Can they forget the past? At Second Glance by @VickiBallante #book

October 09, 2014

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At Second Glance

Vicki Ballante

Blurb:

Four years after her divorce, Merryn decides she’s ready to find someone. Joining an online singles site, she connects with the perfect guy. Funny, sexy, sensitive. When he suggests they meet, excitement compels her to say yes.

Kirk pines for his ex-wife, but realizes he must move forward. After several stimulating online chats, he believes she might be the one for him. Smart, sexy, willing to experiment and learn. But when he happens across his ex, all his plans fly out the window.

Will Merryn learn to relax and have fun without giving her heart? Can Kirk forget the past and become the man he longs to be?

Please select one excerpt and delete the rest

Excerpt 1 (Semi Erotic – Only for 18+)

Panda: I have no idea what you look like. Are you as prickly as your profile pic?

Her user name was Hedge, short for hedgehog, her favorite animal. She had downloaded a cute pic of a hedgehog from an online free photos website. The little pokey nose and eyes took up the bulk of the picture, but the prickles were still visible.

Hedge: Are you as cuddly as yours?

His panda bear thumbnail showed one patched eye and a nose.

Panda: Will you ever know? Tell me, I’m curious to know what you’ve learned in your research.

Hedge: Not much actually. I read erotic romance novels. I’ve read up about all sorts of things that I was never willing to try before.

Panda: I gather you were in a relationship before?

Hedge: Let’s not go there.

She took in a shaky sigh. She didn’t want to dump all of her hurt onto a complete stranger, even though she would never see him.

Panda: I’ve had several of those.

Hedge: There. You’re a modern guy.

Panda: That’s why I’m trying to be a bit more old-fashioned. Maybe I should research on chivalry. I’m learning that for women it’s not all about the sexual act. There needs to be a build-up, some stroking and loving first.

The room felt hot. She fanned her face with her hands. This guy sounded dreamy, sexy. So far, their chat had been very platonic. Now suddenly, it had changed direction.

Hedge: You are a guy, right?

Panda: You insult me. I know some guys just want to rush things to climax and are only interested in the sex part. I’m different. I want to build a relationship, too.

Hedge: Yeah, but that can get in the way of having some fun.

Panda: You are a woman, right?

She laughed out loud and peered at the door to ensure Dr. Seer didn’t come with another sample. All the romance novels implied women nowadays were crazy about sex. When she’d first starting reading the genre, she’d hated them and deleted a whole lot from her e-reader. Curious again, she’d downloaded a couple more. She got hooked. Maybe they had something she didn’t have and she could learn from them. When Fifty Shades of Grey came out, she’d already read all the stuff. But if she were faced with a real relationship again, would she be like she was with her ex-husband Kirk, stiff and unsure of herself?

Excerpt 2 (Semi-erotic – Only for 18+)

“Where did you meet this guy?”

“Online.”

“That’s not safe.”

“I trust him.” Fire spurted from her gaze.

She’d never trusted him when they’d been married. Never let him take the lead. How come time hadn’t healed the wounds? Instead, they’d festered inside him.

Online relationship? He felt the blood drain from his head.

“What?” Panic rose in her voice. “Are you Panda?”

He considered pretending otherwise. He could make his escape now and forget about the crazy mistake of meeting a strange woman in a restaurant because of an internet connection. Then he wouldn’t remember all those times he’d tried to reach out to her and she’d pushed him away and read her book or gone to sleep. The accusing words when she’d found out he’d been looking at porn. The hatred in her eyes when she’d asked him for a divorce.

“Are you?” She collapsed on the chair opposite him.

“I…I can’t do this.” He rose. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t meet guys you don’t know.”

“It’s a public place.” There was a catch in her voice.

“I don’t remember you being so pale. Blonde doesn’t suit you.”

She wrapped her face in her hands and became as stiff as a corpse. A crack of sympathy passed through him for a moment, but he pushed it away. Yet, she was Hedge. The woman who wanted to experiment. Who hurt from a previous relationship.

He’d called himself a loser.

A laugh came out, sounding out of place, and then he laughed recklessly.

She jerked her head towards him, anger evident in the harshness of her features.

“I called myself a loser.”

“What?”

“It’s ironic, isn’t it? If we’d both gotten over all our baggage from our messed up marriage, maybe we wouldn’t be here, digging up all the past hurt.”

