Cassie Mae’s charming, sexy new novel, perfect for fans of Emma Chase, puts a steamy twist on modern love as one bride-to-be tries to put the spark back in the bedroom—by any means necessary.
Elizabeth Fanning’s life looks pretty perfect, judging by the diamond ring on her finger. Her fiancé, Landon, is sweet, handsome, and hilarious. The trouble is, before they’ve even tied the knot, their sex life has gone from mind-blowing to “meh”—and Liz isn’t ready to be part of an old married couple. After a cathartic call to her best friend, Liz comes up with a brilliant idea. She and Landon may never be able to re-create the magic of their first time, but how amazing would their wedding night be if everything below the neck was off-limits until then?
Liz thinks it’ll bring them closer together. Landon’s convinced she’ll cave first. So they raise the stakes: Whoever lasts longer gets to pick their honeymoon destination. With her heart set on the Bahamas and Landon fighting for snowbound Utah, Liz simply has to win. But pretty soon, her body is screaming for attention, and Landon’s never seemed so far away. Has Liz’s experiment backfired? Losing their little competition would be frustrating—but the one thing she can’t afford to lose is him.
Doing It for Love is available for purchase:
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/07/doing-it-for-love-all-about-love-1-by.html
Excerpt
My cell vibrates, so I speed through washing my hands to answer it.
“Hey,” I say, really trying the innocent thing, but I’m too stoked to pull it off.
“Are you in the bathroom?” Theresa sleepily chuckles. “Your voice is echoing.”
“I’m not peeing.” I crack the bathroom door and check on Landon. His entire body is covered with the comforter minus one leg dangling off the edge. I press the door closed and whisper into the phone. “So, can I cash in?”
“For real?”
“Hell yes.”
“You need a maid of honor?” Her voice squeaks on the last word, and I do a total Snoopy dance, buck naked in my bathroom, stifling my squeals with my girlfriend. Theresa asks question after question, but she’s rattling them off so fast I don’t understand them.
“Wait, what?” I say through my smile.
“When? How?”
“Few hours ago.” A large sigh flits through my lips as I grab a towel for my waist and slide to the chocolate brown bath mat. “It just fell out when we were in the shower.”
She snorts. “It wasn’t in the middle of sex, was it?”
“No. It was . . . sweet.” I let my mind replay Landon’s eyes, his words, his hands. “Perfect.”
“Good. You deserve nothing less.”
“Thanks.” My fingers splay across the bath mat, and I mindlessly pick at the fraying edge. “We did it after though.”
“Ah, engagement Chocolateville.” She sighs now, and I laugh picturing her taking that huge bite of cheesecake. “I’ve heard it’s up there with make-up sex.”
A weird weight sinks into my stomach. “It was nice.”
“Nice?” She gasps. “Oh no. Less than stellar, huh?”
“It was fine. I’ve just had so many mood swings. Then we couldn’t find a condom, so we had, like, a halftime breather. So, you know, not totally revved up. Not his fault.”
“That’s too bad. I’ve heard that engagement sex is better than the actual wedding night.”
“What? No.” I wrap my finger around a loose string in the mat and pull. “The wedding night will beat out everything.” It has to. I am determined to find our spark again specifically for that night.
“Think about it. You’re running around all day. Waking up early, getting dressed, undressed, standing in heels, hugging a million people you don’t know, lugging the presents up to your apartment after, or even worse . . . you might jump right onto a plane and the second you get to your hotel you’re jet-lagged and beat. You’ll probably draw straws for who can just lay there while the other person does the work.”
“Wow, thanks for that thought of encouragement.” I pull my towel around my chest and rest my forehead on my knees. “I was really looking forward to that night. First time with him as my husband.” My heart thumps hard when the word tumbles out. “He unzips my wedding dress, and I rip off his tie. We’re on a California King somewhere tropical and fun.” The honeymoon had better be somewhere tropical. My Southern ass freezes here on Long Island. I constantly have to put my feet against Landon’s legs to warm them up at night.
I blow out a breath, making the line fuzz. “Kind of ruins the whole picture if you’re telling me the sex will suck.”
“I’m just saying you’ll be tired.”
“I’ve been tired before and had epic sex.” Landon was gone for a month visiting his parents, and I jumped him the second he got off the plane. It was four in the morning, I hadn’t slept all night, and he was majorly jet-lagged. Did not matter at all. We started up in the car, he had me screaming in the front seat, screaming against the door when we got home, and we made it as far as the living room couch before landing double-fudge raspberry cheesecake together.
But that was, oh hell . . . I don’t know, a year ago? Maybe more.
“Well, do whatever you did that time.” Theresa laughs, and I sort of chuckle with her, my buzzed brain skipping tracks left and right. It was epic sex because we’d been waiting for it . . . anticipating it.
“Hmm . . .”
“What?” she asks through a yawn.
I pull at the bath mat again. “Do you think . . . ?” My thoughts steal my voice as they run through my head. Sex with Landon is good. Always fun. It’s just not new. It’s . . . longtime- relationship sex. Scheduled, predictable, and usually ends with a snoring Landon and a bowl of ice cream. So how can I make sure I land a ticket to Chocolateville the day we become husband and wife? Oh my hell . . . will we even have sex on our wedding night?
Theresa clears her throat. “Do I think what?”
“You think maybe . . . we should wait?”
“Wait for what?”
“Like no sex until that night. Then it’ll be amazing because we’ll be dying for it.” It’s ridiculous. I don’t think Landon will go for it. But Theresa will tell me if I’m totally craz—
“I’ve heard of couples doing that,” she says, her tired voice picking up. “Sounds like a test in great restraint if you ask me, but also could be . . . well, fun.”
“You think?”
“Totally. When was the last time you guys went as far as you could without going there? I think it’s exciting. Might bring something back . . .”
I want to defend my sex life, but my mind is on the track she painted. My heart warms and thumps as a grin spreads across my face. Foreplay without sex could amp us both up so much our wedding night will be one I can guarantee we won’t forget. I have to clench my legs together just thinking about it.
It will be like new relationship sex all over again.
My interest in this novel was mainly due to the fact that I'm a great fan of Cassie Mae's prior novels. Her humour is translated into her writing and carried on through her characters. Doing It for Love is no different in those aspects. I was kept amused by her nerd-culture references and I loved that she took a different approach to hot and steamy scenes. They were not (all) in-your-face sex scenes but they were still fully loaded and left enough for one's imagination to take flight. I enjoyed that Doing It for Love wasn't your typical A and B meet and fall in love but rather it's about a couple who are dealing with their relationship and life after the initial honeymoon phase is over. Personally, I find that there aren't enough novels that are about what happens after the 'Happily Ever After'. I read so many of the 'A meets B, they fall in love and The End' that I am often left wanting more. Doing It for Love is that 'something more'. The perfect splash of sexy-times and the more real-life issues (think Raisin Bran) is what gives Liz and Landon that realistic feel to them which makes for a totally relateable novel. I definitely enjoyed Cassie's humour in a new adult genre and I look forward to the next book in this series!
About the Author
Cassie Mae (who dons the name Becca Ann on occasion) is the author of a few hundred—okay, maybe not that many—books. Since writing her bestselling debut, Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend, she has published books with Random House, Swoon Romance, and Tulip Romance. She has a favorite of all her babies, but no, she won’t tell you what it is (mainly because it changes depending on the day). Along with writing, Cassie likes to binge-watch Teen Wolf and The Big Bang Theory. She can quote Harry Potter lines quick as a whip. And she likes kissing her hubby, but only if his facial hair is trimmed. She also likes cheesecake to a very obsessive degree.
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