Passion and Scandal (24 page)

5 Stars – A Little Romance

REVIEWS

"...characters are deeply motivated, emotional people."

~Inside Romance

"Candace Schuler challenges the reader to feel—love, pain, sympathy and compassion."

~A Little Romance

"Passion, trust, and love go hand-in-hand in this story of two remarkable people who, somehow, in this great big world, find each other."

~Rendezvous

"A romantic portrait of two people who find meaning in their love for one another."

~Romantic Times

Faith sighed and closed her eyes, nestling into him as they swayed together on the dance floor.

Don't,
he wanted to say to her.
Don't trust me.
But he folded his arms around her and lay his cheek against her hair.

Faith felt unutterably safe, cradled, oh so gently, in the hard circle of his enveloping arms. She felt his lips move against her temple, whisper soft, and she wanted more than safety and gentleness from him. She stirred restlessly in his embrace.

Jack's arms tightened around her. "Be still," he murmured raggedly, fighting for control.

Her answer was a plaintive murmur of dissent and the soft press of her breasts against his chest as she slipped her arms around his back and nestled closer.

Jack moaned in defeat and desire and bent his head lower, burrowing through her hair to press his face against the curve of her neck. His lips touched warm flesh and, helplessly, he opened his mouth to taste her.

Faith felt the dampness of his lips and tongue against her skin and shivered in response, unconsciously letting her head fall back to give him better access. "Jack," she sighed, her voice rife with longing. "Jack."

"Dammit, Faith, I'm no good for you," he growled, low, but his tone made the harsh words a caress. "I've done things and seen things you can't possibly imagine. I'm too old for you. I—Faith, dammit, open your eyes and
look at
me."

She lifted her lids, looking up at him through eyes made slumberous and heavy with desire. He stared down at her for a long moment, frozen with indecision and guilt. And then she parted her lips slightly, her tongue peeking out as if to taste the kiss he hadn't yet given her, and he was lost.

A low sound, half pain, half pleasure, rumbled in his chest. "I'll probably burn in hell for this," he growled, his voice savage, his mouth so close his lips brushed hers as he spoke. "But I can only resist just so much temptation. And you, Angel—Dammit,
you
I can't resist at all," he groaned, and took her mouth with his.

Lovers & Strangers

The Hollywood Nights Series

Book One

by

Candace Schuler

~

To purchase

Lovers & Strangers

from your favorite eBook Retailer,

visit Candace Schuler's eBook Discovery Author Page

www.ebookdiscovery.com/CandaceSchuler

~

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Complete your journey with an excerpt from

SEDUCED & BETRAYED

The Hollywood Nights Series

Book Two

Excerpt from

Seduced & Betrayed

The Hollywood Nights Series

Book Two

by

Candace Schuler

Bestselling, award-winning Author

SEDUCED & BETRAYED

Reviews & Accolades

"A poignant tale of tempestuous love that even time cannot defuse."

~Romantic Times

"...true-to-life characters who forge a bond strong enough to carry them into the future."

~A Little Romance

"A terrific love story..."

~Rendezvous

Hello, Zeke," she said, and put her hand into his.

It was a mistake.

She knew it the minute their palms touched.

The heat was still there, as strong, as vital, as tempting as it had been the first time he'd ever touched her. It sizzled up her arm like wildfire, heading straight to the hidden core of her. Thank God, there was no chance she would succumb to its lure this time, she thought, belatedly steeling her nerve endings against him. This time she would be strong. Invulnerable. Invincible.
Immune.
Because this time she wasn't a breathless, wide-eyed ingenue, eager to taste life and oh-so-ripe for the plucking. This time, she knew that heat and sizzle was all there was to Zeke Blackstone. 

All right, not
all,
she amended grudgingly. In the years since they'd last seen each other, he'd matured into a brilliant actor and then into an even more brilliant director. But he'd been a lousy husband.

She forced her lips into an empty little smile. "It's good to see you, Zeke," she said, feigning a credible and convincing coolness as she withdrew her hand from his.

Without conscious thought, Zeke tightened his fingers on hers, holding her captive for a scant moment longer, silently demanding that she look at him—really look at him, dammit!—before he would let her go. He tried to tell himself it was just a test of wills, a power play, a game of one-upmanship. And, on one level, it was.

It was also a need.

An urgent, burning, utterly inexplicable need.

Loath to let him gain the upper hand, Ariel reluctantly lifted her gaze to his. Wide blue eyes met smoldering brown for the first time in years.

They both felt the pull.

It was primal.

Visceral.

Frighteningly real.

"Is it really good to see me?" Zeke murmured, his voice low and disturbingly intimate. It shivered along her nerve endings, as real and tactile as a touch.

"Yes," Ariel said, aghast to realize she meant it.
Oh, God, I don't want to mean it!
"Yes, of course it is," she added, managing to make the words sound offhand and casual, like a polite social lie one didn't really care if the hearer believed or not.