UNSUNG by Shannon Richard (November 3, 2015; Forever Yours E-Book; A Country Roads Novel)
ONE NIGHT IN NASHVILLE…Harper Laurence has been jilted on her way to the altar. Desperate for some time away from her friends and family, Harper takes off for Nashville-only to meet a hot, scruffy, tattooed stranger. A man she liked a little too much, and who left her the teeniest bit . . . well, pregnant.
Liam James is an up-and-coming country musician, who just found his muse. Ever since their weekend together, Liam hasn't been able to forget the curvy, vivacious woman who left him wanting more, even as she inspired some of the greatest songs he's ever written. He's determined to convince Harper that he's the guy for her . . . and that the best love songs can never be unsung.
Liam James is an up-and-coming country musician, who just found his muse. Ever since their weekend together, Liam hasn't been able to forget the curvy, vivacious woman who left him wanting more, even as she inspired some of the greatest songs he's ever written. He's determined to convince Harper that he's the guy for her . . . and that the best love songs can never be unsung.
About the author:
Shannon Richard grew up in the Florida Panhandle as the baby sister of two overly protective but loving brothers. She was raised by a more than somewhat eccentric mother, a self-proclaimed vocabularist who showed her how to get lost in a book and a father who passed on his love for coffee and really loud music. She graduated from Florida State University with a BA in English Literature and still lives in Tallahassee where she battles everyday life with writing, reading, and a rant every once in a while. Okay, so the rants might happen on a regular basis. She's still waiting for her Southern, scruffy, Mr. Darcy, and in the meantime writes love stories to indulge her overactive imagination. Oh, and she's a pretty big fan of the whimsy.
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Forget this?”
Her purse flew into the air, hitting
the floor with a thud. She clutched her chest and spun around. Liam was leaning
back against the counter, her bra dangling from his forefinger, swaying just
slightly in the air.
Okay, yes it was true that she’d
gotten to see his body up close and personal the night before, but there was
something to be said about seeing it in the daylight. Actually there was a lot
to be said about it. She just couldn’t do that much talking as her brain had
temporarily short-circuited.
He was wearing nothing more than a
pair of black boxer briefs and a smile, his washboard abs giving her the
strangest urge to do laundry. She looked like death warmed over and he
looked…well, glorious.
“Your bra wasn’t the only thing that
you forgot either. I don’t get a goodbye, Harper?”
“I figured it would be better,” she
said as she reached up and attempted to smooth her hair. She had no doubts that
she did not succeed.
He leaned back against the counter
and folded his arms across his chest, her bra now hanging at his side. “Better
for whom?” His mouth quirked to the side, making him look infinitely sexier.
The jerk.
“Look, we don’t have to do this
whole awkward morning after thing,” she said making a gesture between the two
of them.
“Perfect.” He nodded his head as he
reached up and scratched his beard, the sound of his nails on his scruff
reached her ears from across the room. He used the hand that was still holding
her bra and it swayed with the motion, taunting her like a freaking red
flag…even though it was navy blue.
“Then I’ll just get going.” She took
her eyes off of him, so not an easy thing to do, and went to grab her purse on
the floor.
“Why?”
“What?” Her head came up and she
straightened.
“Why are you leaving?”
“I thought we just established
this.”
“No, we established not having the awkward
morning after thing. We never established you leaving,” he said shaking his
head.
“Do you plan on making this as
uncomfortable as possible?”
“I was thinking about it. But if you
head out that door I think you’ll make yourself plenty uncomfortable all on
your own.”
“Meaning?”
“How were you planning on getting
back to the bar?”
Well, that had her coming up short.
“I hadn’t really thought that out.” She hadn’t really thought anything out as
was evident by her current predicament.
“It’s three miles to the main road,
and another five to the Secondhand Guitar. And as you don’t know where you are
I would imagine it would be difficult to call a cab. Also I don’t think you’d
get far walking on those shoes of yours before your feet started to kill you.”
“Well, isn’t this the perfect
setting for a horror movie.”
A laugh escaped his mouth and he
shook his head. “I was actually going for the perfect setting for a romantic
comedy. Boy meets girl, boy takes girl home and gives her multiple orgasms, boy
makes girl breakfast the following morning.”
Okay, she was going to ignore the
romantic comedy comment. “Look Liam, last night wasn’t something that I’ve ever
done before. I’m not the kind of girl who goes home with men I just met.”
He tilted his head to the side and
his grin somehow widened. “See, we have something in common. I don’t go home
with men I just met either.”
The corner of her lip twitched
despite herself.
“It this something you do for all of
the girls you have one-night stands with?” The question was out of her mouth
before she thought better of it and she inwardly cringed at her words. She was that
girl. The one-night stand girl.
His head straightened and he studied
her for a second, the humor in his eyes gone. “First of all, I’ve never made
breakfast for any girl that I’ve brought home. And second, I wouldn’t classify
you as a one-night stand.”
His words had her coming up short
again. She couldn’t get her brain to connect with her mouth to say anything.
“Let me cook for you, Harper. Then
I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to
say no, to ask that he just drive her back now. She wasn’t sure what it was,
the fact that he hadn’t called her a one-night stand or the intensity in his
gaze, because the word “okay” slipped past her lips. And judging by the look on
his face, she wasn’t the only one shocked by it.
“Good.” He pushed himself off the
counter and crossed the space to her, reaching out to hand her the bra when he
was close enough. When she grabbed it he didn’t let go. His green-gold eyes
focused on hers as his free hand slipped around her waist and he moved in
closer. “I’m going to kiss you now.”
He hesitated for just a moment,
giving her a second to object…but just like the night before she found herself
objectionless. She couldn’t think straight around this man, not when he was
speaking, or looking at her, or breathing in her general direction. And now he
had his hand on her, his mouth just inches from hers.
She gave a small nod before he
lowered his head. His lips gently brushed hers and his fingers tightened at her
hip bringing her flush against his body. She couldn’t stop herself from sighing
in pleasure and the second her mouth was open he took full advantage, dipping
his tongue inside. She wasn’t the only one who’d taken a moment to freshen
their breath either and he tasted so damn good.
And just like that her palms were
flat on his chest, like they had a mind of their own. Yup, her ability to think
straight was obliterated when he was around…but maybe thinking straight was
entirely overrated.
