Finally, he spoke, the words a strained groan. “Fuck, Aly.” Harshly, he shook his head. It seemed in surrender. “I knew I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t belong here. Your dad is right.” He slumped farther forward in a blatant attempt to move away. “Every fucking word of it… he’s right.”
His pain pushed into my spirit, and I wound my arms tighter around him, unwilling to allow him to drive that distance between us. My voice came as a whisper as I begged at his back, “No, he’s not. He doesn’t know you, not the way I do. He’s just surprised.” I blinked into the darkness, trying to make sense of what had just gone down inside. “Shocked,” I added. “There’s a big difference.”
Even though my voice lowered, my tone strengthened. “And even if he really believed what he said, it doesn’t change anything.” I hugged him closer, my cheek pressed flat against his shoulder blade. “Do you remember what I told you the night you came back? I love all of it, Jared. I love all of you. And what I think is what’s important – not what he or anyone else thinks. It’s just you and me. Nothing else matters.”
Hesitation stilled him before he turned around to stand between my legs. His strong hand spread out against my still-flat belly, where our child grew. Blue eyes flamed as they locked on mine. “Just you and me and this.”
Everything softened, the tension, the worry, the shame that had seethed through his veins.
It was Jared’s own promise. An oath.
We wouldn’t let any of this stand in our way.
“Just you and me and this,” I promised back.
His gentle gaze slipped all over my face. A caress. “I love you, Aly Moore. You know that, don’t you?”
I cupped his face. His fire burned my skin, the connection we shared greater than anything that should be possible. My head listed to the side, lost in his desperate expression. “Of course I know that.”
I had known it long before he knew it himself.
In Come to Me Softly, Jared will finally be ready to face his past head-on.
When jealousy and secrets and dishonest intentions threaten Aly and their baby, Jared will be ready to stand up and become the man he has always wanted to be – even if he destroys himself along the way.
In the new book, you’ll see Jared protect what is important to him… .
“What did he say to you?” Rage coiled in the pit of my stomach, bled free as a hiss from my mouth as I stormed the room.
Aly flinched, blinked, twisted her fingers in her hands. She choked over the words. “He didn’t say anything. He was just standing there. Waiting. He knew where I was going, Jared. What does he want?”
It didn’t matter what the fuck he wanted. I wasn’t about to let him have it. No one would touch her. I’d die first.
I invite you to come visit my Web site at www.aljacksonauthor.com to get an early peek at Come to Me Softly.
And look for the whole story when the book is published in the summer of 2014.
Thank you again for investing your time in me and my characters. I hope that you have enjoyed meeting them as much as I have and that you’ll continue to join me as the hearts and lives of Jared and Aly are shaped in Come to Me Softly.
All the best,
A. L. Jackson
Can’t wait for the second in A.L. Jackson’s Closer to You Series, Come to Me Softly?
Read on to discover more fresh voices in New Adult, coming soon from Piatkus…
DEEPER
Caroline & West, Part 1
Robin York
When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear; hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defence and punches her ex to the ground.
West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger – even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.
They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re ‘just friends,’ their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself – and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.
When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.
FALL FROM INDIA PLACE
Samantha Young
The New York Times bestselling author of On Dublin Street, Down London Road and Before Jamaica Lane returns with a story about letting go of the past and learning to trust in the future…
When Hannah Nichols last saw Marco D’Alessandro five long years ago, he broke her heart. The bad boy with a hidden sweet side was the only guy Hannah ever loved – and the only man she’s ever been with. After one intense night of giving in to temptation, Marco took off, leaving Scotland and Hannah behind. Shattered by the consequences of their night together, Hannah has never truly moved on.
Leaving Hannah was the biggest mistake of Marco’s life – something he has deeply regretted for years. So when fate reunites them, he refuses to let her go without a fight. Determined to make her his, Marco pursues Hannah, reminding her of all the reasons they’re meant to be together…
But just when Marco thinks they’re committed to a future together, Hannah makes a discovery that unearths the secret pain she’s been hiding from him – a secret that could tear them apart before they have a real chance to start over again…
Out in paperback and ebook 2014!