SYNOPSIS:
When trust is
challenged and desire takes control, is love enough to
conquer
fear?
When
geeky book nerd Autumn Blakewood falls for the cocky,
confident fighter Hunter
Bane she knows she’s in for life. Their undeniable
connection, fueled by the
desire to protect, grows stronger every passing second.
However, the need to
feel cherished threatens her college graduation, family
bonds, and future,
tearing her apart, but she won’t give up on Hunter so easily
…
After
he was abandoned by his family, Hunter Bane struggles to
cope with daily life.
Having a learning disability turns every task into a
challenge. With his
brother now free, Hunter feels the pressure to succeed and
take care of the
people he loves, forcing him to choose between college and a
job. Hunter’s
devotion to Autumn keeps him on the right path. His
infatuation with her turns
lust into passion, drawing out his alpha tendencies. But
with affection comes
admission, putting a strain on their relationship as secrets
are exposed and
unforeseen circumstances spiral out of
control.
Being
complete opposites, their love is flaming hot, but it burns
away all
inhibitions, unveiling the fears that were locked deep
inside. As past and
present collide, difficult choices must be made. Can Autumn
and Hunter’s love
survive this ultimate
test?
EXCERPT:
(This excerpt is
unedited)
6 years
ago
I’m walking home from school, wandering across the streets as I stare at the
beautiful houses. Peeking into their living rooms, I can clearly see the
candle flames dancing, flickering through the window like a warm, inviting light.
People walking in the rooms are oblivious of me, which gives me all the more
reason to keep looking. Their happy faces make me smile, if only for a
second. Catching a glimpse of a normal life lets me escape from
reality.
Envy unfurls in my stomach, and a bad taste enters my mouth as I spit on the ground and
walk further. Up to the next house. Up to the next short moment of
carelessness.
Reaching my house is the last thing I want, but I know it’ll happen eventually.
I’ll have to go home. I always have to. There’s nowhere else I can go, and
my brother needs me. Not as much as I need him, though. I probably wouldn’t even
be alive without him.
No one at my age should be going through this. No one should be picking up
their mom from the grass every morning. No kid should have to drag his mom to
bed. No kid should have to raise
himself.
My home is a broken one. When I spot it, a heavy feeling overcomes me. Each step
I take leads to another day in
hell.
The garden is littered with used needles, empty bottles of liquor, and old condoms.
Me and my brother never have time to clean it all up. We’re too busy trying to
keep the house clean enough to live
in.
As I enter the house a familiar, but disgusting stench causes me to cough. All the
windows are closed, smoke wafts through the air, bottles are scattered on the
table, and an empty bag of white powder is in my mother’s hand as she hangs like
a wet rag in her seat. Ash grey hair sticks to her face, masking her eyes.
Her head is on the table, and she’s snoring loudly. The only thing keeping her
in place is her bony ass stuck to that chair she only leaves to get some
more. More of whatever she needs to satisfy her
addictions.
“Hey, bro,” Jessie says. He’s unwinding the vacuum plug, turning it on at the
same time.
“Hey …” I say.
“Sorry, thought I’d have it cleaned up by now, but it was too much of a
mess.”
“Don’t apologize,” I say. “It’s not your
fault.”
He smiles briefly. “I know. I just don’t want you to see
it.”
A moment of silence passes between us, the air thick with unspoken words. I owe
my brother so much. He’s the only one taking care of both of us right now. I
wonder how long we’ll last if she keeps this
up.
I start unpacking my things, shoving my mother aside from the table so I have
enough room to check what I need to do. My notebook is filled to the brim with
short texts of things I need to remember. My memory always fails me, especially
when it comes to short term things like homework or names. It’s been like
this for as long as I can remember. My brother thinks it’s because of my mother.
We don’t know her any other way than she is now. Drunk. Addicted. Full on
drugs.
Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. Sometimes I really hate her, but she’s
my mother too. I owe her for keeping us alive, for trying to do her best to
give us a home.
Somewhere along the way she failed. I can’t
not resent her for that. At times I wonder if she ever intended
on having us or if we were accidents she
regrets.
It doesn’t change anything about our situation. It doesn’t change anything
about the fact that it’s her fault I have a learning disability and my brother
has ADD.
One of the notes slips from my book, and it lands on her arm. The paper immediately
stains with blood. Sighing, I pick up the piece of paper and notice the
puncture marks on her skin. She looks more like an orange than a human sometimes,
that’s how many holes she shot into herself. So many it doesn’t stop
bleeding. Still, it doesn’t make her
quit.
Suddenly, she grabs my hand, and I’m startled by her movement. I jolt up and pull my
hand back as her head shoots up from the table. Her eyes are bloodshot,
staring back at me with a crazy look like she doesn’t know who I am. It takes her a
few seconds to register that it’s me, and then a smile slowly creeps onto
her face, exposing her black, broken teeth and smelly
breath.
“Hunter …” she mumbles.
Her hand drops off the table, the bag of powder tumbling to the floor. The sound
immediately catches her attention, as if it’s food for a starving woman. Bending
to pick it up, her fingers tremble as she reaches for the
bag.
“Shit. It’s empty again.”
“You used too much again,” I
add.
“No, no, no, this can’t happen,” she mumbles, clearly still under the influence.
“Mom. Calm down. You can go without it for a few hours. You won’t
die.”
“No, I can’t!” she gets up from her seat, barely able to stand as her legs are
two thin sticks ready to
snap.
“I’m
going to get more,” she stammers, grabbing me by the
coat.
“Let go of me,” I
say.
“You can’t stay here alone with your
brother.”
“Why not?”
“Because …” she sniffs. “I need you. I can’t do this without you.” She wipes
away the tears filling her eyes. She, most of us all, is unable to face the
monster she’s become.
“No, mom. I’m not coming with you. I’m not going to be your busboy again. Not
anymore.”
“What? You don’t mean that. You know I need you. Please don’t let me go through
this alone.” She tightens her grip on my arm, dragging me to the door.
Resisting is what I should be doing, but I don’t want to hurt her. She’s been
hurt enough in her life.
“Stop,” Jessie shouts. He stops vacuuming, turning it off. His fists are balled,
his nostrils flaring, and his stance is aggressive, as if he’s about to attack my
mother. I know he would if it was
necessary.
“Let. Him. Go.” His teeth barely separate as he speaks the words. His furrowed brows
even scare me.
Her fingers untangle themselves from my arm, and I shake myself loose from her
grip. I turn away from her, slanting to the side because I’m scared she might
grab me again and make a run for it. My brother is and always will be the only
thing keeping her from ruining not only herself but me,
too.
“Fine, but I’m going,” she says, and after making a horrible face she walks out the
door. The slam that follows force the tears to spring from my
eyes.
PLAYLISTS:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Clarissa Wild is the Amazon Bestselling Romance author of FIERCE, a top 200 and top 15 New Adult Romance novel. She is
also a writer of erotic romance such as the Blissful Series, The
Billionaire's Bet series, the Doing It Series and the Enflamed Series. She is an avid
reader and writer of sexy stories about hot men and feisty women. Her other loves
include her furry cat friend and learning about different cultures. In her
free time she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, reading tons of books and
cooking her favorite
meals.
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