Something Reckless

(Reckless and Real #2)

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Expected release: December 22, 2014

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“You look amazing in this dress. I’ve been pretending all night that there’s something I want to do more than get you out of it.”

“What would you do with me if you got so lucky?”

“I’d keep you up all night, for starters.” He slides a hand into my hair and traces the side of my neck with his thumb. His groan rumbles through me. “Tell me what you came here for.”

I thought that was pretty clear. “I’m wearing extremely slutty underwear. What do you think?”

His nostrils flare and his breathing goes thready. “I think I’m going to have to up my game, because now I want to see it.”

I have to bite back a smile. “Good,” I say. My heart thumps out a beat, probably Morse code for please and thank you. 

“How slutty is this underwear of yours?”

I lick my lips. “Oh, it’s damn near whorish.”

“Let me see it, Liz.”

I lift my chin and prop my hands on my hips. “Seriously? That’s all the seduction I get? Let me see it?”

He steps closer until I have to crane my neck to look at him, and holy hell he smells good. “What game are we playing here, Rowdy?” he murmurs against my ear. “Is this the one where we pretend we don’t want each other and sleep alone . . .” His fingers skim down my shoulder and my eyes float closed. “Or is it the one where I make you come so hard you scream my name and tomorrow you act like you want nothing to do with me?”

“Are those my only choices?” I ask, but I keep my eyes closed, focusing on the feel of his rough fingers dancing across my skin. The truth is, I don’t want to play either game. I’m done playing games when it comes to Sam. I’m done pretending I don’t want him when I do, and I’m done pretending our annual one-night stand is enough for me. 

“Tell me you aren’t going to run away in the morning. Promise me you won’t shut me out again.”

I don’t know what that means, and I’m too scared to analyze it. My eyes are still closed when he takes my chin in his fingers and tilts my face up to his, still closed when he brushes his lips over mine and when I open under him because I’m helpless to this man’s kiss.

“Promise me,” he repeats.

“I won’t run away.” Then I unzip my dress and let it fall to the floor in a puddle, and my boldness is rewarded. Sam’s lips part and his breath escapes him in a rush. 

He steps back and takes me in. The bra is strapless, black lace demi-cups that lift my breasts until they threaten to spill out. The panties—what there is of them—are a thong in matching black lace. Their fine lace straps sit in a sharp V high on my hipbones.

A ringlet of hair escaped my up-do, and he takes it between his fingers and twirls it around. I deserve a medal for not melting right here at his feet. 

He hooks his index finger under the black bow between my bra cups. “Did you wear this for me?” His voice is a husky whisper that I can’t deny.

“Yes.”

His fingers skim my belly, trace over my hip, following the lace of my thong behind me to where the straps meet at the small of my back. My breath catches as he takes the fabric path over the curve of my tailbone and down, his fingers bringing every nerve ending to life as they pass. Electric pleasure whips through me.

“Fourteen months since I’ve touched you,” he says. “Fourteen months since I’ve gotten to hear the way you breathe when you’re turned on, since I’ve gotten to listen to you scream as I make you come. Tell me you haven’t thought about it.”

“I’d be lying.”

“Don’t lie,” he says, eyes hot and intense. “Just tell me you want me.”

Copyright Lexi Ryan, 2014

When she rolls the dice on one reckless night, her chance at something real could crumble.

Liz Thompson has been looking for love and now she is trying to find it in a new online dating service. She thought  she found a true connection once with Sam Bradshaw, the man she crushed on and spent and amazing night with, but it did not end up how she hoped back then. And another mistake made later rocked the world of her and their friends adding more complications. Now she has been chatting with "River" online and they share a rapport and chemistry. But in the back of her mind, she still secretly hopes that River might be Sam under a cloak of online anonymity. 

Riverrat69: You make me believe there could be more. You make me want something more.

Sam Bradshaw never makes promises and claims to hate strings. One time in the past he thought maybe he could try with Liz,  but other issues got in the way. And then when he thought things could not get any worse with the object of his affection...they did. And the woman he secretly wanted, then had to be off limits. Sam is charismatic, dirty talking and has a penchant for control. But he has a vulnerable side and his own insecurities too that he does not often let people see.

Liz has always been there. This fixture in my life that always felt out of my reach. And I helped put her there. She stayed beyond my grasp because she was scared to trust me with her heart. I see that now. I don't know how to make her trust me, and I don't know how to trust her, but I want to figure it out. 

Liz always feels like she isn't taken seriously. She is the pretty, fun sister and not the smart one. She does not have deep meaningful relationships like her sisters have had. She is guarded and has fears. She thinks she wants something reckless to take the edge off, but also craves something real.  She is also looking for purpose and inspiration to change her life. And she is finding ways to grow and challenge herself. But  her past and old connections keep affecting her new life. 

She's too busy putting up her walls, and I don't know what it is about me that makes her do that. We touch, we f***, it's so damn good, and then she's guarded all over again. 

In the New Hope online dating scene how anonymous is it really?  There is a bit of mystery going on with secret identities, hidden agendas, and  secret crushes interwoven with a lot of history...some that is good and some that is bad. And their lives keep getting intertwined in various ways and no one is giving full disclosure. 

These two are getting pushed in different directions, afraid to trust, afraid to fall, and are constantly being manipulated by people with different agendas. There is a lot of family and friend dynamics as well as political agendas. And they are both also harboring secrets that have the potential to blow up in their faces. 

This one had me wondering and guessing what was really going on. There were many layers to the story with the various people with different motivations driving their actions. As well as a convoluted history and secrets that were in danger of being disclosed.  I was totally invested in Sam and Lizzy. I enjoyed visiting with New Hope Friends from previous books and getting to know more of Sam's family. I love the small town feel of New Hope and how everyone knows all the gossip. I enjoy the tight knit group of friends and family that have so much history together and how the couples are progressing in their relationships and families.

Lexi Ryan always manages to keep me guessing and throws in plot twists that keep it all fresh and interesting. Even when I think I have things figured out then she makes me doubt myself or totally surprises me. This was told in both Sam and Lizzy's point of view letting us see their real feelings and fears even when they could not admit them themselves.  I was sucked right into Sam and Lizzy's story and I cannot wait to see how it all plays out in Something Real.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 

The Reckless and Real Series Includes:

Book 1: SOMETHING WILD (Liz and Sam’s story begins - novella)

Book 2: SOMETHING RECKLESS (Liz and Sam’s story continues)Book 3: SOMETHING REAL (Liz and Sam’s story concludes, coming March 2015)

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