LAST KISS
Series: First & Last #2
Genre: Erotic Romance
Author: Laurelin Paige
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: June 14, 2016
A GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE FILLED WITH DARK DESIRES AND DANGEROUS SECRETS…
Emily Wayborn has made a decision.
She might not fully trust handsome and deadly Reeve Sallis, but he is the one person that gives her what she needs. With Reeve she can finally be herself. Submitting to him is the only thing keeping her grounded as the rest of her life falls apart. But the hotelier is a master at keeping secrets and as she continues her quest for answers someone is making sure she doesn’t find them.
Time is running out and she is questioning everything she thought she knew about friendship and love. She must now make an impossible choice that will determine if she will survive with her heart…or at all.
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“Oh, hi! I didn’t see you there.” I sounded flustered and on edge. “Sorry to have surprised you.”The man’s head tipped toward me. “Emily, right?” he asked, as he exhaled a puff of smoke.
I squinted at him, trying to place him, but I couldn’t. In fact, I was certain I hadn’t seen him before. He had to be one of the ranch guests, which didn’t explain how he knew me. “That’s right,” I said tentatively. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
He tilted his head as he took another slow draw from his ciga- rette. “Nope. We haven’t.” Even in the dark, I didn’t miss the hun- gry way his eyes groped my frame.
He took a step toward me, and I readied myself to run. Just then, the front door slammed open. I looked up to the porch to see a couple of Reeve’s men leaving the house. W hen I turned back, the man wasn’t there anymore. I glanced around and caught sight of him circling around behind the building.
A man didn’t run off that easily if he hadn’t had ill intent.
I shivered. I wondered if all of the guests were that creepy. No wonder Reeve was wary of them. Suddenly, I wanted to run and tell him about the encounter.
Then, at the top of the stairs, I noticed his door was shut, which meant he was in there. But what if he wasn’t alone? What if the con- versation with Amber at dinner had led them to his bedroom?
Before I let myself get worked up, I looked to Amber’s door. It was shut too. It was the first time I’d seen it closed since her arrival, and my mind jumped to a hundred different possible conclusions. Maybe she was exercising her new babysitter-free status. Maybe she was puking again in the bathroom and wanted privacy. Or she was making out with one of the ranchers. Or crying over whatever Reeve had said to her after I’d left them.
Or she wasn’t in there at all.
I could easily knock on her door to find out, but I wasn’t sure I could face her if she answered, and I was absolutely sure I couldn’t take it if she didn’t.
Hoping I would be better equipped to handle the situation after a good night’s sleep, I retreated to my own room with a sigh of res- ignation.
Though it was late enough to go to bed, my emotions were too frazzled for sleep. And I was cold. My evening walk had set a chill in my bones that lingered even in the warm house. W hile I wished it was Reeve warming me up, a hot shower would be just as effec- tive at raising my body temperature and would also calm my nerves.
I stripped, tossing my clothes onto the chair in the corner of my room, then went to start the shower. I turned the water on without getting in, sticking my hand under the stream until it was hot enough. Then I crossed to the linen closet at the other end of the bathroom and picked out a couple of towels. When I shut the door, I turned back toward the shower and nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Reeve!” I patted my breastbone, trying to calm the thudding
in my chest. “Goddammit, you scared the hell out of me.” Between his sneaky arrival and the lurking cowboy outside, I wouldn’t have been surprised if I was on my way to a heart attack.
His lip curled up with amusement.
I scowled. “I’m glad you think sending me to an early grave is funny.” But I wasn’t really irritated by his arrival in the least. I was glad, and I was certain the accelerated tempo of my heart rate had as much to do with his appearance at all as it did with the element of surprise.
He leaned his hip against the vanity and folded his arms across his chest, a position that highlighted both his broad shoulders and toned biceps. “You like it when I keep you guessing,” he said dis- missively, not an entirely inaccurate statement, though it was a bit discomforting that he knew it so well.
“And I like you on your toes,” he added, his eyes dark as they slid the length of my body. I felt them like silk as they caressed over the slopes of my breasts, down the plane of my stomach, zeroing in on the landing strip above my pussy. Suddenly I’d warmed up quite sufficiently, the pool of moisture between my thighs as hot as the steam gathering in the room.
I met his scrutiny with ogling of my own, biting my lip as my eyes landed on the large bulge at the front of his pants. He was bare- foot, and I tried not to wonder if that meant he’d been undressed once already in the evening. Tried not to wonder if it was his first or second erection of the night.
Bringing the towels in front of me as a much-needed barrier, I mirrored his crossed arms. “W hat are you doing here, anyway?” He shrugged. “You wouldn’t come to my bed so I had to come to yours.”
It was surprising how easily happiness bubbled in my chest. Teasingly, I threw his words from the night before back at him. “This isn’t my bed.”
He was already walking toward me. “It’s close enough.” The towels fell to the floor as he seized my hips and turned my back to the counter. His mouth captured mine, greedily stealing my breath and sense of reason with his lips and tongue.
God, I was hungry for him. I roved my hands over his chest, wanting to touch all of his body at once, delighting at the hard muscles that met the underside of my palms. He was solid every- where. A wall of strength and potency that could so easily over- power me. I was weak in his presence, incapable of anything except to yield.
