As promised... here's your second teaser....
Will
April ever be ready to love another man?
Blurb:
Two
years have passed since April Patterson’s husband was shot and killed in the
line of duty, and she’s trapped in a haze of grief and uncertainty. Having
grown frustrated by all other efforts to engage her in activities where she
could meet new people, her cousin pays for a date via 1Night Stand. Not
thrilled with the idea, April nevertheless contacts Madame Eve and requests the
impossible: a date with her deceased husband.
Brilliant
software engineer Drew Monroe created his company, Elysium, to help give
closure to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, through the use of
virtual reality. Though passionate about his work, being constantly surrounded
by heartache and death has taken a toll on his mental health. When he accepts
the case of a young widow referred to him by Madame Eve, her tragic tale
depresses him further, but he commits himself to programming April the romantic
date she desires.
April
arrives at Elysium and prepares to enter Drew’s virtual realm. Will she find
the solace she seeks within? Or will she discover she doesn’t need a fantasy
world to discover happiness again?
Excerpt:
I
came over to her in an effort to console her, and I doubted I’d even succeeded
at that. In trying to offer her comfort, I’d contorted myself into an awkward
position, trapping us between her chair and mine. The helmet she flung at me
balanced on one leg, and my opposite elbow stuck out at an unnatural angle as I
struggled to hold her in some sort of odd embrace. Terrific.
Her
tears pooled on my upper arm, soaking through the shirt. “I’m sorry,” she kept
repeating, her voice strained and muffled. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry….”
“No,
I’m sorry.” My throat constricted, and for a second I thought I’d start crying
with her. I grieved for a man I never met, and twinges of guilt tugged at my
conscience as I thought about all the times I’d envied him. Coupled with the
blatant shortcomings in operating Elysium’s software, I was not feeling very good about myself. “I’m
sorry I let you down.” One arm tightened around her and shame pushed the next
selfish words out. “I wanted to give you something no one else could. I wanted
to let you be happy again.”
Little
by little, April calmed down. She stopped shaking and her breathing slowed.
Lifting her head, she stared at me with red-rimmed eyes. Something shifted
within their gray depths, and she moved as if to stand. I expected her to
disentangle herself from me and gather her belongings, but she leaned against
the edge of the chair, wedging one knee between my thigh and the armrest.
Before I could react, her hands were in my hair, her tongue was in my mouth,
and she kissed me with a blazing intensity as if it was the last thing she’d
ever do.
What?
Kiss her back, you
idiot.
Without
breaking contact, I tilted backward in the chair and set the virtual headset on
the floor behind me. When I had both hands free, I grasped her waist and pulled
her closer. Her lips were soft and inviting, and the taste of her tongue as she
swirled it around mine hypnotized me. Could this really be happening?
I
skimmed both palms over her sides and back. Her body was warm through her thin
T-shirt, and I yearned to discover what her skin felt like beneath her
clothing. Afraid to push too far too fast in case I broke whatever spell we
were under, I settled for weaving my fingers through her long, smooth locks.
Any
intentions I had of keeping our exploration innocent flew out the window when
she climbed farther onto the chair. Straddling me, she gave my lower lip a
sharp nibble, and I tried not to groan in response. Wrapping my arms around
her, I lost myself to the fervor of our kiss. She had to have felt the
expanding erection stirring beneath her.
She
pulled away from me, her face flushed scarlet. “Oh my God,” she mumbled,
clasping her hands over her mouth. “What is wrong with me?”
Are you hooked? Buy it now.
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