ABOUT ABOUT THAT KISS (a standalone Heartbreaker Bay novel)
When love drives you crazy . . .
When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.
the best thing to do . . .
No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.
… is enjoy the ride.
As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.
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Excerpt
Joe studied
her. “I asked you once before, but now I’m going to ask you again. Is there
something going on between you
two?”
She tossed up her hands. “Why do you both keep asking me that about each other?”
His eyes narrowed. “I thought nothing was going on.”
“And before today, I could’ve passed a lie detector test on that,” she said.
She tossed up her hands. “Why do you both keep asking me that about each other?”
His eyes narrowed. “I thought nothing was going on.”
“And before today, I could’ve passed a lie detector test on that,” she said.
“What happened
today?”
She paused. Not because she had anything to be ashamed of, but because she wasn’t quite sure what had happened.
“Kylie.”
She sighed. “It’s nothing.”
“Try again,” Joe said and gave her the very male universal go on gesture.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He . . . finally made a move on me.”
Joe didn’t budge. Not a blink, not a muscle twitch, nothing, but she could’ve popped corn off the electric tension coming off him.
“Describe ‘made a move,’ ” he finally said.
She crossed her arms. “And again, how is this relevant to my case?”
He just gave her that careful stare again and she thought wow, those eyes of his should be registered as a lethal weapon, because she found herself opening her mouth and spilling her guts. “He kissed me.”
“He kissed you.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Do you know that you often repeat what I say?”
“What kind of a kiss?” he asked.
She was momentarily bewildered. “I don’t know. It was a kiss. A normal kiss. A nice kiss.” She cocked her head at him. “How many kinds of kisses are there?”
He just looked at her for a long moment before coming toward her. He backed her to the wall and pressed his big hands on either side of her head.
“There are many kinds of kisses,” he said.
Her breath had backed up in her throat, where her heart had lodged, pounding wildly. “S-s-such as?”
“Such as this one.” And then he leaned in and covered her mouth with his.
At the touch of Joe’s mouth, Kylie’s brain stopped being capable of rational thought. His tongue gave a knee-weakening stroke against hers and she let out a shockingly needy moan as she clutched at him, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt at his chest. Only when he’d thoroughly plundered and pillaged and left her boneless did he lift his head and look into her eyes.
“Wow,” she whispered, fully aware she was still holding on to him like he was a lifeline, but the bones in her legs had liquefied. “I mean . . .” She shook her head. “Wow.”
He nodded. “Yeah. So to be clear, that wasn’t ‘a normal kiss’ or even ‘a nice kiss.’ It was a ‘wow’ kiss. Any questions?”
“Just one,” she said softly. “Can I have another?”
Joe didn’t have to be asked twice. His mouth immediately descended again, his fingers sliding into her hair to change the angle of the kiss to suit him. It was a controlled, alpha thing to do, but she had only one thought—nothing about the usually carefully, purposely leashed Joe was in control at the moment.
And she liked it.
She had no idea how long they went at it because she was in absolute heaven. Who knew that the man could use his preferred silent mode to communicate in a way that she finally approved of?
Only when she was completely breathless and about to strip him down to his birthday suit did she manage to pull back.
“Any more questions?” he asked, also a little bit breathless, which was more than slightly gratifying. Dumbly, she shook her head. His eyes softened and he gently he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. “And FYI? Gib’s an idiot.”
She paused. Not because she had anything to be ashamed of, but because she wasn’t quite sure what had happened.
“Kylie.”
She sighed. “It’s nothing.”
“Try again,” Joe said and gave her the very male universal go on gesture.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He . . . finally made a move on me.”
Joe didn’t budge. Not a blink, not a muscle twitch, nothing, but she could’ve popped corn off the electric tension coming off him.
“Describe ‘made a move,’ ” he finally said.
She crossed her arms. “And again, how is this relevant to my case?”
He just gave her that careful stare again and she thought wow, those eyes of his should be registered as a lethal weapon, because she found herself opening her mouth and spilling her guts. “He kissed me.”
“He kissed you.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Do you know that you often repeat what I say?”
“What kind of a kiss?” he asked.
She was momentarily bewildered. “I don’t know. It was a kiss. A normal kiss. A nice kiss.” She cocked her head at him. “How many kinds of kisses are there?”
He just looked at her for a long moment before coming toward her. He backed her to the wall and pressed his big hands on either side of her head.
“There are many kinds of kisses,” he said.
Her breath had backed up in her throat, where her heart had lodged, pounding wildly. “S-s-such as?”
“Such as this one.” And then he leaned in and covered her mouth with his.
At the touch of Joe’s mouth, Kylie’s brain stopped being capable of rational thought. His tongue gave a knee-weakening stroke against hers and she let out a shockingly needy moan as she clutched at him, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt at his chest. Only when he’d thoroughly plundered and pillaged and left her boneless did he lift his head and look into her eyes.
“Wow,” she whispered, fully aware she was still holding on to him like he was a lifeline, but the bones in her legs had liquefied. “I mean . . .” She shook her head. “Wow.”
He nodded. “Yeah. So to be clear, that wasn’t ‘a normal kiss’ or even ‘a nice kiss.’ It was a ‘wow’ kiss. Any questions?”
“Just one,” she said softly. “Can I have another?”
Joe didn’t have to be asked twice. His mouth immediately descended again, his fingers sliding into her hair to change the angle of the kiss to suit him. It was a controlled, alpha thing to do, but she had only one thought—nothing about the usually carefully, purposely leashed Joe was in control at the moment.
And she liked it.
She had no idea how long they went at it because she was in absolute heaven. Who knew that the man could use his preferred silent mode to communicate in a way that she finally approved of?
Only when she was completely breathless and about to strip him down to his birthday suit did she manage to pull back.
“Any more questions?” he asked, also a little bit breathless, which was more than slightly gratifying. Dumbly, she shook her head. His eyes softened and he gently he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. “And FYI? Gib’s an idiot.”
What I thought about About that Kiss
After Kylie and Joe share a hot kiss one night, things between them are a bit awkward. When he comes to her woodworker shop to purchase a birthday present for his sister, Joe ends up making a deal with Kylie to help her find a lost family heirloom in exchange for the gift. This puts Joe and Kylie in close proximity and their passion (and friendship) builds to inferno size. Joe is absolutely yummy, and I loved Kylie's "I can do it myself" attitude. They are perfect for each other!
Only problem is that Joe's a "no relationship" kind of guy because of past situations that have left deep scars on his heart. But Kylie sees and feels something else in him -- it's just that Joe is too afraid to admit what he's really feeling.
I loved this story. Joe and Kylie are so good together, and it's an interesting journey for Joe to realize what everyone else sees in how he feels about Kylie. It made for a super romantic story, and the missing heirloom story was a tight little mystery that kept things moving along at a great pace. I was at "the end" before I knew it as I devoured this book in a day.
About that Kiss is a fantastic standalone addition to the series. I definitely recommend it. About that Kiss might be my favorite in the series...so far!
An ARC was provided for review.
An ARC was provided for review.
ABOUT JILL SHALVIS
New York Times bestselling
author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky
characters. Any resemblance
to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look
for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold
and visit her website,
www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-
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