TBR Settembre

Siamo arrivati all'aggiornamento mensile della TBR, incredibilmente durante settembre sono riuscita a leggere tutti i libri che mi ero imposta di portare a termine, che soddisfazione!

Il trono di spade vol. 3 - George R. R. Martin

The iron king - Julie Kagawa

Anna vestita di sangue - Kendare Blake
L'estate di Ulisse Mele - Roberto Alba
La ragazza che hai lasciato - Jojo Moyes

A questo punto non rimane che scegliere le letture per settembre, scopriamole insieme :)

Il trono di spade vol. 4 - George R. R. Martin
Stanotte il cielo ci appartiene - Adriana Popescu

The iron daughter - Julie Kagawa
Winter's passage - Julie Kagawa
Le cose che non sai di me - Clara Sanchez
Tra la notte e il cuore - Julie Kibler

WWW...Wednesdays (78)

Buongiorno! Arriva anche questa settimana l'appuntamento con la rubrica WWW..Wednesdays :) 

@Shouldbereading

Come funziona questa rubrica? Semplicemente rispondendo a queste 3 domande:

* What are you currently reading? (Cosa stai leggendo?)
* What did you recently finish reading? (Quale libro hai finito di recente?)

* What do you think you’ll read next? (Quale libro sarà la tua prossima lettura?)

What are you currently reading?

Inizio proprio oggi il quarto volume del Trono di Spade, so già che lo divorerò in un baleno (o quasi xD)

What did you recently finish reading?

Ho letto The iron king di Julie Kagawa e anche io come molti altri sono stata rapita da questa saga così avvincente (anche se alcuni elementi non mi hanno convinta..)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Il mio prossimo libro sarà Stanotte il cielo ci appartiene, giusto per variare genere ogni tanto e non fare abbuffate di fantasy :)







Queste sono le mie risposte, quali sono le vostre? :)

Book Challenge: english books 2014 - Settembre

Ritorna dopo mesi di assenza anche l'aggiornamento della sfida di lettura in lingua, sono passati mesi senza che sia riuscita a leggere un libro in inglese e non me ne sono accorta! Ottobre sarà il mese della svolta ;) Voi avete fatto dei progressi? :)

GENNAIO: /
FEBRRAIO: Hex Hall, Rachel Hawkins - Demonglass, Rachel Hawkins - Spellbound, Rachel Hawkins - Dragonswood, Janet Lee Carey
MARZO: /
APRILE: /
MAGGIO: / 
GIUGNO: /
LUGLIO: /
AGOSTO: /
SETTEMBRE: The iron king, Julie Kagawa
OTTOBRE:
NOVEMBRE:
DICEMBRE:

Book Challenge: La sfida dell'alfabeto 2014 - Settembre

Buongiorno! Ritorna la sfida dell'alfabeto, che purtroppo procede a rilento da ormai qualche mese, sono ferma a sole 13 lettere! Voi a che punto siete? Intanto vi consiglio di fare un passo nel blog Down the rabbit hole per seguire una sfida simile e altrettanto interessante :)

A: Armentrout, Jennifer L.: Onyx
B: Barry, Brunonia: La ragazza che rubava le stelle
C: Carey, Janet Lee: Dragonswood
D:
E:
F: Fitzgerald, Francis Scott: Il grande Gatsby
G: Gamberale, Chiara: Le luci nelle case degli altri
H: Hawkins, Rachel: Hex Hall
I:
J: 
K: Kagawa, Julie: The iron king
L: Leotta, Allison: La regola del gioco
M: Martin, George R.R. :Il trono di spade vol. 1
N:
O:
P:
Q:
R: Rowling, J.K.: Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale
S: Slaughter, Karin: Mente criminale
T: Tolkien, J. R. R.: La compagnia dell'anello
U:
V:
W: Wood, Tom: Nemico
X:
Y:
Z: 

WWW...Wednesdays (77)

Buonasera! Arriva anche questa settimana l'appuntamento settimanale della rubrica WWW..Wednesdays :) Sono in ritardo per quanto riguarda le recensioni, purtroppo ultimamente il tempo che passo al pc posso dedicarlo quasi esclusivamente alla tesi :/ Spero domani di riuscire a postarne una.

