Welcome to this stop in the Capturing You Blog Tour, sponsored by
Bewitching Book Tours!!
Capturing You
(A Maple Grove Romance, #1)
Katana Collins
Digital Edition, 258 pages
Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
December 16, 2014
Cover Artist: Fiona Jayde
Contemporary Romance
After discovering she can't have children, Lydia Ryder has all but convinced herself that she doesn't need a family to be happy. All she needs is her camera, her passport, and a damn good manicure. And maybe, maybe a sexy male travel companion. But when her job as a magazine photographer lands her in the small town of Maple Grove, NH, a precocious ten-year old and her single father barge into Lydia's life, turning what she thinks she wants onto its head. In this town full of happily-ever-afters, Lydia finds herself wishing for things she had sworn off long ago...
When Cameron Tripp's wife passed away from heart disease, he thought he'd never find love again. He certainly never would have expected a woman like Lydia Ryder to waltz into his life and awaken his dormant heart and libido. But despite his better judgment, Cam finds himself drawn to the vivacious and argumentative outsider. He quickly learns that, like him, she knows all about misplaced trust, heartbreak, and how quickly a family can fall apart if you let it.
As impassioned arguments morph into frenzied kisses, the two wonder if one week can ever be enough. Despite lacking a maternal side, can Lydia connect with his ten-year-old daughter? And when Cameron finally learns the truth behind Lydia's past career, the trust he worked so hard to build crumbles once again. With such doubts filling their minds, is there any hope that Lydia and Cameron will be able to start a new life together?
Prequel available for FREE @ Smashwords!!!
Note to Readers
This book includes content suitable for
adults only (18+).
Chapter Eleven
It
didn't take long before Cam was lying on the floor, face up, a half-empty
bottle of wine clutched in a hand. His ceiling fan was so dirty. He'd have to
make a mental note to dust up there next time. If he'd even remember in this
inebriated state. Do drunk people use words like inebriated? Apparently this
one did.
He
looked to his left, swiveling his head without lifting it off the floor. Callie
was lying face down on his couch. One leg dangled off the edge and knuckles
that grasped her bottle of vino scraped the floor. Her cheek was squished,
making her loose lips pucker. Sensing his stare, she opened her eyes; they were
red and bloodshot. “You're so drunk,” she slurred.
“You're
an enabebler,” Cam attempted to speak. Clearly it wasn't going well. He could
tell in his own head it was wrong and his sister broke out in a fit of giggles.
“This
is fun,” she said, “Why didn't we ever do this before?”
“Because
you weren't twenty-one before,” he grunted and bringing the bottle to his lips,
took another swig. The sweetness wasn't so much of an issue after your sixth
glass. And after almost a whole bottle? You didn't even taste it anymore.
Callie
sat up on an arm, propping her body in some sort of yoga-like pose that made Cam's
back hurt just looking at it. Shit, he was getting old. “Listen, mister. I've
been twenty-one for...” she counted on a few fingers, her eyes rolling into the
back of her head as though the extra thinking hurt, “many months now. There's
no excuse!” Her elbow gave out and she fell back down onto the couch with an
"Oomph".
“Yeah,
well, I've got reponsibilities,” he said. “Responsilibilities,” he tried again.
“Re-spons-ib-ilities.” There. He got it, finally.
Callie
broke out into another fit of girlie giggles and rolled off the couch onto her
back next to Cam. He couldn't help but laugh too. And damn it felt good to
laugh. It was creaky; unused. But nice, nonetheless. “So seriously,” Callie's
eyes were only half open, “who's the city chick?”
Cam
groaned. Lydia. Everything came back to Lydia lately. “I need to be drunker if
we're going to talk about this,” he lifted the bottle again, the halogen lamp
reflecting off the tinted glass. It was noticeably lighter than before.
“C'mon,”
she propped herself up on an elbow. “Tell me about her.”
He
sighed. “She's...beautiful. Like a sunset on...uh, a summer's eve.”
Callie
burst out laughing again. “Okay, I think you've had enough,” she reached across
him and took the bottle from his hands. “You just compared a woman to a
feminine cleansing product.”
He
closed his eyes, picturing her face. That sleek chestnut hair; grey eyes with
little specks of gold like his granite counter tops; high cheekbones and large,
plump lips. When he opened his eyes, Callie was looming over him smiling.
“You're thinking about her, aren't you?”
He
groaned. “She has a boyfriend. It's a moot point.”
“Did
she say it was a moot point?”
“She
doesn't have to. She has a boyfriend and she lied about it.”
Cam
thought of the kiss; of her breasts pressed against his body, that silk shirt
tickling his skin. “Doesn't matter,” he mumbled. “Boyfriend. In New York. She's
leaving.”
“You
should sleep with her anyway,” Callie collapsed back onto the floor beside him
and he couldn't help but laugh at the statement.
