New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Harper Sloan returns with a passionate and breathless romance about the sparks that ignite when a cautious cowboy and a once-scorned woman open up to each other in the third installment of the Coming Home series.
As the eldest Davis, Clayton has always tried to lead by example. He takes his job as head of the family businesses seriously, making sure the farm and auto shop are running smoothly—along with keeping an eye on his brother and sister. For him, there’s a time and place to let go of the control he holds with an iron grip. And with the way he grew up, coupled with a disastrous end to his last relationship, he’s just fine with his quiet, solitary life.
Most of the time.
What he hadn't counted on was the cute, quirky, shy bookstore owner, Caroline Michaels. She's the proverbial woman next door—well, the next town over, that is. Caroline hasn't lived an easy life, but after escaping a verbally abusive ex, she's finally living it for herself. The last thing she ever expected was a one-night stand with Clay Davis she can’t stop thinking about.
So when she falls on hard times and Clay comes out of nowhere to her rescue, she realizes just how impossible it’ll be to stay away from him. Now all she has to do is convince him to live a little…. Will Clay be able to give up the reins and finally settle down? And, more importantly, will Caroline muster enough courage to lasso him up?
Having been waiting for the final installment in Harper's Coming Home series, it was nice to finally get to wrap up with Clayton's story. The eldest Davis brother one of the more mysterious characters in the first two books so the build up was quite intense. The way this story unfolds matches just his character. From their meeting (in a bar, nonetheless) has Caroline and Clayton's story as the more unconventional of meetings. The rest of the story follows suit with the most drama of the three books. Though there was a high level of emotion in this book, there was an unbelievable amount of drama that was more jaw-dropping than it was relateable. From Clayton's crazy ex to Caroline's shady past, the secondary characters in their lives made for a hugely bumpy ride to happily ever after for this pair. The writing was easy to get through and the story was definitely gripping and hard to put down. A nice, albeit dramatic, end to a sweet (and, at times gut-wrenching) cowboy series!
Excerpt
I push my hands from his shoulders and palm
his jaw as his stubble prickles against my fingers while my hands wander up to
his hair. His hat falls to the ground with a thud and I know he’s just as lost
in me as I am in him, because he doesn’t even make a move to pick it up. He
lets out a deep grunt when I mold myself against his body, seeking some sort of
friction. The next thing I know, my back is against the door and he’s gripping
my bottom. His mouth hits my jaw with a bite of his teeth, making a squeak of
pleasure shoot up my throat, and his deep rumble of laughter reaches my ears as
he presses me harder into the door with his hips. The heavy bulge of his
erection against that spot makes me so desperate for him that I whimper in
relief when his mouth finally closes
over mine in a wet tangle of tongues.
I’ve
never been kissed so thoroughly.
This
is the kind of kiss that sets the bar for any that might follow.
The kind that shows you everything you’ve
been missing and everything you never knew you wanted. I’m going to be
comparing every kiss I ever have to my dark cowboy’s, even though I know
there’s a good chance no one will ever compare. The sounds coming from my
mouth, the ones being swallowed by his, are nothing short of needy. My hips
move in tandem with the thrusts of his, and even though we’re both fully
clothed, I know it won’t take much more of this for me to go off like the
town’s fireworks on the Fourth of July.
“Fuck, you taste just like apple pie,” he
whispers against my lips, breaking away with a gasp.
“Huh?”
“Goddamn, I love apple pie,” he says before
his mouth is back on mine, this time with a whole new kind of hunger deepening
his kisses.
I’m held captive, enraptured. Then his
hands move from my bottom to glide up my torso. He lifts his hard chest off
mine and suddenly those delicious fingers are at my breasts. Even if I had big
boobs his hands would dwarf them, I’m sure, but as it is he covers both with a
firm grasp before adjusting his hold with a deft twist of the wrists. His mouth
continues to feast on mine while his huge hands learn my body with slow
movements. I tear my mouth from his with a breathy moan when he pushes my shirt
up and slips his fingers into the cups of my bra to tweak my nipples.
“Oh, God,” I moan when he does it again.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he rumbles.
“Please,” I beg, not with the slightest
clue as to what I’m begging for.
His hips dig even harder into mine as he
leans back, supporting me against the door with that connection alone as he
pulls my shirt off. The darkness makes me feel more confident than I normally
would be, almost half naked with a man—no, a stranger.
“Yours too,” I tell him as his fingers move
to unclasp my bra. “I want to feel your skin on mine,” I breathe, taking over
the task so he’ll hopefully give me what I want.
I fumble in my haste to feel more of this
dangerous arousal he’s creating in my body, but the second my bra is free and
dangling toward the floor, his naked chest collides against mine, pushing me
into the door with a force that sends the air rushing out of my lungs.
His mouth hits my collarbone at the same
time his hands grasp my bottom, sliding me up the door until I feel the wet
heat of his breath against my breast.
Then he stops.
About the Author
Harper is a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Georgia with her husband and three daughters. She has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books, hibachi, tattoos and Game of Thrones. When she isn't writing you can almost always find her with a book in hand.
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