Ella awakes alone in Italy, no longer sure of who she is. One thing is certain: A gorgeous man has claimed her as his own. He’s tall, dark and sexy, the kind of rich, powerful man who makes a girl long to be possessed. And possess her he does, whispering wicked promises in her ear, indulging her deepest desires, stealing her trust — and her cautious heart. Soon, though, she discovers that nothing is as it seems. The truth will shatter her world, but it will also set her free… if it doesn’t destroy her first.
Read the excerpt from Denial by Lisa Renee Jones:
I glance down at my hands where they rest on the bedcover, and at least they are familiar. They are me—but this bed is not, and neither is my letting these men use me as the rope in a game of tug-of-war. It is a relief to know this about myself. To know I am strong, and a person of action, not inaction. A person who gets up and looks in that mirror. Yes. I have to face myself, and maybe, just maybe, if I see me, I’ll fully know me, and Kayden’s motives, innocent or not, will be revealed along with my past.
The idea spurs me into action, and I throw off the blanket and lower the railing. Shoving the skimpy gown down my legs the best I can, I rotate to let my feet dangle off the edge of the bed, grimacing at the buzz in my head, a weakness that forces me to pause to let it pass. The instant it eases, I scoot farther to the edge of the mattress, trying to make the step to the floor as small as possible.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Jolting at the sound of Kayden’s voice, I stretch my legs down to the ground to make my escape, only to have my head spin and my body sway. Gasping, I start to tumble forward, saved as Kayden catches me, dragging me forward, my body landing flat against his larger, harder one.
More: Read the exclusive extended excerpt from Denial
“What are you doing?” I demand, feeling the thunder of his heart beneath my palm where it now rests on the solid wall of his chest. Or maybe it’s my heart pounding so hard that it feels like his.
“Keeping you from ending up inside another MRI machine. What were you thinking?”
“That I need to go to the bathroom,” I say, his touch humming through my body just as the detective’s warnings hum in my mind. “I’m fine now.” I try to twist away from him but he holds on to me, and I shove against him. “You can let go of me, Kayden.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he promises, his voice low, as seductive as everything else about this man is, and when I look at him, that wolf is back in his eyes as he adds, “In case I didn’t make that point already.”
“You have, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.” I try to push away again, yelping as he scoops me up and starts walking.
“I can walk,” I insist, appalled that my bare backside is hanging out of the gown, and pressed to his forearms. “Put me down, Kayden. Put me down.”
He complies in front of the bathroom door, and when I would escape, his arms cage me as he opens the door. I try to turn, but his hands come down on my shoulders, and he begins walking me inside the bathroom. The instant the mirror looms in front of me, adrenaline surges through me, giving me the extra fierceness I need to twist around to face him, only to cause a collision of our bodies.
Stunned, I freeze, my hands on his chest, my legs intimately aligned with his, and when our eyes meet, the look in his is unbridled passion, as possessive as it is hot. I’m scorched in every place he touches, and every place I suddenly want him to touch.
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Author Bio: Lisa Renee Jones is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than forty books across many romance genres — contemporary, romantic suspense, dark paranormal and erotic fiction. Her books have been translated all around the world, and her highly acclaimed Inside Out series is now in development for cable television. She loves to hear from readers.
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