@Shouldbereading

Come funziona questa rubrica? Semplicemente rispondendo a queste 3 domande:

* What are you currently reading? (Cosa stai leggendo?)
* What did you recently finish reading? (Quale libro hai finito di recente?)

* What do you think you’ll read next? (Quale libro sarà la tua prossima lettura?)

What are you currently reading?

Ho iniziato The iron king, sono all'inizio e devo dire che promette bene, sono sicura che presto non riuscirò a mollarlo! :)

What did you recently finish reading?

Ho terminato Anna vestita di sangue: che meraviglia! Mi è piaciuto davvero molto, in alcuni momenti ricorda Supernatural (la serie tv) :)

What do you think you’ll read next?

Il mio prossimo libro sarà il quarto volume del Trono di spade, non vedo l'ora di rispolverare i miei ricordi confusi su questa parte della saga *-*







Queste sono le mie risposte, quali sono le vostre? :)

WWW...Wednesdays (76)

Buongiorno! Arriva anche questa settimana (in ritardo :/) l'appuntamento settimanale della rubrica WWW..Wednesdays :)

@Shouldbereading

Come funziona questa rubrica? Semplicemente rispondendo a queste 3 domande:

* What are you currently reading? (Cosa stai leggendo?)
* What did you recently finish reading? (Quale libro hai finito di recente?)

* What do you think you’ll read next? (Quale libro sarà la tua prossima lettura?)

What are you currently reading?

Ho appena iniziato Anna vestita di sangue, i primi due capitoli mi sono piaciuti, se continua così credo che lo finirò in pochissimo tempo :)

What did you recently finish reading?

Ho finalmente terminato il terzo volume del Trono di spade: che dire, mi è piaciuto ancora di più rispetto alla prima volta che l'ho letto, questa serie è qualcosa di magistrale, chiunque dovrebbe leggerla.
Inoltre ho letto La ragazza che hai lasciato: Jojo Moyes si conferma un'autrice molto capace, ho apprezzato tantissimo l'intreccio storico e i risvolti inaspettati.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Il mio prossimo libro sarà The iron king, finalmente inizierò anche io la saga della Kagawa, non sto nella pelle *-*







Queste sono le mie risposte, quali sono le vostre? :)

Book Blitz: Come back to Texas di K.K. Hendin

Buongiorno :) In attesa di pubblicare la recensione de L'estate di Ulisse Mele vi lascio ad un nuovo book blitz, ideato come sempre da Giselle di Xpresso Book Tours; oggi vi presento il primo volume di una serie new adult contemporanea che mi sembra davvero carina, voi cosa ne pensate?

Titolo: Come back to Texas

Autore: K.K. Hendin

Genere: New Adult contemporaneo
Trama: Everyone thought we’d be the ones who made it through high school. The ones who’d get married and stay married forever. The example of how young love can work.

We thought so, too.

Too bad life had other plans.

It’s been three years since Hayley and Nate broke each other’s hearts. Three years, and a lot has changed. Hayley’s a freshman in Bushwick University, and the only things keeping her sane are stress baking, and her a cappella group, Twelve Beats in a Bar.

Nate’s a Marine, stationed in Afghanistan. The only thing that’s keeping him sane is the last picture he has of him and Hayley, and the hope that maybe when the hell of deployment is over, he can find her again and apologize.

One explosion will change everything.

When a bomb kills all of Nate’s unit, leaving him missing a leg and eyesight in one eye, he’s sent back home to Texas. Texas, where he loved Hayley more than he could possibly imagine ever loving anyone else.

With seemingly endless amounts of free time and needing something to distract himself, Nate starts making YouTube videos, imploring Hayley to come back to him, and come back to Texas.

Hayley’s life is wrapped around the Beats, making sure she doesn’t flunk out of biology class, and babysitting Ohio’s smallest monster, Brandon. She doesn’t want to admit it, but she misses Nate more than anything.

It’s too bad she doesn’t know just how much he misses her, too…

Website / Twitter / Goodreads / Facebook 

KK Hendin's real life ambition is to become a pink fluffy unicorn who dances with rainbows. But the schooling for that is all sorts of complicated, so until that gets sorted out, she'll just write. Preferably things with angst and love. And things that require chocolate.
She spends way too much time on Twitter (@kkhendin), and rambles on occasion over at www.kkhendinwrites.blogspot.com.

