by Karina Halle
I think my next leap is happening soon. It involves me renting a space in a warehouse for a week, but Stephanie guaranteed that if I could get a line of t-shirts out, she’d carry them in her online store and help me find other distributors as well.
It’s all baby steps for us, but it’s happening.
In due time, as Bram would say.
Bram would also say, it’s Bramtastic.
“You guys are the slowest couple I’ve ever met,” Taylor yells at us, waving for us to get our legs moving and hurry up. We’re walking down the fake Hollywood street in California Adventure and Ava and Matthew have spotted Mike and Sully from Disney’s Monster’s Inc. walking around. Though there are two years between Ava and Matthew, they get along great and their one love in common is dinosaurs (well, actually now it’s monsters, which is why they’re going apeshit for the poor hot people trapped in the costumes).
We all take pictures and Irving, Taylor’s new boyfriend, gets a good one of this crazy, mixed family. While the kids still fawn over the characters like they’re celebrities, fun-loving screams draw my attention to the rest of the park.
Every time we come here we always end up on the kiddie rides and we never seem to have the time or the opportunity to go on the big kid ones. You know, the ones that are actually fun.
“You know what?” I say to Bram. “I’m not leaving this park until—”
“We shag behind the Hollywood backlot,” he quickly suggests, and I know he’s completely serious.
“No,” I tell him, elbowing him in the side. “For the last time, IKEA sex was the limit for me. At least we traumatized an old couple, I’m not going to do that to children.” He seems to pout. I roll my eyes. “What I was going to say was, I’m not leaving this park until I go on a ride that will have me screaming my face off.”
He tilts his head and gives me that infamous smirk. “I know just the ride.”
“Bram, if you say it’s your cock, I’m going to murder you,” I hiss at him, glad we’re out of ear reach from the kids. And Taylor and Irving too. I’m sure they don’t want to hear any of our cock talk either.
Bram is still smirking at me so I fill in. “I mean it. An actual ride that you do with people. Like the Tower of Terror. Or California Screaming.”
“I reckon California Screaming,” he says. “Because of the word screaming.”
“Then it’s on.” I squeeze his hand and then wave at the gang. “Hey everyone, I thought I would let you all know that Bram and I are going on the rollercoaster and you can’t do a thing about it.”
Matthew stomps his foot. “I want to go on the rollercoaster!”
He’s tall like his dad probably was at his age, so there’s a chance he actually might be able to ride the coaster. But not this time. This time it’s just for us.
“Oh, Matthew,” Taylor admonishes him. “Let them have their fun.”
So the six of us wind our way through Cars Land and the fake San Francisco until we’re at the perpetually cheery Paradise Pier. We stand there for a bit, watching the coaster cars zoom past on the epic California Screaming, a ride that seems to do what the name suggests – make you scream.
“You sure about this?” Bram asks before we get into the line-up.
“Don’t tell me you’re a pussy,” I tease him.
He pulls me to him, burying his warm lips into my neck. “Speaking of pussy, how about we send Ava off with Matthew and Taylor after we get back to the hotel?”
“Oh, it would be so obvious why.”
He shrugs, not caring. “So? I think it’s too late for us to pretend we don’t have sex.” We both look over at Ava and Matthew who are chasing each other on the faux boardwalk. He’s right about that.
So we get in line for the ride, passing the time by playing games on our iPhones and finding out who can tell the stupidest jokes (Bram wins at that, obviously). It’s nice though, just to be with him and him alone. Even though we’re surrounded by people – and both insanely jealous of the couple in front of us who had the smarts to bring two margaritas along for the wait – it feels like we’re in our own little world. I’m reminded of just why I love this sexy Scot so much.
Finally it’s time to get in. I’m giddy and Bram looks a tad unnerved, which I find adorable. The bars lower automatically from above us, locking us in place so we can’t fall out.
Happy, tinkling music comes on from the speakers and we slowly move forward, rounding the corner until we come to our holding spot where we wait with building anticipation until we will be shot forward and straight up the first hill.
“Mommy!” I look up to see Ava waving at me. Everyone has gathered along the railing above the tracks, ready for us to take off.
“Have fun!” yells Matthew.
My heart speeds up and I’m suddenly nervous. Just that sweet, intense anticipation. Kind of like sex. I grip the bar lowered across me as the chirpy countdown goes on, starting at three.
“No regrets, right?” Bram asks me with a disarming grin.
Two.
“No regrets.” I smile right back at him. “Not in this life.”
One.
We take off into the future.
