Title:
This Love
Author:
Hilaria Alexander
Release
Date: Aug 4, 2015
Find on
Goodreads
Running off to
Amsterdam is the best decision Ella ever made in her life. In just a few
months, she’s been able to put her past behind her and has found a
new family and friends. She can almost ignore the voices in her head telling
her this idyllic scenario is temporary.
When Lou Rivers
shows up in Amsterdam, he’s the constant reminder of the life she led
and the mistakes she made. As the two of them embark on an emotional and
musical journey across Europe, Ella will have to face her own insecurities and
make a decision that might break them apart
forever.
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I had never kissed
with my eyes open. This was going to be my first time. It took me a couple of
seconds to be completely aware of what was happening and realize that I
wasn’t imagining his lips pressed on mine. I closed my eyes then, and
my lips parted, searching for his tongue. I had wanted this kiss for days, and
my tongue wrapped around his a little too fast, too
eager.
His hands cradled
my face so softly, so gently. My arms circled his neck, and I ran my fingers
through his hair. His lips were silky soft, and there was a faint taste of
cinnamon on his tongue from the apple tart we just had. His tongue caressed
mine over and over until I was breathless. A moan escaped my mouth as he
released me and he attacked me again, nibbling at my bottom lip. When he kissed
me again and started sucking on my tongue, I was a goner. Heat spread under my
skin, coursing through my body, all the way to my
fingertips.
He stopped kissing
me and released a breath. I found him looking at me with an expression of
wonderment in his eyes.
I was glad it was
nighttime. The way he was looking at me, had my heart hammering against my
chest, and the blood rushing to my
cheeks.
Maybe one day I
would live to tell Lou Rivers had mad kissing skills. I’d be like one
of Elvis’ many flings telling the press—decades
later—how great he was. I wondered if I’d get to say we had
gone out on dates.
“I’m
really sorry about earlier,” he said.
“You
should never follow a kiss with an ‘I’m sorry,’”
I told him playfully.
“I
can’t catch a break with you, can I?” he asked, chuckling.
I shook my head no,
but I was smiling at him.
“Are we
good?”
I
nodded.
“Was it
good?” he asked, leaning in, bumping his shoulder against
mine.
“Oh my
God! What are you, fifteen?” I slapped him playfully on the
arm.
“I’ll
take that as a yes,” he said with a smugness I hadn’t seen
before.
“You
know, I’m really not too sure it was that good. I can hardly remember
it, already,” I
teased.
“You
already forgot our first kiss?” he jokingly asked, the smile on his
face telling me he was enjoying this. Our first kiss. By the way he said it, it
sounded like it was going to be followed by many
more.
“I might
need a refresher,” I answered, looking at him
defiantly.
He leaned down and
kissed me again. This time, things were different. Our first kiss was slow,
gentle, building. As his lips claimed me, he closed the distance between us,
wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to him. As his tongue kept teasing
me and tantalizing me, he placed a hand around my waist, and with the other one
behind my head, he dipped me slightly backwards. Show-off. I gripped his
shoulders, trying to hold my balance. His body was flushed against mine, and I
felt something else as well. Apparently, it didn’t take much for him
to get...excited. I liked that I was the one doing that to him. His tongue
circled around mine over and over, going deeper. It knocked the breath out of
me. This one was an unforgettable kiss. And now I was going to want more; there
was no going back.
He
stopped, leaving me mid-kiss. A sigh escaped me, and as I opened my eyes, I
glanced at him. He was breathing fast, and even in the semi-darkness his eyes
looked wilder and even more magnetic than usual. A satisfied, lopsided grin
spread on his face.
“There.
You shouldn’t forget this one. I was trying to be a gentleman
earlier.”
“So you
were,” I replied, trying to regain control of my
body.
He leaned down,
gave me one last peck, took my hand, and said, “Let’s go.”
Neither of us could
say a word the entire time we were walking back, but his hold on my hand was
strong, and I felt like I never wanted to let it go. From time to time, I could
feel his eyes on me, but I never looked in his direction, partly because I had
a stupid smile I couldn’t wipe off my face. I wanted to lean into him
and have his arms around me.
When we got to
Johan’s, I finally looked up. Now, this was going to be awkward. How
were we going to say goodbye? With a handshake, a hug, or another
kiss?
Thankfully, I
didn’t have time to think about it much longer, because his strong
arms enveloped me and slowly pushed me backwards, until I was against the brick
wall. He pressed his body against mine and my arms ran up his body, wrapping
around his neck. Our noses touched first, and then our mouths were devouring
each other again.
Everybody thinks
they know how to kiss, but a lot of people don’t give it the right
emphasis. Some guys are so rushed with it, like they are just trying to
hurriedly open the doorway to your vagina. That’s one way to shut
that door down for good. Guys seem to forget that kissing is the prelude to
everything else. It’s the way you introduced yourself. Some guys
I’ve kissed wouldn’t open their mouth enough or even give
you enough access to their tongue. And they’d be so boring. After a
few minutes, I was ready to be done with them. But this, the feeling of his
tongue around mine and his soft full lips kissing my face and my neck...I could
have kissed him for hours. Lou went from wrapping his tongue around mine to
gently biting my bottom lip, and then kissing me under my chin, all the way
under my ear, only to trail back up and do it all over
again.
His
light stubble tickled me at times, but somehow it only made me more aroused. I
started shivering under his touch when he slipped one hand under my sweater,
trailing all the way up to my ribcage, sliding it under my bra. He took one of
my breasts in his hand and started teasing my nipple with his thumb and index
finger. I grinded my hips against his while a moan escaped my mouth. I ran my
fingers through his hair and started trailing kisses on his neck, sucking on
his earlobe. His other hand made its way under my sweater, and they were both
caressing my back and it almost seemed as if he was aiming to take my bra off.
Okay, this had gone too far.
“Okay,
smooth kisser,” I whispered in his ear, my voice low and breathy,
“it is Amsterdam and all, but we’re still in the street,
making out next to my place of employment. I’d say we have gone far
enough,” I pulled away from him, holding his gaze, panting like prey
running away from its
hunter.
“You’re
right,” he said. “I’m
sorry.”
“You do
say that a lot,” I teased him, mimicking what he had just told me a
few days earlier.
“Just
tonight, I swear,” he replied, giving me a grin that was hard to
resist.
Hilaria
Alexander was born and raised in the south of Italy, where her family
still lives. She attended college at the Istituto Universitario Orientale in
Naples, Italy, and lived one year in Tokyo, Japan, as part of an exchange
student program. She now lives in Oklahoma City with her husband and kids. When
she isn't at work, she is reading, catching up on her favorite TV shows
and making up story-lines in her mind. She loves traveling and is a
self-proclaimed concert addict. This Love is her second romance novel. She
published her first novel, Prude, in January
2015.
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