Every Choice By Samantha Rey

New Adult

Date Published: June 13, 2015

Red.
Red is everywhere.
Not just red, blood.
Blood is everywhere.
It is all over me.

Cassie Whitlock has relived that day countless times in her dreams for the past four years. It left more than just physical scars, it has caused her to close herself off to everyone. She no longer believes in love. Love only ends in pain.

That’s why when she meets Luca, she is surprised by the immediate and undeniable attraction between them. She doesn’t want complicated and she knows he’s about to make everything complicated. As their lives become more intertwined, it becomes harder to hide her secrets, and harder to resist him, but when she discovers he has secrets of his own, she begins to question everything. Cassie has to make a choice: hold on to the ghosts of her past or be brave enough to imagine a future.

Long Excerpt from Every Choice

When I was ready, I strode confidently across the room and, after checking that he didn’t have a drink in his hand, I tripped right in front of him. Luckily, he played the part of the gentleman well and caught me before I hit the ground, his arm under my back. I looked up at him and felt seized in his gaze again. If someone had taken a picture of this moment, it would have looked like he was dipping me in waltz. Or maybe a tango was more appropriate.

I knew I had only pretended, but my pulse raced with adrenaline as if I had actually tripped. His dark blue eyes cut into mine and I felt like they were swallowing me. I was suddenly not sure if this was a good idea, but it was too late to back out now. I did my best to smile and let out a silly laugh, as if to apologize for being so clumsy.

“Oh my gosh,” I said griping his bicep and squashing the strangled cry I wanted to let out after feeling the hard muscle. “Thank you so much. I would have completely embarrassed myself if you hadn’t caught me.”

He didn’t say anything but he righted me and made sure I was on my feet before he let go. He made like he was going to turn back to one of the girls around him and I pulled on his arm before he could. I thought I heard a quiet curse in my ear from one of his gaggle, but I’d expected it. It wasn’t like my reputation was a secret, a fact I actually prided myself on. And they had a reason to be upset, they had just lost their chance with him.

“My name is Cassie,” I said, half pulling him to me, half stepping toward him, so we were face-to-face.

When it was obvious that I was waiting for him to answer, he said gruffly, “Luca.”

I smiled wide. “Can I get you a drink, Luca? To thank you?”

He looked at me as if he were trying to decipher a riddle, but his eyes hardened and grew darker suddenly.

“You don’t even know me,” he said, his voice deep and rich.

I ignored his slight shift in demeanor which should have set off warning flags, but didn’t.

“But I think I’d like to,” I said flirtatiously.

“You think? You’re not sure?” He took a step toward me and my body physically reacted to his closeness without my permission.

I made an obvious glance at his lips to let him know what I was thinking before I returned to his eyes. “I’m sure.”

Luca took another step toward me so that there was less than a foot separating us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the girls that had been congregating around this living example of male perfection turn irritably and stomp away. Of course, I couldn’t process anything other than how this was easier than I’d expected. I bit my lip in a way that I knew was usually irresistible for a guy. Just as I anticipated, Luca leaned in and we would make contact in three…two…

“Come with me,” he said quietly.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him as he made his way through the throng. I was disappointed with the non-kiss until I realized he was leading me up the stairs. To the bedrooms. Normally, I was the kind of girl who at least insisted on going back to his place, or mine, but seeing as how just Luca’s hand was getting me all hot and bothered, I thought that maybe sooner was better.

A tingle was forming low in my core and the inch of skin I saw as his t-shirt hitched up put me even more on edge. Even if he wasn’t as skilled in bed as I suspected he was, it wouldn’t take me long. I was practically halfway there already.

We made it to the top of the stairs and we turned down the hall until we lost all sight of the party raging downstairs. I tried to guess what room we were going to enter, wondering whose it was and how mad they’d be when they realized what it had been used for, when Luca stopped suddenly and backed me against the wall. I whimpered in shock, more turned on than perhaps I ever had been without so much as a kiss.

He gripped my shoulders, holding me in place, and I could feel the nerves along the whole front of my body clamoring the make the foot-long jump in front of me to reach his body. Luca’s hands slid slowly down my arms to my wrists. He wrapped his hands around them easily and raised them above my head, pinning them to the wall. I didn’t know what he was doing but I was more than willing to play along.

He lowered his head so that his mouth was gently grazing my ear and he whispered, “What is it you want from me, Cassie?”

I nipped at his earlobe that was within reaching distance. “I would’ve thought it was obvious.”

He moved away and I tried to follow but his hands held me tighter against the wall and I could no longer reach him. The hallway was dark, the only light spilling in from the stairs, but his eyes seemed to glow in the dimness. Two tiny beacons in the fathomless darkness that surrounded me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had wanted something so badly.

“Do you want to make love to me?” he growled.

I titled my head and observed him for a moment. His expression gave nothing away.

“You hardly seem like someone who makes love,” I replied.

“You’re right, I don’t. I fuck.”

I arched off the wall and my breasts brushed against his chest sending tremors through my body.

“What a coincidence,” I smiled. “That’s what I’m offering. No strings. Just a fun night.”

“Sweetheart, you aren’t capable of offering me that.”

My eyes narrowed at him. They had adjusted to the minimal light but saw no humor in his expression. In fact, he was a blank slate and I didn’t like that I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“You don’t even know me,” I said, throwing his words back at him.

“I know enough. You are confident enough to use a fake trip to gain my attention. You’re a little arrogant in thinking that games could actually fool me. And you are sexy as hell, and I’d like nothing more than to peel you out of this dress and fuck you against this wall with your legs around me, screaming my name.”

He pushed his body flush against mine, pinning me entirely to the wall, and I felt him hard against his jeans. All my girly parts broke out into a happy dance at his declaration. I was even willing to ignore the snide comments he made before that last one because I was so needy. I tried to move to create some friction between us, but I was trapped.

“But,” he continued, “I’m not going to do that. Because while you definitely have a ‘do me’ look on your face that I’d fucking love to wipe off of it, your eyes are holding so much more back. I see a lot of unchecked emotions and I don’t do emotions. So—”

Before I could even process what he had said, his lips crashed into mine. His tongue invaded my mouth and twisted with mine, which I felt down in my toes. I wanted to grab his shaggy hair and run my fingers through it pulling him closer to me, but they were still in his grasp above my head, so I had to let my kiss do the work.

He practically melted into me, or maybe it was more appropriate to say that I melted into him. His kiss was demanding and punishing and scorched me from the inside out. He pulled back too soon and gave me a knowing smirk as he let go of me and strutted down the hall back to the party without another glance.

Samantha Rey graduated from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia with a degree in theatre and a Master’s in elementary education. While her full-time job is currently teaching third grade just outside of Washington, D.C., her love of theatre, entrancing characters, and never-ending drama has not subsided. She has always loved creating stories and the Every series is culmination of a lot of hard work and following her dreams. When she is not writing, she is reading way too much, choreographing musicals, grading papers, and spending time with her husband and their dog, Paisley. You can follow Samantha on Twitter @authorsamrey, on her website, samantharey.com, or on Facebook, facebook.com/authorsamantharey.
Website: http://www.samantharey.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Every-Choice-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00Y997HEA/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432760282&sr=1-2
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25458815-every-choice
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Twitter: @AuthorSamRey


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