Sworn (Blood Duet Book 1)
Page 20
Maria
Preview of Say You’ll Be Mine: A NOLA Heart Novel
The NOLA Heart series is now complete! Keep reading for a sneak peek of Say You’ll Be Mine, the first book in the series—featuring a hot cop and his high school sweetheart. This is a second chance romance that will heat up your kindles and keep you up at night reading.
“Need help with those?”
Shaelyn jerked at the familiar masculine voice and nearly pantsed herself. Picking a wedgie in public, while sometimes necessary, was embarrassing, but losing her shorts in front of Brady Taylor, strangers, and the all-seeing eyes of her parish church might actually spell the end of her.
Then again, problem solved. Meme Elaine would have to find someone else to inherit their ancestral home, of course, but Shaelyn could work some serious magic from Upstairs.
“Nope, I’ve got it,” she bit out. She didn’t look at him. One glance and there was a decent chance of her good sense going MIA.
“You sure?” Black Nike tennis shoes entered her peripheral vision. “Looks like you might need a hand.”
His toned calves were dusted with short, black hairs. It was a sign of weakness, she knew, but Shaelyn couldn’t stop the upward progression of her gaze. Settled low on his hips were maroon basketball shorts with cracked-gold lettering running up the side. The first and second O’s were missing, so that instead of Loyola, it read “L Y LA.” She wondered why he wasn’t wearing his alma mater, Tulane University, and then reminded herself that she didn’t care. Her gaze traveled up to a faded-blue NOPD T-shirt that—
Shaelyn inhaled sharply as she realized just how awful she must look. Boob sweat was the least of her worries when her underwear had officially integrated itself between her butt cheeks. She reached up to smooth her short, curly hair, which she’d tamed with a headband straight out of the ’90s. Her bedroom was proving to be a treasure trove of forgotten goodies.
“You’ve got something . . . ” Brady reached out a hand toward her butt.
“Hey!” She swatted at his long-tapered fingers. He wasn’t wearing his hat today, and she finally had her first glimpse of his blue-on-blue eyes. She’d once compared them to the crystal blue waters of Destin (where their families once vacationed together in Florida every summer), and she was annoyed to find that time had not dampened their appeal. Straightening her spine, she snapped, “Hands off.”
Holding both hands up, he dipped his chin. “You might wanna check out your behind then.” Those blue eyes crinkled as he grinned, with small laugh lines fanning out from the corners.
Shaelyn twisted at the waist. Three leaves were stuck to her butt, suctioned to the fabric of her shorts as though hanging on for dear life. Sweat, apparently, was the proper glue foliage needed for attachment.
She was never working out again.
“You got it?” Brady asked, humor lacing his husky drawl. “I’m good with my hands, if you need help.”
An image of Brady’s large hands cupping her butt snapped her into action. She swiped at the offending leaves, sending them fluttering to the ground. “I’m good. Thanks.”
His sweeping glance, one that traveled from her tennis shoes all the way up to her face, left her wondering if he liked what he saw or if he was glad he’d dumped her years ago. Finally, he murmured, “I can see that.”
The key ring came loose from her belt loop with an extra hard tug of desperation, and she started for her car. “Right. Well, nice to see you.”
Brady effectively ruined her escape by leaning against her car door with his arms crossed over his hard chest. Hadn’t she suffered enough today without having to deal with him, too? Boob sweat, wedgies, and leaves suctioned to her ass were all a woman could take, thank you very much.
She gestured at him. “Do you mind?”
His answering smile was slow and easy. “Not at all.”
Her fingers curled tightly around the car keys. “I’ve got somewhere to be.”
“Yeah?” His tone suggested that he didn’t believe her. “Where are you going?”
She toyed with the idea of blowing off his question, but if there was one thing she knew about Brady Taylor, it was that he was annoyingly persistent. “I’ve got a bachelorette party tonight.”
“Oh, yeah?” He said it differently this time, as if intrigued, perhaps even despite himself. “Didn’t realize you had many friends left in N’Orleans?”
She scowled, placed a hand on her hip, and then realized that she must look about five seconds away from throwing a good ol’ Southern princess tantrum. Hastily she folded her arms over her chest to mimic his stance. With determination she ignored the way her sweat-coated skin fused together.
“For the record, I do have friends.” She didn’t, not really, but he didn’t know that. “And secondly, my job is hosting a bachelorette party.”
He seemed to digest that, his full mouth momentarily flattening before quirking up in a nonchalant smile. “Where do you work nowadays, Shae?”
The bells of Holy Name chimed again. She really had to be going, but something stopped her from walking around the hood of her car, climbing in, and speeding away. She didn’t want to think about what that something might be.
“I work at La Parisienne in the French Quarter. On Chartres.”
