Tentative Release
Date: End of February
2015
Photography by Perrywinkle
Photography
Models: Chase Williams and Whitney Rae
Diederich
Cover Design: Perfect Pear Creative Covers
SYNOPSIS
One night was all it took…
One night to ruin everything I thought I
knew.
From the outside, I had the perfect
lifestyle.
Wealthy fiancé, blossoming career, amazing
friends.
I wasn’t looking to get married yet, but when
William—“Manhattan’s royalty”—charmed his way into my life, I couldn’t deny the security and comfort
that overcame me.
To society, I was the girl only after his money. I
was the party-goer who managed to seduce a man twice my age to have the lifestyle some could only
dream of. I was every magazine’s cliché of what a gold-digging whore was.
I wanted to prove them wrong—that our love was
real and that I wasn’t that girl.
But then everything
changed.
One wrong decision. One unfaithful night. One
haunting reality.
Perhaps they were right.
The media didn’t see it coming…and neither did
I.
**This is a stand alone romance suspense novel
with no cliffhanger. HEA depends on who you ask.**
Recommended for readers 18 and up due to
strong language and explicit sexual content.
CHAPTER ONE EXCERPT
Oh god.
My head was pounding. Or wait, was someone at
the door?
There’s no way I was this hung over. Or was I?
Shit, I didn’t know. It was pitch black but then I realized I hadn’t opened my eyes yet, but the pounding
was definitely apparent.
I rolled over, feeling the weight shift around on
the mattress. The light, fluffy comforter felt great on my hot skin. The rest of me felt like I’d been hit by
a truck.
My body jerked. Something was
wrong.
I don’t have a light, fluffy
comforter.
I opened my eyes, blinking several times to get
used to the bright light. The sun was shining in, and I silently cursed that damn window for not shielding
the sunlight out.
I sucked in a breath as I tried to remember the
events from last night.
I couldn’t. Not much after dinner anyway. I knew I
went out for Brittainy’s bachelorette party. The girls and I took a limo all over the city, taking us to
dinner at (restaurant name here) and then we ended up at Le Bain for dancing and drinks.
The rest was kind of fuzzy.
I squinted, arching my back to stretch out the
kinks. Good lord it felt like my body had been folded in half and beaten all night long.
I roamed my hands down my body, feeling for any
kind of evidence. I was naked, completely naked, and I never slept naked unless…
I brought my fingers down in between my legs. It
ached, badly. I could tell I had a full body work out last night.
I felt sick, like I was going to throw up, but I
continued lying straight, hoping it’d pass.
I breathed in and out, slowly. Once my stomach
calmed down, I attempted to move. A firm hand grabbed around my waist, pulling me back before I had
the chance to get up.
“Don’t move,” a low, deep gravelly voice growled.
It was a voice of a man who’d just woken up. Next to me.
Once I let it sink it, it rang a bell, but I couldn’t
quite place it. He pulled my body to his, my back to his chest as he gripped my hip with one of his hands.
He dipped his chin onto my shoulder and whispered over my ear, “I still have the taste of you on my
lips.” I could feel his hot breath on me, the scent of alcohol apparent as I inhaled against
him.
Holy shit.
I tried and racked my brain of any memory of last
night. Who the hell was this guy? What was his name? Crap, I didn’t even know his name!
His hand squeezed my hip before trailing down
my stomach, slowly going down in between my thighs.
“Stop,” I blurted out, sucking in another breath.
His hand halted, but I still didn’t know who the hell this guy was. He could be into domination for all I
know.
“Hung over?” he questioned, amusement laced in
his tone. His breath tickled over my ear again, sending shivers down my spine unwillingly.
I cursed my traitorous body. It obviously
remembered last night, yet nothing was coming to me.
“Yeah, I seem to have a case of the ‘I don’t
remember what the hell happened last night,’” I said honestly. He removed his hand. I felt his body shift
slightly as he put space in between us.
“Turn around,” he ordered. “Maybe you’ll
remember my face.” I could hear the hopefulness in his tone, but I knew a visual wasn’t going to help
any. I’d blacked out and nothing from last night was coming to me.
I didn’t hesitate though. I grabbed the sheet to
conceal myself as I turned around to face him.
Well now at least I understood my body’s
reaction. He was all messy hair with light stubble on his face. His eyes were dark, chocolate brown I’d
say. He was looking at me intently, waiting for me to say I remembered him. But I didn’t.
I swallowed as I looked down the length of his
body to see him completely naked, not at all covered up.
“Sorry,” I choked out, forcing my eyes to
look back up at him. “I have no memory of you.” I blushed, seriously embarrassed. He looked good
enough to eat and here I was not remembering any of it.
“That’s okay,” he finally said, his lips curving up
slightly. “I’d be glad to help you remember…perhaps a fourth time would jolt your
memory.”
My eyes widened in shocked. “A…fourth time?” I
clenched the sheet tighter to my chest. No wonder my body felt bruised and broken.
“Wow…” He grinned playfully. “No memory even
after three times is kind of an ego killer.” He brushed a hand through his messy locks, taking my
attention away from his eyes. I imagined I was to blame for his hair looking like that—as if I had raked
my hands through it over and over—squeezing, pulling.
Stay focused, Mac.
I blinked, seriously frustrated I couldn’t remember
anything.
“I’m s-so sorry,” I rambled. “I can usually hold my
liquor, but last night was a girl’s night…”
“I know,” he cut me off. “Bachelorette party if
memory serves me correct. You were out with some girlfriends.”
“Right…oh god, did they see me leave with you? I
need to get dressed. I should leave. Where are my clothes?” I started to sit up and quickly realized that
wasn’t going to happen. “Shit.”
“Sit back, Mac.” It wasn’t a suggestion. He pulled
me back lightly, dropping my head to the pillow. “I’ll grab you some juice and pills.”
“Okay. Thank you…” I lingered, still not knowing
his name.
He sat up, searching the floor for his shorts. He
pulled them on and spun around with a huge grin on his face. “Alex.”
Ho-ly panty dropper.
Which explains why I’m not wearing
any.
GIVEAWAY
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ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Brooke Cumberland is a USA Today Bestselling author who's a stay-at-home mom and writes full-
time. She lives in the frozen tundra of Packer Nation with her husband, 4 year old wild child, and two
teenage stepsons. When she's not writing, you can find her reading love stories, listening to music that
inspires her, and laughing with her family. Brooke is addicted to Starbucks coffee, leggings, and anything
sweet. She found her passion for telling stories during winter break one year in grad school--and she
hasn't stopped since.
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