ESTRATTO

He turned around, and his eyes connected to mine. “Hey!” he called. “You!”
My eyes widened. “Me?” I pointed to myself.
“Yeah.” He was far enough away that he was calling. “What’s your name?”
Why was he talking to me? Was this some kind of joke? I glanced nervously at Josh, trying to see if this was for real. I couldn’t tell.
“Hayley,” I said quietly- loud enough for him to hear if he was listening close enough, but quiet enough that I could deny I was talking to him if I needed to.
“Hayley!” he called back, grinning. “What’s your stance on ice cream? Positive or negative?”
“Why?”
“For science.”
“What kind of science?” 
“Does it matter?”
“Well, if it’s for curing cancer or something, I’ll tell you the truth. If it’s for something else, I might not.”
“You would lie to science?”
“You can’t lie to science,” I said. “Science isn’t a person.”
“Yeah, it is,” Josh said. “Science is the skeleton in the lab.”
“I thought his name was Fred.”
“His full name is Fred Skeleton Montgomery FisherHell the Twelfth,” Harrison said. “But I wasn’t actually talking about him. C’mon, Hayley. How do you feel about ice cream?”
“If I tell you, will you let me do my homework?”
“Deal.”
“I feel positive about ice cream.”
“Yes!” crowed Harrison. “One more question.”
“No.” I tried to bury my grin as I bent my head down to concentrate on my English assignment.
“Pleeeeeease, Hayley.” 
“You said you’d let me do my homework after the ice cream question.”
“But science!”
“No.”
“You’re a tough one,” he said, standing up. Wait. What was going on? Where was he going?
The next thing I knew, he was standing above me, blocking the sunlight completely. 
“You’re blocking my sun,” I said, not looking up from my homework. 
“What is science going to do without your answer?” he said, leaning down toward me. 
“It’s going to cry itself to sleep tonight because you don’t care enough to answer the question.”
“You’re crazy, you know,” I said, trying not to giggle. “Maybe you should talk to science about your feelings.”
“If I’m that crazy, talking to science would only make things worse.”
Huh. That actually made sense.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, science’s best friend. What’s the second question?”
“How do you feel about Rocky Road ice cream?”
“I like it.”
“A lot or a little?”
“What does it matter?”
“Well, those morons over there claim loving Rocky Road is unnatural.”
“You should find new friends,” I said.

Book Blitz: Pandora Boxed Set di AA. VV. + giveaway

Buongiorno :) Eccoci ad un nuovo book blitz, ideato come sempre da Giselle di Xpresso Book Tours; oggi vi presento una raccolta di ben venti novelle paranormal (prive di cliffhangers!) come sempre spero possa piacervi :) 

Titolo: Pandora Boxed Set

Autore: Amy Patrick

Genere: Paranormal
Trama: Do you dare open the box?

Whether you love paranormal in the form of romance, suspense, mystery, horror, or fantasy, this box set will have something to entice your preternatural sensibilities. Supernaturally thrilling and engaging, this box set has it all: ghosts, vampires, mind-readers, shape-shifters, demons, faeries, werewolves, and more.

For a limited time, you can enjoy books from today’s New York Times, USA Today, Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestselling authors and many more. We have everything from titles that are slated for the big screen to stories from Pulitzer Prize and Bram Stoker Award Nominees! When purchased separately, these books cost over $50! But they are your’s today for less than $1.

Professionally formatted, no cliffhangers, and no short stories. Every selection in this rare, limited edition paranormal box set are full-length novels and novellas! A few are “First in Series,” but we carefully selected only those which can still be enjoyed as a standalone!

