Self-Published | November 22, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Ashes and Embers, book 4
★★★★★
SOURCE: GIVE ME BOOKS
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Caring. Hard-working. A devoted family man, loves kids.
Clean cut, funny, smart, quiet, but a good communicator.
~ Asia Jenson
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Independent. Tall, blonde, sexy. Outgoing. Intelligent,
neat. Unslutty. Confident. Loves to travel. Committed.
~ Talon Valentine
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
The concept was scary but exciting...
Marry a total stranger.
Live together for six months.
Journal everything. (Feelings. Fights. All of it.)
After six months, we each get $50K in trade for our journals, whether we stay married or not. But the goal is to commit to the experience and see if the relationship experts could put together the perfect matches.
I have never been lucky in love. This was my chance to find my soulmate.
I couldn’t wait to meet the man the experts felt was perfect for me.
My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw him at the altar.
Shit. I married my worst nightmare.
Right?!
{ about karen ferry } .
I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.
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{ excerpt } .
At first she doesn't even know I'm there, and I have the pleasure of seeing her lying back, her eyes closed, one leg bent up and peeking out from the bubbles. And damn those fucking bubbles, they're covering everything else.The universe is doing everything it can to prevent me from seeing my wife naked. I would laugh at that fact if it didn't bug me so damn much. I'm pretty sure karma is slapping me in the face for insulting her so many times, and karma is a bitch who has no fucks to give about my blue balls.
Her eyes suddenly snap open and she jumps when she sees me, water splashing around her.
"Tally, you scared the shit out of me. Why are you creeping around?" She crosses her arms over her chest and a few bubbles float up in the air. I love that my childhood nickname just slipped out of her mouth without her even realizing it. It sounded so intimate on her lips that I want to hear her say it again and again.
"I wasn't creeping; I just walked in. Should I wear a bell around my neck like the Princess?" I lean against the doorframe and gaze at her in the candlelight, her skin dewy from the moist heat, and I can't understand why she doesn't want me in that tub with her.
"What are you doing in here?"
I cross the room and kneel down next to the tub, taking in the way her eyes shift to my naked chest.
"I wanted to see your bath bomb in action." My eyes travel languidly down the length of her in the tub and catch glimpses of pink water under the bubbles.
"This one is actually a bubble bomb. See the bubbles?" She lifts her hand and blows the bubbles up over my head.
I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. "I see that. Pink water, too. Very pretty." I close my eyes as I kiss her hand, tasting the sweet water on her. "What flavor are you tonight? It's yummy."
She swallows and I can feel her hand trembling ever so slightly in mine. "It's cotton candy."
I nod my approval. "I like it. A lot."
She shifts in the water, lowering the leg that was up and raising the other, giving me a quick glimpse of her thigh as she does so.
"Do you think about me when you're in here?" I ask her, releasing her hand so I can dip my fingers into the warm water.
"I think about you all the time."
My heart does a funny lurch I'm pretty sure it ain't never done before. "Well, that's just about the best thing I've ever heard."
I let my hand slide farther into the water until it's gliding over her outer thigh under the bubbles. "The water feels slippery," I comment. "So does your skin."
"It's from the oils."
Stretching my other arm out along the edge of the tub, I lean toward her face. "I like how it feels. I should be in there with you, all slippery and wet."
"You're too big," she murmurs, locking her eyes on to mine.
Laughing, I kiss her vanilla flavored lips. "I'm gonna ignore that big comment, baby."
She smiles against my mouth. "You're so bad."
"I know… So, I'm going to have to do this the hard way, then. Since I can't get in there." I slide my hand farther down her leg, over her knee to her calf, squeezing gently.
"Do what?"
"Give you your first orgasm."
A small gasp of surprise comes out of her, and a seductive little grin graces her lips. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I've had orgasms before."
"Not from me." I rub my nose along hers, feeling her breath against my face. "And that's gonna change right now, Mrs. Valentine."
I cup the back of her head with one hand and press my mouth to hers, licking her lips while slowly dragging my other hand up the inside of her leg beneath the water to finally brush my fingers gently across her lower lips. I silently curse the water for not letting me feel her wetness.
Her mouth opens to mine and I delve my tongue inside, tasting the heat of her breath and catching the sweet moan she lets out when I push my finger into her warmth. Her thighs part and her hand comes up out of the water to caress my cheek as I let my hand own her, my thumb rubbing her pulsing clit while I slip my fingers in and out of her. My cock throbs like mad in my shorts, begging to get into her. Holy fuck, is she tight. Three years of no sex is very, very good.
Her thighs squeeze my hand and she grasps the side of my neck, her breath panting against my mouth, and I know she's there already. I really want to drag this out, tease her and make her crazy, but that seems cruel right now when she's writhing her hot little core all over my hand and devouring my lips. I like little horny Asia. A lot.
I want to pull her out of the tub and take her right here on the floor and put an end to this madness, but I'm hell-bent on sticking to my promise to her, even if my dick hates me.
Her walls clench and drench around my swirling fingers up inside her, while the rest of her body arches up, pressing against me, her muscles tightening and quivering. I kiss her softly as she recovers from the first of many sexual escapades I have planned for her now that the doors have been opened, so to speak.
"Who's my girl?" I whisper against her ear, moving my hand up to caress her stomach.
"Me," she answers breathlessly
"That's right."