A warning bell sounded in the back of my head, though, urging me to get my wits together and address… something. It was dif- ficult to remember what exactly when his hands were on my breasts, squeezing and pinching. The bite of pain sent jolts of electricity through my nervous system, signals that my brain read as pleasure. Pleasure I couldn’t resist.
DGR: What was your inspiration for the First and Last series?
LP:For a long time, I’d wanted to write a story about a love triangle where one of the characters wasn’t present. Much like the book, Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier or Jane Eyre. At one point, I’d thought it would be a sweeter take on the story. Something where the memory of a dead friend permeated a current relationship so thoroughly that it placed a burden on the characters.
I also wanted to write something in the vein of Gone Girl and Girl on a Train – a psychological thriller, but with romantic elements. I’m very fascinated by characters motivations and a psychologically suspenseful plotline just intrigued me to no end.
I thought, at first, that these were two different stories, and I hadn’t quite figured out what either of them would look like exactly until I read a description of a book that was about to be published (I don’t remember what it was) about a woman who had to go to extreme lengths to look for her sister who’d gone missing. The pieces started to click together, and soon I had the idea of a woman setting off in search of a friend/sister in a dangerous place that required her to face her own psychological demons as well as some very real threats. Next thing I knew, the plot to First Touch had been born.
DGR: Who was your favorite character to write in the First and Last series and why?
LP: My favorite character in First and Last is probably Reeve. He continually surprised me with his intensity and depth of emotion. He made me feel things I didn’t think he’d make me feel.
But I also really enjoyed writing Joe. He got to ask all the questions that I wanted answered and he was sincerely committed to his cause.
DGR: Did you have a favorite scene to write in Last Kiss? What about a favorite scene to read?
LP:I really liked writing the first scene in the whole book, where Reeve and Emily meet. It was such fun to explore the superficial aspects of these characters, to have them flirt and tease while hinting at deeper agendas for both of them. At that point in the book, I knew everything and the readers knew nothing. I got to drop whatever clues I felt like dropping and that was just fun.
I don’t particularly enjoy reading most of what I’ve written. I’m too anxious about it. Too critical. That being said, I really don’t mind reading the porch scene in Last Kiss. It’s sweet and sexy and gives me all kinds of feels.
DGR: Reeve Sallis. *pervy shudder*
Holy cr*ap but the man has a presence. If you had to describe Reeve in 5 words, what would they be?
LP: Dark, Dangerous, Conniving, Dominant, and, according to my publicist Jenn Watson, Sexual Napalm. 🙂
DGR: What would you say is a trait that Reeve has that some may not realize?
LP: His heart is huge. When he loves, he loves deeply. He’s not afraid of who he is, of what his proclivities are, but his greatest fear is that his interests will drive away the people that he loves the most.
DGR: Emily is a bit of an enigma in her own right. This is a non-traditional heroine if ever there was one. What would you say is a trait of hers that some may not realize at first?
LP: I think people overlook how strong Emily is. She’s very courageous and determined despite her submissive nature. Not many people would go to the lengths she goes to for someone she cares about. I think even Emily would be surprised if someone told her she was strong.
DGR: One of my favorite things about the First & Last duet is that the eroticism always skates right on the edge of depravity. It’s like there’s no clear lines in the relationship between Reeve and Emily. The chemistry practically crackles off the pages. What was it like writing these scenes? Was it something out of your comfort zone or something you’ve always wanted to write?
LP: Great question. First & Last really challenged me in so many ways. I could mentally grapple with writing scenes that didn’t turn me on, scenes that made me uncomfortable to think about. But, emotionally, it was much harder to cope. I got really depressed as I neared the end of the series, and I know it was because the book was so much darker than I usually write.
That said, though I was outside of my comfort zone, it was also something I very much wanted to write. I’m fascinated by psychological motivations behind the people who are into kinky and degrading sex. I’m glad I got the chance to explore it.
DGR: If you had to describe this story in less than 2 sentences, what would you say?
LP: A game of cat and mouse filled with dark desires and dangerous secrets, First Touch and Last Kiss is a very different kind of love story. It will have you questioning everything you ever thought you knew about sexy psychological thrillers.
DGR: What made you decide to go with a duet instead of a standalone or trilogy? What would you say was the hardest part about writing this duet?
LP: I wanted that awesome cliffhanger, of course! I wouldn’t have been able to torture my readers with the wait between books. But also, and more importantly, the story I wanted to tell was constructed very much to be before a particular event and after. It’s a very clear dividing line, and it felt like the best way to tell it was in two acts.
DGR: What are you currently working on? Any chance there may be a potential story for secondary characters in LAST KISS in the near future?
LP: Currently, I’m writing Chandler, a standalone novel in my Fixed Universe series that will be coming out in September. On top of that, I’m co-writing Screwmates with Kayti McGee which will be coming out later this fall.
DGR: Anything you’d like to leave the readers with?
LP: I’m so thrilled with the love readers have shown for Emily and Reeve. It was a very difficult story for me to write because of its dark nature, but the enthusiasm for the series has really made the effort worth it.
Laurelin Paige is the NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Fixed Trilogy. She’s a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters.
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