Release Date
~ April 25th
Author: L.B.
Simmons
☆✮
Synopsis ✮☆
Death.
For some, it’s simply one of
life’s certainties, nothing more. For others, it’s merely a fleeting thought,
one often overshadowed by the reckless delusion that they have been blessed
with the gift of immortality.
For Aubrey Miller, death is
the definition of her very existence. Overcome with the guilt resulting from
the loss of her beloved family, she alters her appearance from the once
beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl to that of one shrouded in
complete darkness, enveloping herself in her own unbreakable fortress of
solitude as a form of protection for others.
As she enters her first year
of college, her goal is simple: Earn a degree with the least amount of social
interaction as possible. What she never anticipates is the formation of very
unlikely relationships with two people who will change her life in ways she
never believed possible: Quinn Matthews, the boisterous former pageant queen,
and Kaeleb McMadden, a childhood friend from her past who never really let her
go.
Over the years, as their
connections intertwine and grow, a seemingly indestructible bond is formed
between the three…
But when death painfully
reemerges, Aubrey is lost once again, burying herself deeper than ever before
inside the familiar fortification of her fears.
Will the refuge of friendship,
the solidarity of life-long bonds, and the power of unconditional love be
enough to do the impossible?
Will they be enough to finally
bring about…
The Resurrection of Aubrey
Miller?
Excerpt
“Thank you so much, Quinn. This day has
been…unbelievable. And I owe it all to you. You have no idea.” My voice
trembles a bit with the admission, because she really has no
idea what she’s done for me today.
I feel normal.
A normal girl, about to have a normal birthday
celebration with her friends, in a normal (albeit spectacular) dress, with
normal hair and make-up.
The only thing that’s missing is a pair of normal
shoes.
“Shoes! I need shoes!” I
exclaim.
“No, you don’t.” Quinn giggles and reaches for the knob
of my bedroom door.
“What? Why wouldn’t I need shoes?”
That makes no sense.
She’s drunker than I
thought.
That’s it, I’m officially hiding the
champagne.
“You’ll see,” she says just as there’s a knock at the
front door.
She winks. “Trust me. Just, stay in here. Don’t come
out until someone comes to get you.”
After Quinn quietly shuts the door behind her, I remain
seated. As the sounds of Kaeleb’s murmur filters into my room, a nervous
excitement flitters through my belly and spreads into my chest. My joy takes
flight and I breathe in deeply, contentment pumping enthusiastically with each
thrumming heartbeat.
Damn,
it feels good to be alive.
I don’t have to wait for long. After a very loud squeal
from Quinn in the other room, there’s a knock at my door. My pulse kicks up and
I rise from the bed, smoothing out my dress. With a glance in the mirror, I
pluck a couple of sections of my new hair with my fingers and set them back
into place. “Come in,” I remark, turning in the direction of the
door.
The handle turns and as Kaeleb pokes his head around
the corner, his eyes find mine. His eyebrows rise as his mouth falls slightly
open, and he breaks my gaze as his focus shifts to take in my hair, my exposed
neck and the line of my dress. He holds his stare briefly at the crystalline
sash lining my waist, and then slowly drifts down to my smoothly-shaven legs
and perfectly painted toenails. The left side of his mouth quirks up as he
clears his throat, frozen in place. He tears his scrutiny away from my feet to
fully step into the room, then turns away from me to shut the
door.
I take advantage of the 1.5 seconds his back is turned,
and survey him from head to toe. His light-blue button-up is folded to his
elbows, displaying the prominence of the flexed muscles along his forearms. As
he places both palms on the door and leans into them, his shirt rides up enough
for me to see the designs on the back pockets of his dark jeans. They hug his
ass perfectly, and for the first time in my life, I want to slide my hands
right into those pockets just to feel the hardness of his toned
body.
My fingers itch with the need to touch him, but I
maintain control while Kaeleb braces against the door, inhaling and exhaling
deeply. He stays planted there for a few more seconds until I suddenly begin to
feel self-conscious. I run my hands over my hair and dress to make sure
everything is as it should be.
Just as I start to ask him if he’s all right, he whips
around with a full smile on his face. A few long strides later, and he’s
standing right in front of me. Raising both hands, he traces the tips of his
fingers along the sides of my cheeks, leaving a scorching trail as they run down
my neck and thread themselves into the hair at my nape. With his thumbs
underneath my chin, he tilts my head back and looks me directly in the
eyes.
“You look amazing, Sunshine. Truly breathtaking.” His
head dips slightly and he runs his lips tentatively along mine, the movement so
sensual I can’t keep my hands off of him any longer. Fisting his shirt in my
hands, I pull him into me and press my mouth hard against his, the need to
taste him overriding my caution. A whimper rises in my throat and escapes into
his mouth as his tongue slides in between my lips, slowly and deliberately,
taking his time to stroke and caress mine. His hold tightens as his fingers
curl deeper into my hair, the tinge of pain sending shockwaves of pleasure
coursing through my body until they land right in between my legs, the
throbbing sensation growing with each strike.
After another gentle sweep of his tongue, he lessens
the kiss and pulls back slightly. His lips brush against mine before they
slide over to the corner of my mouth, up along my cheek, and then rest them
against my ear as he breathes, “Happy birthday. The dress is
phenomenal.”
☆✮About L.B. Simmons ✮☆
L.B. Simmons is a graduate of Texas
A&M University and holds a degree in Biomedical Science. She has been a
practicing Chemist for the last 11 years. She lives with her husband and three
daughters in Texas and writes every chance she gets.
No comments:
Post a Comment