Excerpt
“Melinda, come back,” Sager called,
his deep voice urgent. “Wait,” he insisted, his hands falling on my shoulders
before I had a chance to press the elevator call button. He turned me toward
him, the warmth and tenderness in his touch and his unique leather and cardamom
scent bending me to his will.
My lids fluttered half closed
remembering how good it had been in his bed. Those strong hands gliding over
every inch of my naked skin. His confident caresses coaxing me, sometimes
demanding me to respond. Knees weakening, my body swayed in ready servitude
towards the sexy rock god who had everything I needed but nothing I could ever
hope to keep.
“Come back to bed.” He gently
stroked a tendril of my sapphire hair behind my ear. He melted my resolve with
his warm regard and his earnest expression. My arms stiffened at my sides, a
battle waging within me. My fingertips longed to retrace the contours of his
sculpted body, but my feet only wanted to run away.
"I can't,” I pleaded, my
stomach cinched. “I need to go. I have a race in a couple of hours."
"I heard you." His tone
was tender, but I could feel the tension rising in it. “I listened very closely
to everything you said.”
“It's late.” Three a.m. in fact. We
had been together most of the night. I motioned with my chin toward the door to
his hotel room that he had left propped open. “Let's forget tonight ever
happened. Like I told you it doesn’t mean anything.” --a lie lie lie --no guy
had ever made me feel like he did, even before I slept with him.
“Bullshit,” he decided, unwaveringly
certain. “You might say you only slept with me to make Dizzy jealous, but I
don’t believe that’s it. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t feel the same
connection I did. It wasn’t him in that bed with you tonight. It was just you
and me. And that’s the way it has to be from now on. I won’t share you with
anyone else. You get me?” He gathered my hands and brought them to his chest. I
could feel his heart racing. His thumbs lightly circled the delicate skin on
the inside of my wrists. My pulse leapt to his touch. “Don't be afraid,
Melinda,” he whispered.
“I'm not scared.” Another lie. I was
terrified of the intensity of the emotions surging through me, emotions he
seemed to effortlessly command.
“I think that you are. You bolted
for the door as soon as things got intense.” His dark eyes delved piercingly
deep. “You’ve got to know that no matter how angry I get I could never hurt
you.”
“I know,” I whispered back.
“So stay then.”
“I can’t, Sager. I just can’t.” He
wanted something real, but when he found out how messed up I really was, he
wouldn’t want me anymore.
**Tempting Tempo is a standalone in
the Tempest series but does contain characters and story lines from previous
novels.**
HE SEES HER IN A WAY SHE
COULD NEVER SEE HERSELF.
SHE HAS NEVER FELT MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN WHEN SHE WAS IN HIS
ARMS.
Tempting Tempo (Standalone) by Michelle Mankin releases
October 13th!
Pre-order your copy at the following retailers
Blurb
Sager Reed, the strong and silent bassist
of the rock band Tempest, is well acquainted with loss. The thoughtful artist’s
own tattoos only hint at his turbulent youth. He buries his guilt about it
deeply within his troubled heart.
Melinda T. Belle, the daughter of a
dysfunctional rock legend, as a rule avoids emotional entanglement. In fact,
she has turned her back on nearly everyone and everything she has ever known.
Now she is alone, trying desperately to find fulfillment in the one dream she
has left, competitive skiing.
CAN SAGER OVERCOME HIS DARK PAST AND
FINALLY BELIEVE THAT HE IS WORTHY OF HER LOVE?
WILL MELINDA REALIZE TOO LATE THAT HE IS
THE ONE THAT REALLY MATTERS?
About the
Author:
Michelle
Mankin is the New York Times bestselling author of the
Black Cat Records series of novels.
Rock Stars. Romance. Redemption.
Love Evolution, Love Revolution, and
Love Resolution are a BRUTAL STRENGTH centered trilogy, combining the plot
underpinnings of Shakespeare with the drama, excitement, and indisputable
sexiness of the rock 'n roll industry.
Things take a bit of an edgier, once
upon a time turn with the TEMPEST series. These pierced, tatted, and troubled
Seattle rockers are young and on the cusp of making it big, but with serious
obstacles to overcome that may prevent them from ever getting there.
Rock stars, myths, and legends
collide with paranormal romance in a totally mesmerizing way in the MAGIC
series.
Catch the perfect wave with
irresistible surfers in the ROCK STARS, SURF AND SECOND CHANCES series.
Romance and self-discovery, the
FINDING ME series is a Tempest spin off with a more experienced but familiar
cast of characters.
When Michelle is not prowling the
streets of her Texas town listening to her rock or NOLA funk music much too
loud, she is putting her daydreams down on paper or traveling the world with
her family and friends, sometimes for real, and sometimes just for pretend.