One of his black brows arched up in surprise. “The lingerie joint?”
Only a man would call a business that sold women’s underwear a “joint.” Rolling her eyes, Shaelyn let her weight rest on her right leg. She bit back another moan of pain. “It has a name, but yes, I work at the ‘lingerie joint.’”
“And they host bachelorette parties?”
She shrugged. “Sometimes. Tonight we’re cohosting it with The Dirty Crescent.”
“The sex toy shop?”
“Yes.”
His blue eyes glittered, and when he asked, “Can I come?” his voice slid through her like that first shot of whiskey she’d downed in his grandfather’s office years earlier. Shocking at first, and then hot and tingly as it heated her core.
Then he ruined everything by laughing.
Nothing ever changed with him.
“You’re such a jerk,” she snapped. She stepped forward and pushed at his chest to urge him away from her car. He didn’t budge, which only infuriated her. How dare he tease her like he hadn’t broken her heart? So what if she’d been young, naïve, and fifty shades of stupid? Being a gentleman was not overrated.
He was still laughing when he caught her by the shoulders. “I could arrest you for harassment.” His hands were warm on her exposed skin, hotter, maybe, than the late afternoon sun toasting the back of her neck.
Shaelyn glared up at him, not the least bit pacified by the mischievous glint in his blue eyes. His thumbs stroked her collarbone. Once, twice. If she’d been a weaker woman, she would have curled into his embrace. “You should arrest yourself.”
“For what?”
“For being an ass.”
His head dipped, his breath a whisper against her ear. Goosebumps teased her flesh. “You gonna do it yourself? Maybe buy a pair of new ’cuffs from that party tonight and put them to good use on me?”
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Acknowledgements
I can’t even begin to express all of my thank-you’s for SWORN. For almost a year now, I have had Lincoln and Avery on the brain, always there, always waiting, to have their story told.
It wasn’t like any of my other books—it was raw and twisted and in possession of a wild story. It knocked me on my butt (multiple times) and was single-handedly the reason why my house existed in chaos for weeks at a time when I couldn’t bear to rip myself away from my laptop.
Never have I been quite so obsessed with a book or a couple as I am with Lincoln and Avery, and so thank you from the bottom of my heart for picking up this book and giving it a try. It means more to me than you will ever know.
; As always, this book wouldn’t have been possible without my amazing team:
-Najla, girl, you continue to rock my world with each book cover, but I’m not kidding when I say that SWORN and DEFIED have stolen the show. You are amazing!
- Kathy, I would be lost without you. Lost and wandering, and I will say this over and over again, but I could not be on this journey without your expertise, guidance, and patience. Thank you for putting up with me when I’m struggling, a general hot mess, and vowing to make you T-shirts. Which will happen - I promise.
- Tandy, thank you for making this book shine! I’m so glad we’re coming up on our one-year publiversary soon. Celebrations all the way around!
- Tina, thank you for keeping my butt on track, for sending me texts just checking to make sure I’m still alive, and for being the best right-hand woman a girl could ever ask for. I love ya, lady.
- To my beta readers, Brenda and Viper - thank you! Thank you so much for reading my words before anyone else, for your endless support, and for easing my nerves when they spiral out of control. I’m so thankful to have met both of you.
- To my VIPers, y’all are the foundation of my career. This author business wouldn’t be possible without you, and I’m so lucky to have you all on this journey with me.
- BBA: YOU GIRLS ROCK. Yes, caps were necessary. Y’all are my safe place, my rock. I love our Hangout + Wine Sessions, and our love of books, and I love, more than anything, that we are a family. Thank you for being the first ones to show Lincoln & Avery some love back in 2017. If you think about it, this book wouldn’t even exist without you!
- To every blogger, reviewer, or reader who passed on word about SWORN and told your friends about this book or took the time to write a review, I can never say thank you enough.
- And to you, Dear Reader, thank you for making my author dream a reality. Thank you for taking a chance on my words. And I promise, all the questions you have will be answered in DEFIED.
Much love,
Maria Luis
Also by Maria Luis
NOLA Heart Series
Say You’ll Be Mine
Take A Chance On Me
Dare You To Love Me
Tempt Me With Forever
Blades Hockey Series
Power Play
Sin Bin
Hat Trick
a Love Serial
Breathless (.99c)
Blood Duet
Sworn
Defied
About the Author
Maria Luis is the author of the sexy NOLA Heart and Blades Hockey series.
Historian by day and romance novelist by night, Maria lives in New Orleans, and loves bringing the city's cultural flair into her books. When Maria isn't frantically typing with coffee in hand, she can be found binging on reality TV, going on adventures with her other half and two pups, or plotting her next flirty romance.