At
the Heart of the Stone
by
Roxanne D Howard
Genre:
Contemporary Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Dreams
are the perfect shelter for our fantasies, safe havens to step inside
without changing our daily lives. For Lark Braithwaite, all that is
about to change. During the last six months, Lark has dreamt of a
mysterious Irish lover who knows what she wants and gives her exactly
what she needs. In her waking life in busy London, things aren’t as
ideal, as her long-term relationship with Charles, her controlling
fiancé, has hit a dry spell.
When
Lark is called home to Oregon for her father’s funeral right in the
middle of a high-stakes corporate merger, she heads back to face the
demons from her past. What she doesn’t expect is to meet her dream
lover in the flesh. Niall O’Hagan steps straight out of her
fantasies and right into her life, and the powerful connection they
share rocks her foundation. Although she's dealing with the
bitterness of being betrayed by Charles and his jealousy, Niall soon
stirs Lark’s awareness of the superficiality of her existence and
reawakens not only her sexuality, but her soul.
**Winner
of the Coffee
Time Romance Reviewer's Award !**
Excerpt:
If
the kiss had stayed careful and guarded, she might have continued to question
it. But the blindfold disappeared, and she realized she’d fallen asleep. Her
eyes flew open, and he was there. Oh my God. He was there! Heated eyes watched
her. Rakish dark hair fell over his forehead as he breathed hard, and the
morning sun lit up the world behind him. She took a deep, shuddering breath to
speak, but his hands moved to cup her face. He held still and closed his eyes
as his lips took her mouth. Right then and there, it was very clear that this
was real. That was the weight of a real man on top of her, clothed, and
smelling citrusy and clean. What in the hell is happening here?
How
did he get here? He was only her dream lover.
Or
was he?
Confused
beyond all comprehension, Lark didn’t have any time to contemplate what was
really going on. His lips delivered a breath-stealing, soul-shattering kiss,
and then they were all over each other. This, ah, this she knew. Lark hooked
her ankle over his and put a hand on his shoulder, trying to rid him of his
jacket and draw him closer. She clenched her hand in his hair as he devoured
her mouth. He tasted the same as her dream lover, and she put her tongue in his
mouth to savor more of that tangy sweetness.
They
were both making noises they never had in her dreams, little breathy gasps and
blasts of air as their mouths met and separated as they sought new angles and
depths to their passion.
He
made a disgruntled sound as he tried to get more comfortable in the cradle of
her hips over the hindrance of clothes, and she realized she really wasn’t
dreaming anymore. He nibbled on her lower lip as she opened her mouth to tell
him to stop, but then she was carried away in the undercurrent of his large,
warm hands, which were caressing the skin of her stomach beneath her hoodie and
T-shirt. She continued to accept his kisses but pawed down her still zipped-up
sweat jacket. Okay, so she was still clothed. He was rock hard against her, and
he ground his hips into her, a disbelieving grunt escaping his lips. Lark
rolled her eyes back, shivering at the jolt that went through her.
“Wh—
Mmm. Whoa. Stop!” She finally managed to say against his mouth. She furrowed
her eyebrows and scrutinized him as he breathed in and out, bracing himself on
the weight of his hands above her, his bright green eyes bearing into hers. His
face was the face of her dreams—the sensual, bowed lips and cleft chin, the
built body, and the thick hair. His hair… She blinked. It was cut at the nape and
styled for a day at work. She glanced down at what he was wearing.
“Um,
why are you wearing a suit and tie this time?” she asked, squinting against the
sunlight. Please, God, let this be a dream. He moved his head, putting her in
shade.
“This
time?” He lifted an eyebrow, perplexed. “You’ll have to forgive me, lass, but
I’ve no idea what the devil you’re talking about.” He maneuvered himself off
her and sat upright at the end of the swing.
She
tucked her feet against her and sat up, unable to do anything more than blink
at him in utter disbelief.
“I
was coming up to knock on the door when I saw you lying here, and given how you
were tossing and the noises you were making, it looked like maybe you were
having some sort of a seizure.”
Roxanne
D. Howard is a pseudonym that the author publishes romance novels
under. Roxanne is a U.S. Army veteran, and has a bachelor's degree in
Psychology and English. She is a member of RWA PAN (Romance Writers
of America Published Authors Network). She loves to read poetry,
classical literature, and Stephen King. She is also an avid Star Wars
fan, musical theater nut, and loves marine biology. She resides in
the mid-west United States, and enjoys spending time with her husband
and children when she's not writing. Roxanne loves to hear from her
readers, and she can be contacted at author@roxannedhoward.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment