Welcome to my stop on author Nana Malone’s Virtual Book Tour for London Bound, presented by Reading Addiction Book Tours. Please leave a comment or question for Nana
to let her know you stopped by. You can
enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below. You can also follow the rest of Nana’s tour here,
the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning. My review will post by Monday.
London Bound
By Nana Malone
Chase Brother’s Book
1
Publisher:
Nana Malone
Release
Date: March 24, 2014
Genre: Interracial Romance
Genre: Interracial Romance
Length:
458 Pages
ISBN:
9781496142931
ASIN:
B00JBNBQ5A
About the book:
It wasn’t exactly like spunky, photography student, Abbie
Nartey ran away from her life…except, that she left under the cover of darkness
and put three thousand miles between her and her ex-boyfriend’s betrayal. She
went to London searching for her dream. She never expected to find love,
or herself.
Heir to his family’s tech fortune, sexy, Alexi Chase, is
looking for freedom—from his family and from his past. What
he’s not looking for is love. With secrets like his, he can’t afford to let
anyone get too close. But a chance rescue has him wondering if the price of
keeping secrets is too high.
Will Alexi risk losing love to keep his past hidden? Will
Abbie trust herself enough to love again? Or will their pasts keep then from
accepting true love?
As
they hit the center of the dance floor closest to the DJ booth, Abbie closed
her eyes and let the music take over her limbs. Jasper mixed some unfamiliar
drum and base beats along with some mild electronica and infused them into
dancehall, rock, and popular rap songs.
The
only problem was, three women dancing together tended to attract
attention…unwanted attention.
It
wasn’t long before guys started to join them, dancing in the periphery, then
eventually sidling up close. Tamsin and Sophie welcomed the attention. Abbie
tried to focus on the music and ignore them. The first guy to slide up behind
her had her body stiffening. Immediately, she stepped forward, spun around, and
ended up on the other side of their little circle.
The
next guy tried a frontal approach. Luckily, she could see him coming and waved
him off. Maybe it was time to find Max and the other guys and sit down.
She
waved at Jasper, and he frowned but nodded his acknowledgement. Sophie and
Tamsin were too occupied to notice she’d slunk off the dance floor. On the
edges where it was darkest, she paused and searched for where the guys had gone.
“I
figured I’d try something different and ask you to dance.”
Abbie
whirled around and let out a small squeak of alarm. The muscles in her lower
belly quivered, and her breath caught. Her savior from earlier stood in front
of her, looking like a cross between an angel of mercy and the devil incarnate.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” she mumbled.
A
smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Well, there’s no rain at the moment,
so we should be safe. I trust we were able to save your camera?”
Heat
flooded her cheeks. “Yes. Thank you. Honestly that could have been ugly today.
I’m indebted.”
“How
about a dance, and we’ll call it even?”
A
dance? With him? Pressed up against… “I uh…”
“Now,
I’m not as good as you are, so you’ll need to take it easy on me.” He
outstretched his hand and waited for her to take it. He didn’t press or push,
just stood there…waiting.
Jasper
didn’t help her when he switched the track to a dancehall reggae song with a
grooving beat.
Butterflies
fluttered low in her belly. When was the last time she’d had butterflies? Unfortunately
with those butterflies also came fear. The fact was she didn’t know this guy. But,
if he’d wanted to hurt you, he could have already.
It’s
just a dance. She glanced down at his hand and placed her palm in his.
Determined not to be nervous, she smiled up at him. “Hardly seems fair. You
save my life and all you get is this dance.”
He
drew her close, but not too close, keeping his hands at her waist. He waited
patiently until she looped her arms around his neck. “It’s well worth it to
me.” The low rumble in his chest as he spoke sent shivers coursing through her
body.
As
it turned out, he didn’t need any help dancing. He moved them easily in time to
the seductive beat. Abbie didn’t dare look around because she knew what she’d
find—couples pressed so close that they might as well be naked and in bed.
Dirty dancing was a requisite of dancehall music, but her partner kept a
marginally safe distance between them, figuratively if not literally, because
with every down swing of the base, their hips rocked into each other.
She
swallowed hard, but then forced her gaze up to meet his. As soon as their gazes
met, her heart rate kicked. His slate gray eyes framed by dark lashes, stayed
on hers. Nervously, she licked her lips. He stilled for just a second, causing
her to lose her footing and bringing her flush against his body.
She
froze, muscles tight. Touching wasn’t something she was used to or allowed
easily. But with him, she didn’t want to be anywhere else. He smelled of mint
and something crisp and woodsy, like he’d spent the afternoon outside on the
water. She released her strangled breath and let her body relax into his. She
felt, rather than heard, the low rumble in his throat as his chest vibrated
against hers. His warmth enveloped her, and she could tune out everything but
him. As if it were only the two of them on the edges of the dance floor.
There,
in the dark, in the arms of a relative stranger, she felt safe.
His
hands shifted on her waist so his thumbs traced her hipbones, and Abbie forgot
to breathe. Wobbly knees forced her to tighten her hold on him. As if
responding to her body’s automatic softening, her eyes dipped to his lips.
What
the hell am I doing? Her brain tried desperately to take control of the
situation. But she didn’t fell like listening. For the first time in longer
than she cared to think about, she liked having someone’s hands on her. She
wasn’t afraid. Instead, she craved it, that connection. Her body hummed with
vibrant sexual energy. An energy she hadn’t felt in six long years. There were
nerves, but not from fear or trepidation. It felt good. Better than good. It
made her remember how much she needed to be touched. Or rather touched by
someone who could make her feel safe.
But
just as the last of the tension ebbed out of her body, his thumbs pressed
gently against her hipbones, moving her back several inches. He raised his
head, and they stood like that for several seconds before Abbie realized Jasper
had switched the music. Oh, God. She’d been standing here with a total
stranger, practically melting into him.
Heat
rushed to her face. “I—”
He
smiled, and she was too blinded to finish. Gently his thumbs traced across her
hipbones once more, and he let her go. “Thank you for the dance.” Then he
turned around and walked away.
Nana Malone
USA Today Best Seller and iTunes Breakout Books author,
Nana Malone's love of all things romance and adventure started with a tattered
romantic suspense she borrowed from her cousin.
It was a sultry summer afternoon in Ghana, and Nana
was a precocious thirteen. She's been in love with kick butt heroines ever
since. With her overactive imagination, and channeling her inner Buffy, it was
only a matter a time before she started creating her own characters.
While she waits for her chance at a job as a ninja
assassin, in the meantime Nana works out her drama, passion and sass with
fictional characters every bit as sassy and kick butt as she thinks she is.
Website: www.nanamalone.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nanamalonewriter
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nanamalone
The excerpt made me want to read on.
ReplyDelete