Riley J Ford, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author: INTO YOU

Rebecca Hamilton, Amazon Best-Selling and Film-Optioned Novelist: HER SWEETEST DOWNFALL

Apryl Baker, Amazon Best-Selling and Film-Optioned Novelist: THE AWAKENING

Carole Lanham, Amazon Best-Selling Author and Bram Stoker Award Nominee: CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE

Thomas Sullivan, Pulitzer Prize Nominee: THE WATER WOLF

Rainy Kaye, Amazon Best-Selling Author: SUMMONED

Laura Howard, Amazon Best-Selling Author: THE FORGOTTEN ONES

Noree Cosper, B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree: A PRESCRIPTION FOR DELIRIUM

Louise Caiola, Amazon Best-Selling Author: WHAT TRULY KNOWS

Kelley Anne Blount, Amazon Best-Selling Author: SHADE

Susan Stec, Amazon Best-Selling Author: DEAD GIRLS NEVER SHUT UP

Christi Goddard, Amazon Best-Selling Author: FOUR IN THE MORNING

Steven Katriel, Amazon Best-Selling Author: THE PORTRAIT OF ALATIEL SALAZAR

Heather Kenealy, winner of MTV’s “Stan Lee presents the Seekers” contest and Cinescape’s Short Story Contest: THE TRAITORS’ TRILOGY

Peter Dawes, Blogger Book Fair Reader’s Choice Award winner: EYES OF THE SEER

DelSheree Gladden, Amazon Best-Selling Author: INVISIBLE

Angela Fristoe: LIE TO ME

Conner Kressley: THE BREAKER’S CODE

Samantha LaFantasie: MADE TO FORGET

Rachel Walter: TRUE CONNECTION

ESTRATTI

Shade by Kelly Anne Blount

Blood dripped down my forehead and blurred my vision. I swallowed hard as I wiped it out of my eyes and on to my tattered dress. Trying to control my breathing, I focused on the dark alley head of me. I knew he was out there, but I didn’t know where.
The hair stood up on the back of my neck as I pressed my body against a cool brick wall. How did this go so wrong? A door slamming caused my heart to take off like a cheetah chasing a gazelle. I crouched down and frantically looked for a makeshift weapon. Finally, my hands came across a broken metal pipe. I picked it up and clutched it to my chest.
With my fingers trembling, I took a step into the deserted alleyway. Trying to stay close to the wall, I sprinted as quietly as possible. A mixture of blood and tears dripped down my forehead as the pavement pounded under my feet. Every inch of my being wanted to scream, but I held it in. Just make it out of this alley! Then you can scream!
A deep rumbling voice echoed off the walls and sent chills through my core, “You can run, but I’ll always find you, Abriana.”
I couldn’t tell which direction it originated from and I didn’t stop to find out. Instead, I propelled my legs forward faster than I thought humanly possible. I chanted a one-word mantra the entire time. Survive. Survive. Survive!
A cool breeze whipped between the buildings and sent shivers down my damp neck. 
I could see a street in front of me. It was late, but a few people were still out and driving around.
My chest ached and my lungs felt like they were about to burst into flames at any moment. I sucked in as much air as they would hold and pushed my body’s limits.
You’re almost there! Just a few more feet!
Suddenly, I felt fingernails dig into my shoulder and pull my body backward. The change in momentum caused me to fall flat on my back, knocking the air out of my lungs in the process.
A metallic taste in my mouth and an ache in the back of my head were the last things I remembered before everything went black...
I awoke to a strange noise followed by, “Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
I tried to open my eyes, but panicked when I saw nothing but darkness. 
Goosebumps instantly covered my arms. Why can’t I see? Where am I? I wiggled back and forth, bumping into a low ceiling and carpeted walls.
“You shouldn’t have run away from me,” came the nefarious voice belonging to the man in the dark alleyway. He gave a wicked laugh. “You know who I am and you know what I look like. The blindfold is so you don’t know where we’re going.”
My lips began to tremble and my eyes filled with tears, but I forced them to stay at bay. Struggling, I tried to bring my hands to my face, but couldn’t. My wrists burned as a rope rubbed against my skin.
He let out another laugh that left me chilled to the core. “I can’t risk you trying to run away again, now, can I?”
Fear quaked through my body and a cold sinking feeling spread through my core. 
“Why are you doing this to me?”

The corners of his lips turned up into a wicked smile. “Because I love you.”