My girl. The last thing I thought I would ever want, and now, all I could ever want.
{ review } .
Reviews are all about the honest one so I'm going to be super candid right here, right now:
When the arc for TALON popped up on my Kindle, I inwardly groaned. Without looking at the title, without looking at the author, the cover itself told me it was part of the ASHES & EMBERS series and while I liked the three previous books, and I rated them as such... it wasn't necessarily a series that I was going to be all about following each new release. {Granted, if you didn't have any feels for Vandal at the beginning of his book, you and I can't be friends}.
So I went into TALON with a bit of a chip on my shoulder -- reading a book that I didn't really want to read, all because I'm a series lover and signed up for this series before even knowing Carian Cole's writing style.
Depressed yet?
Let's cut to the chase then, why don't we.
BEST.
BOOK.
In the series.
I was totally engrossed in this story -- I didn't want to put it down, and I found myself re-reading scenes because I loved them so much. I loved bad boy Talon and his desire to settle down but wasn't because of the... selection, I suppose. I loved that he kinda sorta believed in this concept his mother was shooting him. And I really loved that he was so disappointed in the result of his questionnaire.
While Asia may not have been what he wanted on paper, she was so, so good for him.
"...give it time. Relationships take work. You don't just add water and stir." --Dad
These two -- their chemistry was off the walls. I absolutely adored them. I loved as these two slowly tolerated one another; I loved watching them pick out their house and watching as Talon fully accepted and supported the parts of Asia she swore no one understood. I most loved whenever he thought of her or spoke of her as 'his wife', even early on. I found that very telling for his character, as it was thought as an endearment rather than a fact.
I loved how these two loved one another. The way they met may have been super-unconventional; the fact they had to stay married for the length of this study certainly put forth the thought that marriage is work -- that you will fall in and out of love with your spouse and you have to always work for it, definitely was showcased. The very vows that are spoken are fully looked at and worked on in Talon and Asia's story, too.
I loved Asia's growing relationship with the members of Talon's family, but most notably, Evie. I really loved the connection Talon and Lukas had, as well as Asher's acceptance of Asia -- right from the beginning, to the parts where Talon questions things.
See? Lots of love. So glad I signed up for the series, because I wouldn't have gotten to Talon's story, and like I said, his was definitely the favorite for me -- and with it... I'm now in that "following the series for each new release" boat.
Speaking of future releases... so many questions where Asher is concerned, in this head of mine. I'm curious if we'll get to see more of this brother. In February, we get a little more Evie and Storm, and I've been falling more in love with those two, so I'm excited for that. Oh, and all because Rayne put the thought in my head, I'd really love seeing Talon and Asia in a birthing room. Thanks for the idea, Rayne.
When the arc for TALON popped up on my Kindle, I inwardly groaned. Without looking at the title, without looking at the author, the cover itself told me it was part of the ASHES & EMBERS series and while I liked the three previous books, and I rated them as such... it wasn't necessarily a series that I was going to be all about following each new release. {Granted, if you didn't have any feels for Vandal at the beginning of his book, you and I can't be friends}.
So I went into TALON with a bit of a chip on my shoulder -- reading a book that I didn't really want to read, all because I'm a series lover and signed up for this series before even knowing Carian Cole's writing style.
Depressed yet?
Let's cut to the chase then, why don't we.
BEST.
BOOK.
In the series.
Favorite book I read last week.
I was totally engrossed in this story -- I didn't want to put it down, and I found myself re-reading scenes because I loved them so much. I loved bad boy Talon and his desire to settle down but wasn't because of the... selection, I suppose. I loved that he kinda sorta believed in this concept his mother was shooting him. And I really loved that he was so disappointed in the result of his questionnaire.
While Asia may not have been what he wanted on paper, she was so, so good for him.
"...give it time. Relationships take work. You don't just add water and stir." --Dad
These two -- their chemistry was off the walls. I absolutely adored them. I loved as these two slowly tolerated one another; I loved watching them pick out their house and watching as Talon fully accepted and supported the parts of Asia she swore no one understood. I most loved whenever he thought of her or spoke of her as 'his wife', even early on. I found that very telling for his character, as it was thought as an endearment rather than a fact.
I loved how these two loved one another. The way they met may have been super-unconventional; the fact they had to stay married for the length of this study certainly put forth the thought that marriage is work -- that you will fall in and out of love with your spouse and you have to always work for it, definitely was showcased. The very vows that are spoken are fully looked at and worked on in Talon and Asia's story, too.
I loved Asia's growing relationship with the members of Talon's family, but most notably, Evie. I really loved the connection Talon and Lukas had, as well as Asher's acceptance of Asia -- right from the beginning, to the parts where Talon questions things.
See? Lots of love. So glad I signed up for the series, because I wouldn't have gotten to Talon's story, and like I said, his was definitely the favorite for me -- and with it... I'm now in that "following the series for each new release" boat.
Speaking of future releases... so many questions where Asher is concerned, in this head of mine. I'm curious if we'll get to see more of this brother. In February, we get a little more Evie and Storm, and I've been falling more in love with those two, so I'm excited for that. Oh, and all because Rayne put the thought in my head, I'd really love seeing Talon and Asia in a birthing room. Thanks for the idea, Rayne.
{ previous reviews } .
STORM . VANDAL . LUKAS { reviews }
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