Acknowledgements
As usual, quite a few people to thank. I wrote this book after a lengthy and much-needed break. Unfortunately by the time I went back into the swing of things, my husband and I just moved into our new house. First-time homeowners, yay! But moving and writing are hard to do at the same time. Actually anything plus writing is hard to do and the same could be said for moving. Somehow it got done though, it always does.
But I think it went so easily because of Bram “the man” McGregor. He was such a joy to write that I rarely felt myself stressing over this book, even when I was down to the wire, even when I didn’t have an office to write in because it was piled high with boxes that I just couldn’t deal with because all my energy had to go into writing. Bram helped me by being so Bramtastic! (yeah I know, stop with the Bram puns).
Of course Bram wasn’t the only one who helped. Ali “Claimed Bram” Hymer was a great help, especially in making sure the “mom” scenes were working. Dyann “Hot Nurse” Tufts for ensuring all my medical jargon and diabetes specifics were correct. Sandra “#1 Pervert” Cortez for her input and enthusiasm for car sex. Laura “Eaten by Bears” Helseth for her eagle eyes. Latyoa “Word” Smith (get it…wordsmith) for being a great editor and for having faith in me way back when Sins & Needles came out – it was her love of Ellie Watt and the crew (hell, her love of Dex and Perry even before that) that brought me into the Hachette family and my first publishing deal and I’m so thankful she’s still such a great supporter and a fan.
Props also go to everyone on InstaBram – I mean, Instagram, for your teasers and raunchiness and genuine love of books and book boyfriends. My Instagram account feels like family – no wonder I’m on there all the damn time (@authorhalle). All the ladies at #TeamPerv (hasthtag dicks) and dem Whores (who are also pervs, just more subdued) and all the hard-working bloggers for reading and reviewing ARCS and just being so damn fabulous. Dani Sanchez for being the best Girl Friday.
Here’s a shoutout to everyone in their thirties and beyond who feel they’re expected to grow up – don’t. Don’t worry if you still feel like you’re not where you’re “supposed” to be and you don’t have a total handle on life. Being an adult is hard for everyone, you might as well have some fun while you’re at it. Embrace your inner child, take chances and live with no regrets!
Last but not least, Mr. MacKenzie and Mr. Bruce. I’m always on your team, thanks for being on mine.
Want to contact me? I read every email (all the nice ones, anyway) and try my best to respond: [email protected]
I’m also on Facebook
Twitter: @metalblonde
And I am addicted to Instagram (seriously, I post a lot of pics!): @authorhalle
**Keep reading for an excerpt from Racing the Sun – available in July from Atria Books**
BLURB: It’s time for twenty-four-year-old Amber MacLean to face the music. After a frivolous six months of backpacking through New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, she finds herself broke on the Mediterranean without enough money for a plane ticket home to California. There are worse places to be stuck than the gorgeous coastline of southern Italy, but the only job she manages to secure involves teaching English to two of the brattiest children she’s ever met.
It doesn’t help that the children are under the care of their brooding older brother, Italian ex-motorcycle racer Desiderio Larosa. Darkly handsome and oh-so-mysterious, Derio tests Amber’s patience and will at every turn—not to mention her hormones.
But when her position as teacher turns into one as full-time nanny at the crumbling old villa, Amber finds herself growing closer to the enigmatic recluse and soon has to choose between the safety of her life back in the States and the uncertainty of Derio’s closely guarded heart.
RACING THE SUN
After I put the kids to bed, I gather some of the leftovers from dinner onto a plate, pour a glass of water, and put it on a tray. I carry it over to the office and knock loudly.
“Derio, I have dinner here for you,” I say quickly before he can tell me to get lost. “You should really eat something. The kids actually liked it so I think you should witness the fact that I finally made something appetizing. It might never happen again.”
I wait a few seconds and then put the tray on the ground outside the door. I’m about to walk away when—lo and behold—it actually opens and he peers at me with a cocked brow.
“Buonasera,” he says, his voice sounding extra throaty tonight, which equals extra sexy—and he’s speaking in Italian to boot.
“Buonasera,” I tell him, trying to peek inside. “You’re not in your underwear again, are you?”
He gives me a lopsided smile. “I can be. Would you like to come in?”
“Are we going to drink scotch again? Because something tells me you’ve probably had enough.”
“Come.” He steps back, disappearing into the office. “Bring the food.”
I give him a look that says I’m not his servant 24/7 but bring the tray in anyway and set it on the desk. He goes to the door and closes it. “Would you like a drink?”
I should say no. I sigh. “Yes.”
“Buono,” he says. He goes and pours me a glass. He hands it to me, his eyes focused on mine the whole time, as if holding me in place. Because he’s drunk I can’t read them for the life of me. He seems to be in a playful mood again but I’m not putting stock in anything Derio-related anymore.
