Snippet Saturday – Last Loves
Oct
9
2010

Last week was First Loves and today is Last Loves – I’m deciding to interpret this as the person you get your HEA with. So I’m putting up an excerpt from next month’s INSIDE OUT…

INSIDE OUT by LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2010, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, The Berkley Publishing Group
Releasing November 2

It had been a while since she’d felt so much hope. She turned and caught him watching her. “I like the way you move, Ella Tipton. Just so you know.” Ella had no idea what to do with the things he said to her sometimes. He seemed so casually sure of himself. But she liked it most of the time.

He grinned at how flustered she was. “Apple then.”

She gave him a big slice. Having seen him eat, she knew he had a big appetite, and of course her mind wandered to how that translated to sex with him.

Sex had always been something she wished she was better at. Bill had been good at first. Kind. Saw to her needs in all sorts of ways, but he’d started to say things about how she was too eager for it, or too carnal, and how she was in danger of whorish ways. So she’d shut down. There’d been no girl on top. No oral. Missionary with the lights off. She’d kept totally silent because once when she made a sound, he’d told her she was wanton.

Now she had let the total opposite into her life and her bed, a man who seemed to love it when she was wanton. At times she struggled with what the heck to do with all the hormones running riot in her system all because of one Andrew Copeland who currently stared at her like he planned to do naughty things to her.

Which, she thought, wasn’t a bad way to end her day. At all.

First things first, though. She put the plate down in front of him and joined him with her own slice of pumpkin. “Coffee will be done shortly. Do you want to talk about your dad and Ben? Is that why you’re upset?”

“I do, but I can’t, not right now. God, I wish I could.” He sighed. “It has nothing to do with you, though, please understand.” He looked so miserable she wanted to kiss his forehead. Instead, she leaned for-ward and took his hand.

“I understand far more than you think I do.” She paused, licking her lips. They were on the verge of something, and she wanted to move carefully because they both deserved a deeper level of honesty. And because she cared about him and saw he was hurting.

“Sometimes things fall apart, Andrew. Sometimes you have to watch people you love be in terrible pain. And you’re afraid that you can’t fix it. And there are all these allegiances you have and you’re trying to protect everyone and it’s not possible to do that, of course, and so you feel terrible guilt because damn it why can’t you just fix it? And then you can’t speak about it for one reason or another. And silence when you’re being torn up inside is pretty painful.”

Her lip trembled, and Cope’s heart ached. Her eyes held unshed tears, and he had to keep looking up at the ceiling to stop his sympathy tears in reaction.

“I respect your silence if that’s what you need to do. But I’m here to listen to whatever parts of the story you can tell me. Or not. I’m here either way.”

Then there was quiet as she met his eyes and smiled, and Christ, he just sort of fell all the way into balls-out love for Ella Tipton.

Be Sure to Visit Today’s Other Snippeters!

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Vivian Arend
HelenKay Dimon
Lauren Dane
Shelley Munro
TJ Michaels
Ashley Ladd

7 comments to “Snippet Saturday – Last Loves”

  1. Christine
    October 9th, 2010 at 7:22 am · Link

    This is the most amazing story. I was lucky to read an early copy. Cope and Ella story will just blow you out of the water. It is one of the most romantic stories you will ever read.



  2. Mary G
    October 9th, 2010 at 7:34 am · Link

    Oh yeah, Can’t wait to read this one. And it’ll look so pretty with the other 2 in the series on my shelf.



  3. Diane Sadler
    October 9th, 2010 at 10:56 am · Link

    Almost sounds like a tearjerker, I’m interested.



  4. limecello
    October 9th, 2010 at 1:07 pm · Link

    AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
    That is all.



  5. Summer
    October 9th, 2010 at 7:48 pm · Link

    I am soooo ready for another story from this series. Glad this one is almost out.



  6. Mar
    October 13th, 2010 at 11:13 am · Link

    I’m swoooooooooooning! *screams* 🙂



  7. Shannon
    October 13th, 2010 at 11:53 am · Link

    I’ve been waiting quite impatiently for this sequel. Now I’m sorry I read the snippet because I really really want the whole story immediately. How frustrating!