with his
friends, getting lost in the music myself, it was as if I found a piece of
myself I’d always been looking for. Or, to be more accurate, it was as if I
found a part of myself I used to possess, but had somehow lost long ago.
Melissa
Collins has always been a book worm. Studying Literature in college ensured
that her nose was always stuck in a book. She followed her passion for reading
to the most logical career choice: English teacher. Her hope was to share her
passion for reading and the escapism of books to her students. Having spent
more than a decade in front of a classroom, she can easily say that it’s been a
dream.
Her
passion for writing didn’t start until more recently. When she was home on
maternity leave in early 2012, she read her first romance novel and her head
filled with the passion, angst and laughter of the characters who she read
about it. It wasn’t long before characters of her own took shape in her mind.
Their lives took over Melissa’s brain and The Love Series was born.
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