“Okay,”
he said, “Now you're the one with the drunken drunk talk.”
“I'm
serious! Sleep with her.”
“She
has a boyfriend.”
“All
the more reason to do it. Neither of you will get attached.”
“You
want me to use her to get my feet wet again?”
“If
your feet get wet, I think you're doing it wrong.”
He
groaned. “Oh, gross. You're my baby sister...what do you know about sex?”
She
snorted a laugh. “You sure you want me answering that?”
“Oh,
god,” he covered his face with both hands. “No. You're twelve. You're twelve and you collect 'My Little
Ponies'.”
Grabbing
a pillow, she hit him playfully across the face. “Just think about it, bro. We
all just want you to be happy.”
Happy.
The word rolled around in his mind like a marble on a slick surface. It was too
soon to be happy. Too raw. He liked the wound — liked keeping it fresh and open.
It was his only connection left to Hannah.
Cam
pushed off the ground, room spinning as he got to his feet. With a groan, he
grabbed a plastic bag, gathering the empty bottles.
“What
are you doing?” Callie mumbled.
Cam
rubbed his eyes with a knuckle. “I can't have Maddie or Mom coming home
tomorrow to find these. I'll take them out to the recycling tonight.”
Callie
gurgled something that half-sounded like words before she rolled over, smashing
her face into a pillow.
The
recycling was locked in a wood shed on the edge of the property to protect
their garbage from bears. Cam shivered, his unlaced boots crunching in the snow
as he staggered to the shed. He had to pause a moment, leaning on the banister
to make the snow below him stop spinning.
At
the water's edge was a vision. A beautiful woman bundled in a coat staring out
into the night. Cam blinked. Was he just seeing things? Surely he couldn't
trust his eyes when he was this drunk.
But
then, the woman turned and he was struck by Lydia's stunning svelte body,
backlit by moonlight. She took his breath away and they both stood frigidly
staring at each other.
Tossing
the recycling into the shed, he huffed toward the frozen lake and Lydia stood
there, unmoving. His insides wrenched, and he didn't bother thinking.
“Cam,”
she said as he approached. Only he didn't let her get anything else out. He
grasped her tiny waist with both hands and tugged her into him, sloping his
mouth down over hers in a kiss that stirred fire even on the coldest night.
She
moaned into his mouth and their tongues explored each other in wild, feverish
movements.
He
scooped his hand into her hair, tugging the strands and pulling her head back
to expose her neck. “God, you are beautiful,” he whispered against her. “And smart. And
talented.” Then, dragging his lips up her neck, he scraped his teeth along the
tender flesh there. Her muscles quivered against his mouth and he grinned,
loving that he could affect her this way.
He
kissed her jaw up to her chin, pausing just in front of her full, curvy pout.
“What are you doing to me?” He rasped.
Lydia's
eyes danced, fluttering open to meet his gaze. She licked her lips and
swallowed. “You've been drinking.”
“Only
a little,” he lied. Cam tried to blink his alcohol-fogged brain back into
commission, but all he could see was Lydia. All he wanted was Lydia. He didn't
care about the wine. Or the auction. Or the fact that she had some boyfriend
waiting for her in New York. He just wanted to live in the moment and for once
do what his heart desired. “I've wanted to do this since the moment I saw you,”
he groaned and pressed his lips to hers once more.
“That was...”
“Delicious.”
Cam finished for her. She tasted sweet and tangy and
all Lydia.
Her
eyes darkened. “Why don't we go inside?”
Cam
looked to the house as a light clicked on in his kitchen. Lydia followed his
gaze, her eyes widening in alarm. “Oh, god. Is Maddie awake?” She covered a
mouth with her hand, moving it to the blush on her cheeks.
The
ground below him seemed to be suddenly made of pudding and Cam could barely
keep his footing. “Y-yeah. I should probably get back inside,” he slurred.
Lydia
nodded. “Of course. I-I'll see you tomorrow.”
Cam
watched as she ran back to the guest house before he too, entered the house. He
fell back on the floor below Callie who had resumed her place on the couch. She
blinked awake with a knowing grin.
“Shut up,”
he mumbled.
Katana Collins splits her time evenly between photographing boudoir portraits and writing
steam-your-glasses romances. Between navigating life as a small business owner,
a first-time homeowner, and a newlywed, Kat is in a constant state of
"OHMYGODINEEDCOFFEENOW."
She is the author of the Soul
Stripper trilogy, Wicked Exposure, and the graphic novel, Cafe Racer,
co-written with Sean Murphy.
She and her comic book artist
husband commute back and forth as they please between Brooklyn, NY and
Portland, ME with their ever-growing family of rescue animals (up to two dogs
and a cat and still counting!). She can usually be found hunched over her
laptop in a cafe, guzzling gallons of coffee, and wearing fabulous (albeit
sometimes impractical) shoes.
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