I shouldn’t have remembered him.
He was just a guy who walked through a restaurant. I didn't know his name. We never made eye contact. There was no connection between us at all.
But I could feel him.
The tingle down my spine. The command in his presence. The snap of tension in the air around him. That was the first time I saw him, and I was captivated.
The second time was different.
He was in the mysterious back elevator of my apartment building. Our eyes met for a fleeting second before the doors closed, and I was staggered. My breath was robbed. My senses on high alert. My body hummed.
That was just the beginning.
He was the leader of the mafia. I was about to fall in love with him, and his name…
Cole Mauricio
Excerpt
Once inside the elevator, I stood to one side, watching him. He returned my gaze.
We still did not touch.
My chest tightened, hoping no one would call the elevator at that moment. We sailed past the lobby, the second floor, and stopped at mine. I put in the code, and the doors opened to my home.
I drew in a breath, filling my lungs again. God, it was time.
Stepping out with shaky knees, I bypassed the light switch. The full moon lit up my entire floor. I went to the kitchen and paused at the island. “Did you want something to drink?” I caught sight of the tequila and wine on the counter. There was more than enough.
Cole stepped up behind me and followed my gaze. “Were you going to have a party?” he asked, his breath coating the back of my neck.
I shivered, closing my eyes for one delicious moment. “I stocked up. I thought a friend was coming over tonight.”
His hand rested on my back, nudging my sweater aside to touch my skin. “He?”
“She. Sia.” I looked over my shoulder. He was so close. “She stood me up for a date.”
A faint smile showed. “I need to send her a thank-you card.”
“Please don’t sign it.”
“Why not?”
I turned around, easing my back against the island. Cole placed his hands on either side of me, trapping me in place.
“Because she’s slightly obsessed with you, though she’s in love with someone else now. She could circle back,” I joked.
“Me?”
“We saw you one night.”
“When?” He leaned away, but his hands remained on the counter. It was like he was giving me breathing space on purpose.
“At Gianni’s. We went there the night I moved in.”
He didn’t move, but I could feel him pulling away. A protest started in my head, but I bit back the words. He didn’t reply. He was waiting for me instead.
I continued, “You came in with a bunch of men and went upstairs. That was it.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you talk to anyone?”
“What do you mean?”
“The staff?”
“About you?”
“About anything.”
My forehead wrinkled. “Sia networked with the hostess. They exchanged cards. Sia said the girl was a model. She recognized her from the Gala. That was it. Oh, well, another server sat with us for a drink later on. But they mostly talked with Sia about the Gala and about photographers—stuff like that.”
He relaxed, his hands loosening their hold on the counter. I was scared to ask what he was so worried they’d told us.
“I don’t know who you are.” I lifted a hand, placing it on his chest. His heart was racing, just like mine. My mouth parted in surprise. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”
He glanced down at my hand and held still. He was thinking something over. I held my tongue, worried it was me, that he was second-guessing this night for us. I wanted to tell him there was nothing to worry about, but it sounded ridiculous. I really had no idea. So I waited it out, my heart pressing against my rib cage.
When he looked back up, the hunger was in his eyes again—dark, primal, and more evident than ever. He took my hand and leaned in, closing the distance between us. With his other hand, he cupped the side of my face. “I wasn’t second-guessing this. I want you to know that.” His touch was tender.
“What were you thinking about?”
“Something else, but it wasn’t you.”
“This is one of those moments where you wish you could tell me, but you can’t? Not yet?”
The corner of his mouth lifted. His eyes moved from mine to my lips. “Something like that, yes.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” I started to tease, but then his head dipped down, and his lips were on mine.
I gasped. The pleasure was immediate. His mouth was gentle, but as he felt my body’s reaction, he applied pressure. His touch grew more demanding, then I was kissing him back. I wanted more. Someone groaned. That was me.
His hand slid around to the back of my neck. He held me in his grip as his mouth explored mine, opening over me and slipping inside. My hands grasped his shoulders, just holding on. All I could focus on was his tongue. I met his with mine and reveled in the sensation. But it wasn’t enough. Need shot through my whole body.
My hands slid under his shirt and moved over his back and shoulders. His body was just as powerful as his presence. I felt the shift of his muscles. They trembled under my hands. The feeling was intoxicating. I had power over him, and I wanted more. I wanted to see how much power I actually had.
Pulling back, I studied him.
He was panting lightly. So was I.
I could see him wondering what I was going to do, so I reached back to the counter and started to lift myself. His hands caught the backs of my thighs, and he lifted me the rest of the way. Now sitting on the edge of the island, my legs parted, and he was back between them. His mouth went right to mine.
I couldn’t get over what I was doing. I didn’t care.
I didn’t think I would care the next day, the day after, or however long this lasted. I had no clue. I only knew I had one night. One long night.
What I thought about Cole
Addison has just moved into a new apartment when she sees a man who
makes her feel something for the first time since her husband died. She
doesn't know who he is yet, but she's mesmerized by the man she sees in
the restaurant. She mistakenly thinks she isn't going to see him again,
but when she runs into him again at her new apartment building, she
can't let the connection she feels with him pass her by.
Cole
Mauricio is secretive but that doesn't stop Addison and Cole from
spending time together. There's an instant connection between them which
turns to lust and then something more. Unfortunately, there's the
whole mafia thing going on around Cole and there are some twists and
turns toward the end that made me go .. WOW, wasn't expecting THAT!
Cole
is paced perfectly and held my interest until the final pages. I
devoured this title because I had to know what was going to happen to
this couple. The story is told primarily through Addison's eyes, but
there are a few chapters where the reader gets Cole's point of view,
which I really appreciated. There were a few aspects of the story that I
found hard to believe, but there's such great chemistry between Cole
and Addison that I was willing to let that go and just enjoy the love
story.
The secondary characters of Sia, Addison's best friend and
Jake, Addison's new neighbor were great additions to the story,
although there was a few times I wanted to smack Sia for being a bit
annoying, but it was all good.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Cole.
The romance was just right -- the characters fit each other, they had
sexy times that weren't overly explicit which helped to enhance the
feelings between the characters and the drama at the end had my eyes
leaking a little and my fingers turning the pages as fast as I could
read it. I'm rating this 4.5 stars for that reason.
Cole worked
very well as a standalone, and I have to say that I'm definitely
interested in reading the Carter Reed series when I can fit it into my
schedule as he is a secondary character in this.
ARC provided for review.
Author Information
I
didn't begin writing until after undergraduate college. There'd been storylines
and characters in my head all my life, but it came to a boiling point one day
and I HAD to get them out of me. So the computer was booted up and I FINALLY
felt it click. Writing is what I needed to do. After that, I had to teach
myself how to write. I can't blame my teachers for not teaching me all those
years in school. It was my fault. I was one of the students that was wishing I
was anywhere but at school! So after that day, it took me lots of work until I
was able to put together something that resembled a novel. I'm hoping I got it
right since someone must be reading this profile! And I hope you keep enjoying
my future stories.
