Title: Invitation
Author: Christina Hoffman
Publisher: Christina Hoffman
Pages: 187
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Paperback/Kindle
Purchase at AMAZON
Madison
Spencer is a serious medical student, focused only on work and hiding
her beauty and her once-passionate spirit behind a quiet plain-Jane
facade. Since she was drugged, stripped, assaulted and photographed by a
vengeful ex, she has stayed away from men and kept her heart and body
safe.
But when heart-stoppingly gorgeous Dr. Liam Mason walks into
her world, she knows she's in trouble. After finding out about her
devastating past, Liam offers to bring her back to life with physical
passion. Madison thinks she should be repelled, but she's intrigued and
can't turn him away. Together they explore days and nights of pleasure,
and slowly develop into something more than bedmates.
Deep inside
they each wonder if they've found their perfect match. But with Liam's
fear of being dragged down by commitment, and Madison's fear of being
hurt by another man threatening to destroy the world they’ve built
together, will they each be strong enough and brave enough to risk their
hearts to have it all?
First Chapter:
I
can't even blame it on the booze. There wasn't any, or at least there
wasn't any for me. I was with Chloe, my bodyguard. Okay, actually she
was my friend, but a really overprotective friend who knew all about
what I’d been through and wanted to make sure it never happened again.
So, no alcohol.
But, what she and I hadn't counted on was him
being there. There I was, minding my own business, putting in my time
at the Med School Social, more than ready to head home for some
studying, then Chinese food and a movie. And suddenly, him.
I
was inhaling when I caught sight of him, but my breath just stopped. It
felt like being punched in the chest. I kept telling myself, look away,
look away! But it was impossible. I was paralyzed. His beautiful face
and magnificent body were magnets, and my eyes were locked on them.
I
hadn't felt this kind of physical attraction since, well, ever. I had
never felt like that. I had stayed away from men for two years. I was
pretty much terrified of them, to tell the truth. But there he was.
Unavoidable and irresistible.
I saw him in profile. Oh, that hair.
Thick, almost curly, falling into his eyes. The kind of hair you need
to gently push off of his face right before you kiss him. Or, the kind
of hair you grab really hard right before you're about to...
But,
I'm getting ahead of myself. The point I'm trying to make is that my
mind very clearly recognized all the dangers ahead and was saying, “Turn
around, go, get out of here! Before it's too late.” But then he turned
around to look right at me. It was already too late.
We held each
other's gaze a second longer than politeness required. Something inside
me went click, and for the first time in almost two years, I felt young
and alive, and really, really turned on. Every part of me suddenly woke
up, and all the best parts started to tingle. I was breathing harder. My
lips parted slightly, already begging to be kissed.
It was a
little overwhelming. I was out of practice. No, actually, I had never
had the kind of practice you would need to stay controlled in a
situation like that. I think maybe you can have a soul mate for your
mind, and also one for your body. And my body was saying “Get me over
there right now!”
But I was still too afraid. I smiled a little and turned away.
I
had to stay for a while, to look sociable, so I went over to the food
table and stared at the snacks, which were already stale. Nothing looked
very good, and my throat was too tight to eat anyway.
I was
starting to formulate a plan for escaping without the other students or
the teachers noticing when I felt the air move behind me, the softest
caress against my bare shoulders. Then, a hand on my back, an electric
shock to my body, wildly pleasurable. I gasped and spun around. Right
into the arms of...
“I'm Liam.”
Liam. Right into
the arms of Liam. Oh, he was even more beautiful up close. My hand rose
all on its own to push that wonderful floppy hair from his face. I
stopped suddenly, embarrassed, but he caught my wrist, and held my palm
gently to his face. We looked at each other and knew.
“Wanna get out of here?” he asked, and of course, foolish, foolish woman that I am, I said, “Yes.”
I
saw him my first day at the new hospital. I'm a medical student and had
just finished the lecture part of things where we sit around learning
about chemical reactions and body parts. That was over, at last, and we
were moving on to seeing real live patients in the hospital.
The
orientation was step one in getting us ready for our new roles. We each
got a short lab coat and a tour of the locker rooms. We received our ID
tag photos.
I'm not sure why I first noticed Liam.
Since the
bad thing happened, I keep my head down and make eye contact with
pretty much nobody. I wear my hair in a tight bun at the nape of my neck
and my clothes are dull and loose. On that particular day, I was trying
very hard to concentrate. I was excited to be starting work in the
hospital, but I was mostly terrified. There was so much to take in and
remember. My head was reeling after only two hours. The last thing on my
mind was men. So, who knows why I took that second look as he walked by
our group.
Well, actually I do know why. He was gorgeous.
Ridiculously gorgeous. Dark wavy hair, just slightly overgrown so he
looked like a happy surfer who'd tumbled out of bed. Smiling eyes.
Sparkling, mischievous, movie star eyes. A little bit of stubble, likely
because he had been on call all night. The rest of him looked pretty
much immaculate. He wore light wool pants and a sky blue shirt. No tie,
but the white lab coat made him look professional enough.
I was
dedicated to maintaining my nun-like lifestyle, but, seriously, it was
impossible not to look at him. Even Chloe noticed him. She looked at
him, then at me. She shook her head lightly and whispered, “No”. I
laughed a little because she sounded like a mom telling a toddler that
she couldn't have any candy. Well, that was pretty much what was
happening, so I guess Chloe nailed that.
She was absolutely right.
I didn't want any trouble. Certainly not that awful, frightening
feeling of falling in love. No time-consuming romance. And certainly not
all the time I had lost trying to recover from the trauma of what had
happened before. Even a plain old tiny heartbreak could set me back, and
put me way off course in my career.
No, I didn't have the time or energy for any distractions. Nothing. Just work and school.
So
I ignored the stunning resident with the black hair, and tried to focus
on the tall blond giving us the orientation spiel. This was much easier
because I felt no attraction to him at all. He was really handsome,
too. But something about him seemed mean. Or maybe arrogant. It's hard
to remember what I thought of him that first time, because the memory is
so clouded with all that came after. I'll just say he was a tall, slim
blond who should have caught my eye, but didn’t.
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