Once
Loved
Shattered
Past # 2
By: Cecy Robson
Releasing Jan 20th, 2015
Loveswept: Flirt
He’s the campus golden boy. She’s
picking up the pieces of her broken past. But in Cecy Robson’s scorching novel
of second chances—perfect for readers of Monica Murphy and J. Lynn—their
differences only make their connection more explosive.
Every memory
Lety Tres Santos has from her childhood comes with a scar—some emotional, some
physical. Her father is an abusive drug addict, and her mother enables his
destructive behavior. College offers Lety a fresh start . . . until her father
finds a way to ruin that, too. Now, after losing her scholarship to kick off
junior year, Lety must somehow stay in school, pay tuition, and turn a deaf ear
to the whispers that follow her. And she intends to do it all without Brody
Quaid’s help.
Brody is a
lacrosse star, a 4.0 student—and as a freshman, he fell hard for the beautiful
and spirited Lety. But their relationship crashed and burned because he
couldn’t break through the walls she’s put up around her heart. With Lety
hurting more than ever, Brody strives to win her back and make her believe in
real love and true partnership. That will mean opening up secrets locked away
in his own past—and trusting someone more than he’s ever dared.
Lety knows
how painful it can be to depend on the wrong man. She also knows how much Brody
wants to do this the right way. But it takes more than sizzling desire to move
on and build a future together.
“Do you think it was easy for me to let you go? You
weren’t the only one crushed. I cried every day for a month when we broke up.”
“Then why did you do it? And why are you doing this
now?”
My vision blurred as I thought about that horrible day
when I severed our relationship. Carlos had busted my nose and given me a
concussion after arriving coked up at a family party. Brody had watched the
blood pouring out of me, unable to break free from the men holding him back. I
would have given anything to spare him from that part of my life. Instead he’d
seen it all. “I’ll never be good enough for you, and you know it.”
“You’re wrong.” He drew me to him. His lips pushed
against me until mine parted and allowed him in. I shouldn’t have. I knew I
shouldn’t have, but my resolve crumbled and I gave in, linking my arms around
his neck.
His strong arms wrapped around my waist and he
deepened our kiss. His tongue flicked over mine, circling and taunting me to
play. My spine arched as he pulled me tighter against his body. He hadn’t
kissed me since the day I walked away, and now I didn’t want him to stop.
I moaned softly, returning his show of affection with
equal force and enthusiasm. God, I’d missed that mouth. Our kiss intensified,
turning into more. We took our time, as if nothing else mattered. When we
finally parted, we were both panting.
“We shouldn’t have done that,” I told him.
He smirked. “Yeah, we should’ve. Truth is, I don’t
know why we stopped.”
I edged away when he tried to kiss me again, wishing
life were that easy.
Brody cupped my chin, tilting it gently so I’d meet
his face. “Letz, come on. We’re better off together than apart.”
I lowered my lashes. “You can’t mean that.”
“Yeah, I do. I spent all last year trying like hell to
get over you.”
My hands splayed across the bulky muscles of his broad
chest. This time it was my turn to smirk. “Oh, yeah. I saw all the girls
offering to help you out with your dilemma.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Just like I saw you
and Justin Kalabrowski making out at the No-Pants dance.”
“I wasn’t making out with him.”
“Yeah, you were. You were in the hall near the
bathroom and it took everything I had not to pound the shit out of him.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I would think Karen Enderson,
your date for the evening, would have had a problem with that. Or was it Linda
Marrington? Or Jessica Gustfenson? Or Cindy Vincent? Hmmm, maybe I’m confusing
them with Lissette Miller.” I tapped my fingers against him. “Did I miss
anyone?”
He grinned. “Wendy Jenner.”
My teeth clenched. “Oh, yes, good ol’ Wendy. The girl
who yodels during sex. How could I forget?”
“I hear it’s not really a yodel, more like an excited
vibrato.” He laughed when I did, but then his expression grew somber. “For the
record, none of them meant anything. Just girls I went out with a few times.”
I smiled softly. “And for the record, I didn’t kiss
Justin. He kissed me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Lety, I saw you. The guy was on
you like a piece of duct tape.”
“If you saw that, did you see me knee him in the nuts
when I told him to stop and he wouldn’t?”
Anger tightened his muscles and deepened his voice.
“No. I didn’t.”
“Well, that’s what happened.”
“I always hated that kid. Remind me to beat his ass
next time I see him.” My head fell against his chest when he pulled me closer.
I listened to the steady beat of his strong heart, feeling a sense of peace I
hadn’t felt in forever.
“It didn’t work, you know,” he said after a long
moment.
“What didn’t work?”
“Dating all those girls. I never got over you.”
CECY ROBSON
is the New Adult and Contemporary author of the Shattered Past series, and the
award winning author of the Weird Girls Urban Fantasy Romance series. A
self-proclaimed professional napper, Cecy counts among her talents a
jaw-dropping knowledge of useless trivia, the ability to make her hair big, and
a knack for breaking into song, despite her family’s vehement protests. A
full-time writer, registered nurse, wife, and mother living in the South, Cecy
enjoys spending time with her family and silencing the yappy characters in her
head by telling their stories.
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