Title: Within Temptation
(Sons of Temptation #1)
Author: Tanya
Holmes
Genre: Contemporary/Romantic
Suspense/Mystery hybrid
Release Date: May 12,
2014
Love, betrayal and murder in a small town…
Twelve years
after her mother's murder, Shannon Bradford fears she may have helped convict
an innocent man. Even worse, her prominent family may have had something to do
with it. Desperate for answers, she seeks help from the one person least likely
to give it. Her best friend and childhood crush, Trace
Dawson.
The man she
sent to prison.
Serving hard
time for murder has left Trace angry and bitter. As far as he's concerned,
digging into the past won't replace the years he's lost or erase the hell he's
lived. Now that he's free, Shannon Bradford tops his list of bad
memories.
But he never
counted on falling in love.
WITHIN
TEMPTATION is a contemporary/romantic suspense/mystery hybrid. Set in a sleepy
little town during the dead of winter, this award-winning romance novel is a
tale of one woman's quest for truth and a man's struggle to
forgive.
Trace
sighed, braced the worktable. “I said, get out.”
Frozen
with fear and anger, I stared at the floor. “No.”
“No?”
I elevated
my chin a fraction. “That’s right...no.”
He twisted
around. His expression made a gradual shift from vengeful to predatory. Our
eyes battled in silence, then, like a prowling lion, he advanced, and I, his
prey, retreated until I’d backed into a wall. When his shadow engulfed me, I
had to tilt my head all the way back to stare up at him. The ice had thawed in
his eyes, leaving twin pools of lava.
I looked
at his mouth and the time I kissed him on his seventeenth birthday came to
mind. Thirteen-years-old and smitten with a desperate case of puppy love, I’d
snuck up on him as he’d sat asleep in the carriage house.
The second
my lips bumped into his, he’d startled awake and promptly put me away from
him. He’d
delivered a hasty, but genial grin, then wagged a finger.
Instead of
giving me the brutal truth—that I was a pathetic little girl—the boy they’d
ranked with Satan took pity on me. I was too good for him, he’d said.
But there
was no pity in his eyes now as his gaze wandered my body. He may have killed my
mother, may have even taken another life in prison, but I wasn’t afraid—not in
the least. Dear God, had I become like those wretched women who got turned on
by bad boys with blood-splattered pasts?
Fighting
it, I looked away. “Please...stop.” “Stop what?”
I drew a shallow
breath. “This. What you’re
doing.”
“What
am I doin’, Shannon?” He anchored a
forearm to
the wall above my head. His left arm hung at his side.
I
swallowed. “You’re trying to scare me.”
“That’s
where you’re wrong.” He looked me over again, and when he spoke, his voice came
out deep and gravelly. “Right now, scaring you is the furthest thing from my
mind.” He snagged a whiff of my perfume and inched closer. “Way I see it, I’ve
politely asked you to leave, but you refused. So I’m left wondering what’s
keeping you here. Can’t be my sunny disposition.”
His gaze
traveled down my neck, to my chest, a chest that rose and fell in frantic
succession. He spent a long time looking there ... at my breasts.
I felt my
nipples bead, felt my face burn. Embarrassed, I lowered my eyes, but that was a
mistake. A full arousal tented his zipper.
He smiled.
“See, I think you’re still here ‘cause somethin’s missing.”
“What?” I
all but squeaked.
“Oh, I
dunno. Maybe lover boy’s not cutting it in bed?”
Fury
burned my cheeks. “How dare you.” “Just an honest question. I’m curious.”
“It’s
none of your business.”
“What? Your sex life?” He cocked his head
and
frowned. “Hell, do y’all even have one?” Before I could tell him to kiss my
ass, he added, “Trust me. If he’s not getting it from you, he’s getting it
somewhere.”
I seared
him with a glare. “Your crudity is astounding.”
“I’m just
giving you my humble opinion. Nothin’ more.”
“You don’t
know the first thing about humility.”
“Really.”
“Yes,
‘really.’ You’re too full of yourself.”
A slow, wicked grin eased across
his lips.
“Maybe so.
But I’d bet the farm you wouldn’t mind being full of me too.”
Pre-Order the Paperback on
Amazon!
Tanya Holmes is a former Romance Writers
of America Golden Heart finalist, a recipient of the Maggie Award, the MICA
Award, as well as Overall Winner of the Sandy Haddad Award and a two-time
finalist and one-time winner of The Emily (Best of the Best). She's happily
married with children and loves reading, writing and a good cup of coffee---but
not necessarily in that order. Her debut novel, Within Temptation is due out in
September 2014.
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