Invisible by DelSheree Gladden

Without warning, catching my breath seems impossible. I don’t know if I can handle the thought that someone might actively be trying to hurt Mason. Before I can stop myself, I feel tears begin sliding down my cheeks. I’m not the only one who feels them. Mason reaches up and touches my face, seeming startled when he realizes I am crying. Not that I can blame him. I’m about as much of a crier as he is.
“Oh, Ollie,” he says softly. His strong, but gentle arms easily pull me out from behind him and nestle me against his body. I curl against him as I try to shut out the fear that is quickly swallowing me up.
“Mason, I can’t bear the thought of losing you,” I whisper against his chest.
His arms press me against him so tightly there is no space left between us. “I’ve already lost one family. I won’t lose you, too.”
The night quiets as we lay in each other’s arms. Slowly, Mason’s breathing calms. 
As he relaxes, my own fears begin to calm as well. They don’t disappear, but they come down to a manageable enough level that I can think and ask the question lingering in both of our minds.
“Mason, what do we do now?”
He sighs. His fingers stroke my hair softly. “I don’t know. I’m not sure how to get more information out of Robin without telling her the truth.”
“We can’t tell her the truth. We have no idea who she’s really involved with. It’s too big of a risk.”
“I know, but we have to stay close to her, too. If she is a threat, we can’t be blind to it.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t like to think about Mason being so close to someone who could potentially hurt him. But what choice do we have? I look up at Mason and find him already staring down at me with a look of concern. Something about the moment makes my heart lurch. It takes me a few seconds to gather my thoughts.
“Mason, we’ll figure this out,” I promise.
As his fingers brush against my cheek, that strange sensation flashes again, but I am too anxious to pay it much attention.
“Out of everything Robin told us today, do you know what hurt the most?” Mason asks, surprising me by his change in topic. He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Robin said something like sometimes it’s hard to remember ‘I wasn’t human,’ that I was sent here to be raised by Caretakers. Do you realize what that means? Not only am I not human, my family isn’t even my real family. All of the sudden, I’ve lost another family, one I never knew, maybe one that didn’t even want me to begin with.”
“We’ll find answers, Mason.”
I know it’s not much as far as comfort goes, but I don’t know what else to say. I have no idea why anyone would give up someone as wonderful as Mason. If his biological parents didn’t want him, their stupidity was our gain. I can’t imagine my life without Mason.
I have no idea what time it is, but weariness begins to creep over me. My eyes are starting to close when Mason asks one last question.
“Do you think Robin is right about me not being human?”
A yawn stretches my jaw before I can answer. “I don’t know. Maybe. You are invisible.”
“Does that bother you?” he asks quietly.
My shrug is more of a twitch as sleeps tries to steal me away. “Why would it? I love you no matter where you came from.”

Lie to me by Angela Fristoe

Vivian was such a drama queen. What did Nathan ever see in her? I rolled my eyes, then slid the note over to Tonya. Her soaring eyebrows made me wish I hadn’t. No way would she believe me about the first note now. My best chance against her questioning was a quick escape after class, before she started the interrogation.
Luck, however, deserted me. The bell rang and Tonya grabbed my bag, holding it hostage behind her as she stood with the table between us. That was the problem with having a best friend; they always knew what you were going to do. She was almost as bad, or good depending on your point of view, as Chloe sometimes, though I’d never say that to Chloe. Doing that would just open Chloe’s vision floodgates and I’d be constantly bombarded with every detail of every soon to be minute of my life.
I refused to struggle for my bag. Tonya would only take it as confirmation that I was hiding something from her. Instead, I screwed my face up in confusion and hoped she’d buy it.
“What’s wrong?” I sank back further in my chair, tipping it up on its back legs again as Mrs. Schaeffer went out the door, following the rest of the students. Owen and Bianca stopped behind Tonya, waiting, Owen looking mildly disinterested, while Bianca was completely confused.
“What are you hiding?” Tonya asked, her head tilting to the side.
“Noth-”
“Cut the crap, Phoebs. Vivian is pissed and you’ve been looking guilty all class, well at least the part where you were awake.” Her eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring my bag as it swung around and bumped her hip. There was no way to get out of this, but if I told her now it’d be all over campus within an hour.
“Fine, but not at school. I’ll tell you when you come over tomorrow.”
“I can’t tomorrow.” Her face shuttered and she turned around, tossing my bag to me in a quick motion. I caught it as it slammed into my chest.
“Why? I thought we were gonna go Christmas shopping? You already ditched me last weekend.” There were only six days left to shop and I needed to get, well, everything, and Tonya was one of those people that managed to find the best things the instant she walked into a store. She shrugged and twisted a strand of her straightened hair.
“I’ve gotta go see my mom.”
Liar. It whispered through me, my stomach churning to the point I thought I’d puke. 
There was a moment when my brain tried to make sense of what I was hearing, what I was feeling, then it came again. Liar.
“Liar.” The word slipped out, unrestrained in its harshness, and almost instantly, my stomach settled. Until I saw the expression on Tonya’s face.
“What did you call me?” Her back stiffened and her head reared back. Shit. Owen and Bianca went bug-eyed behind her. Tonya’s lips pursed and her eyes narrowed, darkening from brown to black.
“I...I...” My voice faded, unsure if I should call her on it again, or try and fib my way out of it. This wasn’t the first time I’d called her a liar and she’d always laughed it off before. Her reaction and the flush coloring the soft brown of her cheeks told me I’d actually caught her.
“Screw you,” she snapped as I stood there with my mouth moving like a gasping fish. “I don’t need to tell you every move I make, and I don’t need my best friend calling me a liar.” She spun, shoved Owen out of her way, and took off out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
My bag thudded to the floor. Owen and Bianca stared at me, the question in their faces a reflection I was sure of my own. What the hell had just happened?

