She tasted like everything good and clean. Like renewal and redemption and rebirth. “I can’t get enough of you,” he groaned. “You taste so bloody marvelous.”
“Like risotto?” she offered, giggling.
“Brat,” he murmured, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her the rest of the way.
“I love you,” she reminded him softly, winding her arms around his neck.
The words felt right. True. More resonant than “Sir” or “Master” or “Chef.” They were, Lock realized, the most important syllables ever spoken. The base of every recipe. The building blocks of a full life. He set Naya down on the butcher’s block island, palm spread wide at the base of her spine and nose in the thick fall of her hair. He held her close. He breathed her in. “I love you, too,” he whispered. He promised. “I love you always. And I will trust you with my life and my heart even longer than that.”
“You’re damn right you will,” she asserted, impertinent and indignant. Because this was his delightful and devious darling, his partner, his future wife—full of hope and joy and fierce determination. “Don’t think I won’t hold you to it. I’m never letting you go.”
He took another sweet, soul-searing, kiss. Melted into her, and absorbed her into him. “I’m counting on it.”
About the Author
Editor, writer, American desi and lifelong geek Suleikha Snyder is an author of contemporary and erotic romance. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusivity in publishing, Suleikha is frequently ranting when she should really be adding to her body of work—which includes multiple Bollywood-set romances and several shorts and novellas.
Suleikha lives in New York City, finding inspiration in genre fiction, daytime and primetime soaps, and anything that involves chocolate or bacon. Visit her online at www.suleikhasnyder.com and follow her on Twitter @suleikhasnyder.
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Also by Suleikha:
Spice and Smoke (Bollywood Confidential #1)
Spice and Secrets (Bollywood Confidential #2)
Bollywood and the Beast (Bollywood Confidential #3)
Ishq Factors: an erotic collection
Opening Act
Praise for Suleikha Snyder’s Books
“Seared is scorching hot and wicked good fun. The chemistry between Naya and Lachlan is off-the-charts. It’s the kinky romance I’ve been waiting for. If you can stand the heat, buy this book right now!”—Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author of the Original Sinners series
“The dialogue feels real. So do the characters who have flaws and/or vulnerabilities...I also loved the moviemaking milieu and the fact that Spice and Smoke dared to be different.”—Janine, Dear Author
“An evocative fairy tale full of deep passion, dark secrets and redemptive love ... the emotions that fill every page of [Bollywood and the Beast] are very real and deeply moving.”—Bridget Keown, RT Book Reviews
“Bollywood is the perfect setting for a romance with its glamour and emphasis on appearances, as demonstrated by Suleikha Snyder's Bollywood and the Beast...the whole story takes on a magical feel, one that allows anything to happen.”—Julia Broadbooks, Heroes and Heartbreakers
“As you may have guessed from the title, Bollywood and the Beast is a Beauty and the Beast story set in Bollywood—but it's so much more than that. It’s a book about a biracial heroine not feeling accepted by any cultural identity, and it has a delicious May/December m/m romance on the side. It’s all the things, you guys.”—Elyse, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Copyright
Seared © 2017 by Suleikha Snyder
Cover art by Romanced by the Cover
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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