Join us in
celebrating the release of AFTER WE FALL by Marquita
Valentine!
Title: After
We Fall (Take the Fall #3)
Age
Group: Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Romance
Release Date: April
26, 2016
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Mf3VR3
B&N: http://bit.ly/1P4VQ1Q
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1Mf4vyf
Book Description:
A tough cop with an even tougher past, Hunter Sloan has
never let anyone stop him from getting what he wants—and he wants Evangeline
Ambrose bad. With her gentle curves and raw vulnerability, Hunter’s beautiful,
mysterious new neighbor awakens his protective side. Determined to do right by
a woman who’s gone through hell and back, Hunter could be the one to take away
the pain—so long as his own secrets don’t sink their relationship before it
begins.
Having escaped an abusive marriage, Evangeline simply wants
to start over in the small, quiet town of Forrestville. She’s also avoiding all
contact with the opposite sex, because she just can’t trust her instincts when
it comes to men—not even with the sinfully sexy cop next door. So why can’t she
stop thinking about him? Hunter has darkness in his soul, and yet no one ever
made her feel so safe. For all her best laid plans, Evangeline didn’t count on
choices this hard—or temptation this hot.
EXCERPT:
HUNTER
It’s late when I get home, but since it’s August, the sun hasn’t
completely set yet. Orange and yellow lights filter down through the huge
leaves in the front yard. For once, the small parking lot to the right of the
building is filled. All six spots taken.
Looks like someone finally rented the last apartment
available. It just so happens to be the one across from mine.
My apartment is one of six in a huge mansion built in the
early 1900s that was recently converted. It’s quiet. Peaceful. People are
friendly but aren’t all up in your business.
All in all, it’s the perfect place. Though this neighborhood
doesn’t hold the best memories for me. I’d gotten into a lot of fights. Fights
with other kids and the man who couldn’t keep his hands off my mom.
I think that’s why I had to come back—to face my demons. To
show the people who do remember my family and me that I’ve done something with
my life. That I am one of the good guys now, that I’ve stopped fighting to stay
alive to be a man who fights against crime. Like a superhero. Only without the
cool costume or billions in the bank.
Two out of three isn’t bad.
Just as I step onto the brick path that leads to the side
entrance, I get a glimpse of a woman with light brown hair. She’s attempting to
balance moving boxes while unlocking the door.
For no logical reason, my heart speeds up. I jog over to her
while calling out, “Hey there. Need some help?”
“Gosh, yes,” she says with a laugh that makes my groin
tight. Now this in an improvement. I can’t see her face, but if that laugh is
enough to make me stand up and take notice . . . my imagination runs wild.
Maybe I don’t have to get her out of my head after all.
I pick up a couple of boxes. “Hey, I’m Hunter, by the
way.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Evangeline,” she says, turning to
face me. Her body freezes—only for a moment or two—but it’s long enough for me
to notice.
Besides, I’d recognize those gorgeous blue-green eyes
anywhere. “I know who you are.”
“You do?” She scrunches her brow as if she’s deep in
thought. “I’m sorry that I can’t say the same.”
“Maybe I’m mistaken.” Maybe the pope will get married
tomorrow. Taking the boxes, I wait for her to open the door.
Another peal of laughter has me rock hard in two seconds
flat after it leaves her mouth. “I have one of those faces. Last week, at the
grocery store, someone mistook me for Scarlett Johansson. She’s filming a movie
here, so . . .”
The only thing the woman in front of me has in common with
Scarlett Johansson is the fact that they are both female. I don’t know why
she’s pretending like she doesn’t know me, but what I do know . . . She’s a
damn liar.
The woman standing in front of me is Evangeline Ambrose, the
same woman I haven’t been able to get out of my head for months. The same woman
I escorted to a battered women’s shelter. The same woman I had no business
asking after.
“What a coincidence, someone mistook me for her, too,” I
reply drily.
She blinks up at me, her mouth twitching at the corners, but
she doesn’t laugh again. I know it’s because she sees the serious look on my
face.
“You’re not that pretty,” she says,
giving me a whole other side to her. One I like.
“Most women think I am,” I disagree. What the hell has just
left my mouth?
Walking in front of me, she leads the way to her apartment.
“Good for them. You, too.”
As she begins to ascend the stairs, my gaze goes right to
her ass. The faded denim cups her just right as it stretches with her
movements.
“Lived here long?” I ask, trying to keep my thoughts
aboveboard, or above her plump ass anyway.
“Nope.”
That’s all she says until we arrive at her apartment. If I
weren’t carrying these boxes, I have no doubt she would have run from me by
now.
She stops in front of a blue door and unlocks it, before
turning to me. “I can take it from here.”
“I’m happy to help you. It’s in my job description.”
Her lips part, and the urge to kiss her rides me hard. She’s
so damn pretty. So delicate. What man in his right mind would ever try to harm
someone so much smaller than himself?
A man like your father, that’s who, I
remind myself.
“You’re the onsite manager?” she asks with false
cheerfulness. “How nice.”
I can’t believe she’s going to continue this lie. I know
it’s a lie. She knows it’s a lie, and she has to know that I know it’s a
lie.
“Nope,” I reply, hoping that my answer grates on her nerves
as much as hers did mine. “Not the manager.”
“Okay, then.” She nods, opening the door and taking the
boxes from me. “Thanks again. Maybe I’ll see you around.”
“Count on it,” I say with a grin, and walk to the door
directly across from hers.
“Dream on,” she mutters loud enough for me to hear.
Oh baby, I don’t have to dream.
“What are you doing?” she practically screeches.
“Going home.” Glancing over my shoulder at her, I unlock my
door. “That’s what I do each day after work.”
“But you can’t.”
Turning around, I cross my arms over my chest. “But I
can.”
“No.” She shakes her head, her chin becoming mutinous. “I
refuse to—” She smashes her lips together and whirls around, slamming the door
behind her.
“Nice talking to you,” I say, loud enough to reach her ears.
I know she won’t answer me, but I can’t help but push her. I want her to open
the door and acknowledge me. To tell the truth, actually, and admit she knows
exactly who I am.
That I’m the guy who helped save her life.
ALSO AVAILABLE!
TAKE THE FALL
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1EeO7uI
iBooks: http://apple.co/1RW7oVg
Google Play: http://bit.ly/22QCJyb
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1AttPuT
WHEN WE FALL
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1Lo7aEZ
B&N: http://bit.ly/1FKI9Oy
iBooks: http://apple.co/1IeMgJ1
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1AWFAgG
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1DCErLy
About the
author:
Marquita Valentine is the New York Times and USA Today
Bestselling Author of the Holland Springs and Boys of the South series.
Since first taking the plunge in July of 2012 to self
publish, Marquita Valentine has sold over a quarter of a million books around
the world. She's appeared on the Top 100 Bestselling Ebooks Lists on iBooks,
Amazon Kindle, and Barnes&Noble. She's been called "one of the
best new voices in romance" (Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews) and her books
have been accused of being "a sexy, fun, and slightly addicting
contemporary read" (The Book Queen).
When she's not writing sexy heroes who adore their sassy
heroines, she enjoys shopping, reading, and spending time with her family and
friends. Married to her high school sweetheart, Marquita lives in a seriously
small town in the south with her husband, two kids, and a dog.
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of the South Pinterest Board | Holland
Springs Pinterest Board
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