I’m Felicity Stone, a twenty-five-year-old with my whole life ahead of me. Well, until recently.
I didn’t do it. Why would they think I did? Why would I want my twin brother dead? Why is everyone looking at me like I’m a criminal?
Well, everyone except him… Hayes Peyton, the charmingly beautiful stranger I met in the park at midnight—a totally legitimate place to meet the man of my dreams. Plus, he knows I’m innocent.
Believing him is easy. So very easy. Maybe too easy?
But when you hear things like: ‘All good is laced with some bad, and everything you think is the truth—is nothing more than a blatant lie,’ it makes you question reality.
In Shari J. Ryan’s latest Romantic Suspense, Red Nights, you wonder how dark your world can get before all you see is red.
"Great night for a walk." I can hardly hear him over the rain, but his words don't quite matter. I've been waiting to kiss him since the moment I saw him sitting in a booth at the restaurant tonight.
First kisses are always nerve-wracking and full of surprise, but second kisses are full of anticipation thanks to what I already know, what I've already had a taste of. "I really like you," he says, loud enough to drown out the heavy rainfall.
I can't invite him in…is that why he's stalling? I point upstairs. "Aspen, my friend I'm crashing with, would ask you a million questions if you came up. I—"
"Oh, no. No. I wasn't waiting for an invitation. I have a ‘seven date’ rule anyway." I can see him fighting the urge to smile, but he’s losing that battle.
"’Seven date’ rule?" I laugh.
"Yeah, it’s dumb.” He runs a palm down the side of his face. “Because I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to make it that long." He leans in, stealing a quick kiss. But I feel cheated. I want more.
"How do you know we'll last seven dates?" I ask.
"Good point. I probably won't be able to put up with you for that long." I know he's teasing. But ugh. Damn him and that smile.
I throw my arms around his neck and crash my lips into his. His body tightens, maybe from surprise, but it takes less than a second for him to relax. He strips me of my control, pushing me up against the brick wall, his body heavy against mine. Even with the rain sloshing between us, his hands find my cheeks. His tongue sweeps across my lips.
I’ve changed my mind.
I'll bring him upstairs.
I don't give a shit what Aspen does. I want him. I need him to keep making me forget.
"Come up," I say in almost nothing but a breathless whisper.
He bites down on his bottom lip, appears to think about my offer, then shakes his head in this seductive slow motion, making this moment painfully enjoyable. "Not tonight," he says, placing a small kiss on the tip of my nose. His hand is clutched around my waist and everything within me hurts and aches for him. "Good-night, Blondie-locks." He turns and leaves in the rain, and I watch him go.
It has been a good night. A very good night, actually.
And it all ends when I get upstairs…
Shari J. Ryan is an Amazon Top 100 Bestselling author, a Barnes & Noble Top 10 Bestselling author, and an iBookstore #1 Bestselling author. She hails from Central Massachusetts where she lives with her husband and two lively little boys. Shari has always had an active imagination and enjoys losing herself in the fictional worlds she creates. When Shari isn’t writing, she can usually be found cleaning toys up off the floor.To learn more, visit her at, www.sharijryan.com.
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