When trust becomes a matter of life or death…
Heart Searlington, captain of the seventy-fourth precinct in
Brooklyn, New York, has everything she could ever want. The sexy as sin husband, the perfect house,
and the perfect addition to their family, four-month-old Amare.
But when a senseless act of violence threatens the lives of
two people she loves, Heart does what comes natural to her…she protects what’s
hers.
Kenneth Searlington, billionaire real estate tycoon, is
living the ultimate dream—family, friends, and wealth. Life couldn’t be more perfect, until trusting
the wrong friend puts his life on the line.
When he can’t trust friends or family, Kenneth takes matters
into his own hands. Who should Kenneth
trust? The wife who lied, or the friend
and family who betrayed him? Maybe the
only person he can trust is himself?
When protecting the heart she loves forces Heart to omit
certain truths about herself and those she loves, can Kenneth see past her
betrayal long enough for her to keep him alive?
Excerpt:
The subtle touch of
fingers so familiar to his skin he could confuse it for his own grazed the
slick skin of his shoulder until it slid down his back as smoothly as the
droplets of water raining down on him.
“You okay?” she asked
softly into his ear. “I was afraid today was too much for you. You’ve only been
back home a handful of days.”
He nodded his head,
eyes still closed to the streaming water saturating the thick strands of his
hair.
He felt her hand crawl
back up the length of his back, the movement making the muscles that rested
just beneath her digits twitch in anticipation. Heart was right, he had
returned from the hospital several days before, but in that time the two of
them had barely spent any alone time together.
They’d both been
physically present, and usually that was all it took to stoke the embers that
always seemed to be on a low simmer just waiting for an excuse to fan the
flames to full blaze. But since his release there had been something there,
something that was keeping them from being them.
Kenneth turned his head
slightly toward the sound of her voice. He opened his eyes just enough to see
the water-sprinkled vision of her standing to the side of him. He pulled her
into his embrace and pinned her back against the wall between his outstretched
arms.
There was nothing like
the sight of his wife naked and waiting for him. No matter how difficult things
were between them they’d always had this. It baffled him that he’d allowed whatever
this was between them to fester to the point where he hadn’t touched his wife
in days.
The knowledge that
she’d kept something so important from him fucked with his head in a way he
hadn’t anticipated. Truth was he really hadn’t even given serious thought as to
why her omission of the facts about Bryan and Justice impacted him so much.
But to deny himself
this, this connection, this reassurance that his world was grounded, that they
were whole, what the fuck was he thinking?
He positioned her
directly under the spray of water and watched the fullness of her hair flatten
against her scalp and back. She would bitch at him later about having to go to
the hairdresser, but the thought of that conversation alone was pulling up the
corners of his mouth into a wicked smile.
He allowed his fingers
to rest at the base of her head, fingers caressing her nape in just the right
way to make her fall into his touch. His heart tightened slightly. They’d been
stressed and their connection strained, but underneath all the bullshit, it was
still there and he was grateful for it.
Their connection is
what kept his soul intact, what kept him sane enough to deal with the rest of
his life when dealing with the craziness that wealth brought.
“We have a lot to
discuss, Heart.”
“Kenneth I—”
He leaned down and
pressed a hard kiss to stop whatever it was she was about to say. Words weren’t
what they needed now. He giggled to himself. If their shrink could hear his
thoughts she’d be jumping up and down screaming her opposition to his line of
thinking.
Kenneth wasn’t against
therapy. It had definitely worked to get the two of them back on track, and he
definitely wanted them to sign up for a session or two after this latest
fiasco, but this wasn’t something that needed fixing. This was the one way that
their communication was perfect and they were absolutely in sync.
He plunged his tongue
inside the warmth of her mouth and savored the sweet hint of apple juice that
danced on his taste buds.
He pulled back just a
moment to give them each a chance to breathe.
“I’m not avoiding the
conversation we need to have, and as soon as we’re finished in here we’re going
to throw on some clothes and go downstairs in the kitchen and hash this shit
out over a cup of coffee. But right now, I just need to feel my wife.”
Author Bio
Twitter: @LaQuetteLikes
A native of Brooklyn,
New York, LaQuette spends her time catering to her three distinct
personalities: Wife, Mother, and Educator. Writing--her escape from everyday madness--has
always been a friend and comforter. She loves writing and devouring romance
novels. Although she possesses a graduate degree in English Lit, she'd forego
Shakespeare any day to read something hot, lusty, and romantic.
She loves hearing from
readers and discussing the crazy characters that are running around in her head
causing so much trouble. Contact her on
Facebook,
Twitter, her
website,
Amazon, and her
Facebook group,
LaQuette's
Lounge.
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