“I didn’t know who you were. I wouldn’t have said those things to you. It’s the first time I’ve told anyone how I feel.” She didn’t look good with her face screwed up.

He glanced at her body. Had that changed? Her breasts pressed tight against the black shirt she wore. He remembered the first moment she’d shown herself to him on their wedding night. Merryn had insisted upon waiting for that special night. Her reserve had made her all the more desirable to him. In the beginning.

What if he could have another chance to touch her body? She was still shaped to perfection. None of the other women he’d had compared to the beauty of Merryn’s body. The shape of her twins, those pink taut nipples, and the peaks contrasted against her narrow waist. The gentle dip from her slight stomach to her intimate area. He sighed.

“You still want to experiment?” He’d always been impulsive, but seriously, had he said that?

Excerpt 3 (Erotic – Only for 18+)

While the warm spray fell on her, he came up behind her, his male form tight against her. She gave a shaky sigh, longing rising within her again. He pressed his erection against her backside cheeks and eased in between them. She liked the sensation of pressure against her butt, teasing her crack. Was she ready to explore this?

“Tell me if you wish for me to stop.”

“Okay.”

He kissed the back of her neck, the roughness of his slight stubble sending shivers down her spine. She arched her neck, and his cock hardened, entering her crack, enticing her. She twisted under his touch, the water making them slick and smooth against each other. Their bodies writhed together, and she spun around for him to put his dick into her. Her wet breasts rubbed his chest. He gave her a tentative kiss, tasting her mouth with his tongue. Fire shot into her belly as their tongues connected, but he didn’t thrust into her yet. As he slicked his torso against her nipples roughly, tingles of pleasure made delirium take over. Every part of her sexuality thrilled.

“Wait.” He stepped out of the shower, dripping wet puddles on a path to the room. He came back with another condom.

Her body was impatient. How could she wait? He came back to her and picked up where he left off, this time bringing his cock towards her. She had to stand on her tiptoes to take him inside her. With the moisture of the shower, he sank in with ease, the angle sending shards of pleasure through her core. He thrust gently at first, then more fervently. She could do nothing but groan as she climaxed, the sound of Kirk’s moans matching hers, his body thrashing against hers.

Exhausted, she soaped herself with her back to him, unable to face Kirk yet. She felt almost embarrassed at the way her wanton behavior took over.

Would he know how long she had wanted this? How she wished she had given them more of a chance? Or how much she still needed him? Could he know she’d dreamed about him at night in her sleep? Upon waking up, she’d regarded those dreams as crazy remnants of a disturbed marriage.

He picked up a facecloth and foamed it with soap. He rubbed it down her back, arms, legs, and derriere, all the while touching her gently with his body. Oh, how good his touch felt. Why couldn’t he have done this before, when she really needed it? The intimacy brought tears to her eyes, clogging her throat.

His reached his soaped hands around and cupped her breasts. She sighed with contentment. She’d needed his touch, his hands upon her in a perfect combination of firmness and gentleness. He showed no impatience or roughness except at their height of passion. Instead giving off all warmth and fire and sweet pleasure.

Was it the wretched wedding ring that had wrung out all the passion? Or had she changed? And he? There were no solid answers. She’d promised herself there wouldn’t be any emotional attachment. She had to leave before she wanted to stay the whole night. Without giving away her sudden panic, she stood under the spray to rinse, stepped out, grabbed a towel, and dried herself. While he soaped himself, she dressed and sat on the couch to wait for him, rubbing her hair with her fingertips to take out the intense moisture. Panic rose in her throat.

“Hi.” He came to the room, his hair glistening, his face relaxed, and a shy grin on his face.

A twinge of nausea ran through her. What had she just done? She’d made love to Kirk, her ex-husband, twice in one night, and had intimate contact in the shower. She’d bared a very personal need and part of her soul to the man she’d grown to hate years ago. He would expect more. His tenderness a few minutes ago had indicated that. She wasn’t ready for more. She’d already given him a part of her heart again. A part he could wring into a hurtful ball.

Author Bio:

Vicki writes erotic and fantasy romance. She loves taking her characters into an alternate world where strange and sexy things happen. She lives with her patient husband and three noisy kids in South Africa. In between being a busy stay-at-home Mom who hates housework and spends half her life cooking everything from scratch, she runs several blogs, writes under another name, and buries herself in the delightful world of her characters. When growing up, her school friends asked her if she wanted to be a nun. She always said “no.” Wonder whether they’d agree if they read her books.