Once upon a time, I met Talia Richards at a charity fundraiser, and my world stopped on a dime. When she proposed that I work with her on a project, I leapt at the chance. Months later, I've only seen her twice since that fateful night-twice. I'm dying. The day I cave in and fly out to visit her, I watch as she is unfairly fired by a pair of dimwits-one of whom is quickly acquainted with my fist. I sweep in and offer Talia a contract to work for me, as long as she doesn't mind moving into the townhouse next door... A balcony away, she's driving me crazy in the best way imaginable. She's in my bed, her long dark hair tangled around my limbs as well as my heart. She keeps reminding me she's going home soon. Now I have to convince her that what we have is as rare and wild as she is... Here goes nothin'.
The day you overhear your best friend say she'd like to have sex with you is a damn good day. Cris always takes care of me at work. What's wrong with me taking care of one of her needs? Besides, it'd only be temporary.One breathless encounter later, I learn two things: 1) we are compatible in ways that exceed our working relationship, and 2) she's chosen me to be her first. Most guys might balk at the responsibility. Not me. Put me in, coach.But when it comes time to wrap up our sextra-curricular activities, my heart is doing its first ever free-fall. Now I'm scrambling to convince her she's found her Prince Charming. Spoiler alert: it's me-and that forever isn't a fairy tale.
We're thirteen girls, captive to a man we rarely see. Obedience will become all we know-it is the only emotion we're permitted to feel. When we're bad, we're punished. When we're good, we're rewarded. Our scars run deep, yet we survive because we have to-because HE teaches us too.All of us are special, we feel it with everything we are. He has us for a reason, but it's a reason we don't know. We haven't seen his face, but we know that something deeply broken lies beneath the darkness. With every touch, with every punishment, we know it.Then came the day he saved my life, and I saw him for the first time. He released something inside of me. He showed me who he truly is.Now I want him. I'll go against everything I know to be with him. A monster. My monster.Loving him is a sin, but a sinner I am. I won't stop until I see every part of him. Even the parts he keeps locked deep down inside. I am Number Thirteen, and this is my story.
I never finish a project late. Ever. So, when sassy, stilettoed Vivian Vandemark swaggers in with a roll of red tape to shut down my construction site, you can imagine my reaction. Although, it involves a sledgehammer and perfectly good drywall, so maybe you can't.She doesn't look or act like any government employee I've met and I'm determined to uncover her secrets. When I lean in, I lean in hard. But so does Vivian. Now that we're incinerating the bedsheets, we're in way over our heads.What started out as physical infatuation quickly morphs into more. Vivian is staying at my place and I'm helping bury her father. She's meeting my adoptive family and I'm hiring her fresh-out-of-rehab brother. With our checkered pasts, trust doesn't come easily, but hell if I let that stop me from living happily ever after...
'Every page had me aching for Easton and Violet!' - Kelly Siskind, author of NEW ORLEANS RUSH
Not all people need a second chance at love. Some need a second chance at life.
To Violet Foster, the past ten years have been a continual replay of an ill-fated night in high school. Without warning, she went from Downriver's sweetheart to unintentional adult film star, her most intimate moments shared with the world in ten-second loops. She's lost friends, been forced to change career plans, and had to stop dating because of that one indiscretion. The last thing she wants is to return to the scene of the crime, but with her grandma's health failing, she doesn't have a choice.
Easton Cole is a walking, talking bad-boy cliché in blue mechanic coveralls. He's always known his trailer-park-kid shadow would follow him into adulthood, but building his auto repair shop into a successful business means he has a chance to change that image. People in Downriver have long memories and getting them to forget his past is an uphill battle. The last thing he needs is the trouble Violet could bring. She's a lightning rod for gossip, with a reputation that precedes her. So what if he's been crushing on her practically since puberty?
Violet's only planning on staying a month, even if the good memories of Downriver have started to overpower the bad, and Easton is dead set on making new ones...together. But the internet is forever, so there's no chance of Violet having a future unblemished by her past. And when the stain of her damaged reputation resurfaces, Violet knows it could destroy everything around her...including Easton.
POP THE CLUTCH is a full-length contemporary romance novel from USA Today bestselling author Ellis Leigh writing as Kristin Harte. It's the first book in the Second Gear series featuring stories of blue collar heroes and second chance romances.