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Book Blitz: Channel 20 Something di Amy Patrick + giveaway

Eccoci ad un nuovo book blitz, ideato come sempre da Giselle di Xpresso Book Tours; oggi vi presento il primo volume di una serie new adult contemporanea, come sempre spero possa piacervi :) 

Titolo: Channel 20 Something

Autore: Amy Patrick

Genere: New Adult contemporaneo romance
Trama: 22-year-old Heidi Haynes is almost one year into her “real life”. She has her first reporting job, her first apartment, and a comfortable relationship with her college sweetheart. But for some reason she’s not as eager to talk about walking down the aisle as he is.
Heidi secretly longs for big cities, big-market breaking news, and real independence from her way-too-close-by helicopter parents. Problem is, the last time she left the security of home for new places and new people, things didn’t go so well. Disastrously, in fact, and she came running back to a local college and a “safe” boyfriend.
Aric Serrano is definitely not safe. 
He’s six-feet-four-inches of missing-Hemsworth-brother-hotness and plans to stay in small-market-Southern-Hell just long enough to grab a cup of coffee and put together a kick-ass “escape tape”. He’ll serve his one-year contract, then he’s taking off for a higher rung on the TV sports ladder—alone—the way he likes it. Then he meets his new co-anchor.
Heidi would be so much more comfortable if she could simply ignore Aric. He’s just her type—the type she’s so careful to avoid these days. But that becomes impossible when she's forced to work closely with him on the weekend newscast. Now the attraction between them is growing even faster than the ratings, and what happens behind the scenes is the real news.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads 

Amy Patrick is a two-time Golden Heart finalist (2013 and 2014) who writes Young Adult fiction as Amy DeLuca and New Adult romance as Amy Patrick.  She lives in Rhode Island with her husband and two sons and actually craves the heat and humidity of Mississippi, where she grew up. She's been a professional singer and news anchor and currently narrates audio books as well as working as a station host for a Boston TV station.