I stare down at the glass. “Did you drug this?”
He smiles. “No.”
I squint at him. “Why are you smiling then?”
“I like to smile at you,” he says.
I let out a dry laugh. “Right. No, Signor Larosa, you like to frown at me. Glower at me. Glare at me. Or just stare blankly at me like I’m not even there. But smiling at me? Not so much.”
The smile slides right off his face. I raise my glass at him. “See, right there. Back to Mr. Angry Face.”
“You really don’t think much of me, do you?” he asks. His voice is strained and a little rough around the edges.
I take a small sip and suck on my top lip for a moment as it burns. “Actually, I think a lot of you.”
“All bad.”
“Didn’t you say the bad things were the good things?” I ask him.
“Are you comparing me to a bad habit?”
I cock my head, considering that. “Maybe I am. But I happen to like a lot of my bad habits.”
“Like the drinking.”
“Yes.”
“The eating.”
“Yes.”
“The sex.”
A small shiver runs through me as my lips twist into a smile. Even the word sex sounds amazing coming from his mouth. “Especially the sex. It’s the best bad habit of all.”
He doesn’t smile at that—no surprise—but the intensity in his gaze deepens. His eyes burn me, and his look becomes smoldering. He’s making me feel like I’m standing in his office completely naked, not wearing the same billowy tank top and skinny jeans I was wearing earlier.
“Stay right there,” he commands me in a hushed tone.
My heart does a few solid thuds in my throat. I swallow uneasily. “Okay.”
I know I’m staring at him with wide Bambi eyes, I can’t help it. I follow his every movement as he comes around the desk and walks toward me.
He stops in front of me, so tall and large. I can see his pulse tick along his throat and the dark danger in his eyes as they peer at me through black lashes.
I grip the glass of scotch hard, afraid of what’s going to happen next.
Because something has to happen; something is happening.
I’ve never been looked at this way before—stripped bare by a carnal gaze—and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.
He places both hands on either side of my face and I feel so small, so conquered, so . . . coveted. His skin is hot and rough to the touch and alights my entire body until I’m buzzing with fiery anticipation.
“I need to kiss you,” he says, and it’s the smartest thing he’s said all day. “Please.”
I try and say “okay” but it catches in my throat. I saw this coming—a man can’t stare at a woman like that without kissing her—but it still unwinds me like a spool of thread.
He’s still staring at me, his brow furrowing, casting shadows down his perfect face. His lips are just out of reach. “I need to know if I can feel anything. I want to feel something.”
There’s a quiet desperation in his voice. It makes me ache for him.
Then he leans in and kisses me. His lips are soft, perhaps a little unsure as they press against mine, but then the pressure increases, our mouths yielding in unison and it feels like drinking and breathing and living. He tastes like the honey tones of scotch and of faded smoke and mint. It’s an elixir that flows down my throat and right between my legs, and his probing tongue stirs it further.
My tongue teases his back as it slides into my mouth, stoking the wildfires. Our kiss deepens and his hands find their way into my hair. He lets out a low moan that reverberates through me and I gasp in response, the glass almost slipping from my hands. I want to pull him into me, I want more of this, all the time. My free hand slips around his back and presses into his firm, hard muscles. I’m so incredibly turned on that I’m seconds from just throwing the scotch across the room and dropping to my knees. I want to take him in my mouth and make him moan again, I want to make him feel something. I want to make him feel me. I want to know what he looks like when he comes, if it brings him some kind of peace.
I want so much more than the hunger and desire he’s already giving me, our lips, tongue, mouth heating up, our kiss fueling our needs and our needs threatening to take over. I wonder if he’s afraid of this kiss because to me it feels a bit like drowning. But we’re not drowning alone. We’re clinging onto each other like a life raft.
I’m so insatiable now, so greedy, that I almost whimper when he pulls away. He holds me, fisting my hair, and presses his forehead against mine, eyes pinched shut and breathing hard. I gulp in the air, unsure if we’re going to stop or if I need to refuel to go further. I could go all night and every night after that.
My lips tingle now and a few beats pass.
“Did you feel anything?” I ask softly, hopefully.
He shakes his head ever so slightly, his forehead damp against mine. “No,” he murmurs. “I felt everything.”
Look for Racing the Sun on bookshelves on July 28th 2015. I wrote this book inspired by my favorite book of all time – Jane Eyre – and it’s set in Italy, where I actually went in October to research, so I can tell you …this book is hot, romantic and legit. Can’t wait for you all to read it!