OMG! It’s been over 7 years since I self-published All Of You after my publisher returned the rights and almost 10 years since Ryan and Claire first hit ereaders. Crazy to think how long ago that was!
Anyway, I thought I’d give you all a blast from the past with an excerpt from All Of You.
Claire Jones never thought the fantasies she’d been having about the hot—younger—guy next door would ever turn into her reality but after a push from her best friend and an encounter involving dirty laundry, she’s getting more reality than one woman should be allowed. But with reality comes emotion and Claire finds herself falling deeper and deeper under Ryan’s spell until he’s infiltrated every part of her life.
There’s no doubt Ryan Doherty wants in Claire’s pants, but he soon realizes hot sex isn’t the only thing he’s after. She makes him happy in a way nothing and no one else ever has and if he has to use their amazing chemistry to stay in her life he will. Because having all of Claire isn’t an option. It’s his only choice.
Excerpt
Claire Jones stared at her best friend of almost forty years and wondered when Jane had lost her mind. Then again maybe it was Claire who’d lost hers. Either that or her hearing had gone in the last two minutes. Surely she wasn’t that old. She’d be forty-two next birthday. At what age does the body start to break down?
Her fork hovered between mouth and plate, the bite of lobster forgotten. Jane had not said what Claire’s mind tried to convince her she’d heard. No, it had to be whatever had possessed Claire of late—the thing that had her fantasizing about her very sexy, very young, next-door neighbor.
Claire smiled. “For a second there, Jane, I thought you said I should fuck Ryan.” She popped the fork into her mouth and savored the delicate flavor combination of lobster, butter, and garlic as it exploded across her tongue.
Jane chewed the piece of steak she’d just put in her mouth and reached for her glass of wine. She swallowed and took a sip of the deep red liquid. Her wine coated tongue slid out to wet her lips before she spoke. “I did.”
The lobster caught in the back of Claire’s throat, choking her briefly. Her fork clattered to the plate, and she reached for her water in the hope it would ease the food down. She coughed and spluttered before the cool liquid moved the lump blocking her airway and brought soothing relief.
“What?” she croaked.
“You should fuck him.” Jane’s gaze was steady. “I’ve seen the way he eats you up with his eyes. He’s hot for you, and before you deny it, I know you’ve been having all sorts of interesting fantasies about him. You told me so yourself.”
The smug look on Jane’s face made Claire want to take back every word of that old conversation. She’d confided more than one of the steamy daydreams she’d been having in which Ryan played a starring role. Luckily, she hadn’t divulged the incredibly hot wet dreams she’d woken with every night for the last month. Her fantasizing had definitely become more frequent—more intense—in recent weeks.
“Jesus, Jane. What the hell are you thinking? I’m old enough to be his mother.” Claire tried to keep her voice barely above a whisper, her gaze darting across to the nearest table. The thought of anyone overhearing the conversation terrified her.
“Only if you’d had him really young.”
“It doesn’t change the fact I’m old enough to be his mother.”
“But you’re not.”
“Christ. There’s at least fifteen years between us. I even look old enough to be his mother,” Claire protested.
“No you don’t,” Jane’s words were taking on the tone she got whenever someone was pissing her off.
“But I could be!” Claire’s voice came out a high-pitched squeak. She quickly glanced at the nearby tables. The whole discussion was wrong. Jane should have been able to see that. How cruel was it to dangle something in front of her that was so out of her reach?
“Again, you’re not. And I think you’re protesting too much.” Jane’s hand slid across the table and landed on Claire’s. “You don’t look a day over thirty, and one of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen outside of a magazine drools all over you whenever you’re close. I’m not telling you to marry him. I’m telling you to take what both of you clearly want. Fuck each other into oblivion for the sheer pleasure of it.”
