Publication date: May 31st, 2021
Synopsis:
Ella
Having suffered through a recent humiliating break up, I wasn't ready to dive back into the dating game. I thought I was off men, but then along came Sandro de Luca. Gorgeous temptation in a suit. I worked on a ship. He lived in Venice. There was no way a relationship could work between us. But a summer affair might be just what was called for.
Sandro
My attraction to Ella had an incendiary chemistry that couldn't be denied. She didn't want a commitment. I wanted to imprint myself on her soul. I was determined to make her mine, even if life was continually throwing obstacles in my path. Some things were worth fighting for.
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Excerpt
As we descended from the rooftop back to the restaurant, the feel of Sandro's eyes on my back was visceral. The luncheon had been wonderful despite my momentary discomfort when he had touched my back and kissed my neck. He thought it was because I was leary of men after what Alex did to me. And maybe partly it was.
More like I was so overwhelmed by my reaction to Sandro that I didn't know what to do. He was a stranger. I had barely known him a few hours. But when his knuckles brushed down the length of my spine, exposed by the design of the dress, my knees had weakened and my breath quickened. It had been so unexpected and so sensual. I just had to think about his actions and the hairs on my arms stood on end and my belly shuddered as I relived his touch.
His lips on my nape? Bloody hell! It was the lightest of touches but enouh that I felt their firm press, his breath tickling the little hairs at the base of my hairline, the whisper of a sigh from his lips as they met my skin. The rasp of his beard tickling my nerve endings. I had felt my nipples tighten in response and the surge of heat that flowed through my body and straight between my legs was startling. If that was what the lightest of kisses could do, then what the hell would a full-on assault accomplish?
I didn't think the man realised the power he had over me already. It was scary, and tantalising. It stirred my interest to find out more. It had been a long time since I had indulged in casual sex, not since my university days. Ships were a morass of gossip and sex, everyone knew everyone, and if you slept with someone it was almost guaranteed someone else on board had as well. There was no avoiding it, so I had been much more circumspect in my relationships since going to sea.
But would I consider breaking all my rules and having an affair with someone shoreside. I had never been tempted. Until now. Sandro brought out my sensual nature in a way that was impossible to ignore. The way I reacted to him was all the more obvious to me because not once had Alex stirred such physical responses in the time I spent with him.
Evie lives in the countryside close to Oxford where she writes stories, accompanied by her eldest daughter's very fluffy cat. When not writing she can be found ignoring housework, reading voraciously, feeding her family and hanging out with the alpacas at the farm behind her house. Before settling in the countryside, she travelled the world working on cruise ships and doing stuff like jumping out of airplanes, cycling around South Pacific Islands and taking helicopters over glaciers and volanoes.