ESTRATTI

#1

The song segued into another Michael Jackson hit—the DJ must’ve been encouraged by the sudden influx of dancers to the floor and didn’t want to take a chance on losing the mojo. 
Mara jostled me with a hip-bump, and I laughed, beginning to move to the music more fluidly, relaxing, enjoying myself more than I had in a long time. 
The girls from the station were spinning and showing off, thrilled to find a guy who would actually dance, and Aric served as a sort of group-partner for us all. Though we were all together, every time I glanced up at Aric’s face, he was watching me. He studied how my body moved, responding to my motions, matching them with moves of his own. We didn’t touch at all, but it felt like we were... connected somehow. 
After another song or two, I grew used to the feel of his eyes on me, grew to like it. And the focused attention made me brave. I sang along with a song I knew, closing my eyes and moving to the hypnotic beat, as Michael advised me to let the madness and the music get to me.
“It’s fun to watch you dance.”
The nearness of Aric’s voice jolted me out of the moment. My eyes opened, and I took a step back, the seductive warmth of his breath still caressing my ear. “Um... you too. You’re good.”
He leaned in close again to be heard over the pounding music, his fingers gripping my shoulder lightly. “No. I mean I really like watching you.” 
I stopped cold, right there on the dance floor. Literally feeling cold, as if someone had poured a post-game Gatorade bucket over my head. 
“I’m—going to the ladies room.” I spun around and headed for the lighted sign in the back of the club as if the hounds of hell were at my back. 
I’d recognized him. Not him, of course. But I knew what kind of guy he was—I’d met his breed before. The elite players, the sexual Heisman candidates, genetic freaks who produced bionic pheromones capable of turning even the smartest girl stupid, at least temporarily.
How could I not have seen it right away? The beautiful face, the enticing scent, the self-
assured way he walked and talked and danced. If I could’ve left the club right then, I would have. But I’d promised to drive Kenley and Mara home. I couldn’t strand them. I fled to the restroom and gave myself a narrow-eyed look in the mirror. Not going there, girlfriend. I did not 
return to the dance floor.

#2

I opened the door to the parking lot and was relieved at first to see the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Then I saw my car and groaned. 
My Mini was sitting in a huge puddle that had definitely not been there when I’d arrived for work today. I would have to wade through it to get in. At least I was still wearing my rain boots. I crunched across the gravel lot, sinking into the ground with each soggy step. 
When I reached my car, the full scope of my dilemma became clear. The newly-formed lake surrounding it was so deep, if I opened the driver’s side door, the water was going to flood inside. I walked around to the passenger side to see if perhaps the level was lower there. Nope. Even worse. 
What was I going to do? Daddy could’ve easily towed my car out with his pickup truck, but he’d been asleep for a couple hours by now. “Well, shoot,” I muttered.
“Language, language, please.” 
The teasing voice behind me drew shivers from my rain-damp skin. I turned to see Aric’s large form approaching, framed by the security light behind him. Was the warmth suffusing my body relief, or something else? I swiveled my head to scan the parking lot. His Tahoe was there. 
I’d been so focused on the sight of my poor drowning car I hadn’t noticed his still parked across the lot. 
When he reached me, he pulled off his rain jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders, drawing the hood up over my hair. It was so warm. The scent I’d noticed the first night we met surrounded me, threatening to make me light-headed. 
“Thanks,” I breathed, looking up into his face. His cheeks were becoming coated in a light mist. My fingers, warm inside his jacket, twitched with the urge to reach up and brush the moisture away from his smooth skin. “I didn’t know you were still here.”
Aric pulled the sides of the jacket closed around me. “I waited for you. I wanted to make sure you got back okay.” His smile set my insides to a low simmer. “So, it looks like what we have here,” he said, “is the little engine that couldn’t.”
I glanced over at my water-logged car. “Poor Minnie Mae. Do you think the water’s getting inside?” 
“Minnie Mae? You gave your car a grandma name.” He chuckled. “I think as long as the doors stay closed, the seal will keep it out of there. But—you won’t be taking... uh... Minnie Mae home tonight.” 
Standing with his hands on his hips, Aric surveyed the situation, then glanced back at my face. Raindrops decorated the crown of his head, illuminated with the reflected shine of the building’s exterior lights. His eyes narrowed, and his lips twisted in a calculating expression. 
“You know, I’d like to offer you a ride, but I did promise not to extend any more unwanted invitations.” His voice trailed off in a questioning note as he studied my face. 
I gave him a rueful grin, putting on an overly-polite voice. “Would you mind giving me a ride home? I would really appreciate it.” 
He furrowed his brow, shaking his head dubiously. “Well... if you’re sure you want it, and it’s entirely your idea... I’d hate to pressure you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Aric... will you, pretty please with Cool Whip and rainbow sprinkles on top, give me a ride home? You will have my undying gratitude.” 
Aric put a hand to his chin, as if he was giving the matter deep consideration. “I like Cool Whip.” He grinned at me. “And undying gratitude. Let’s go.”

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