I'm on deadline right now, trying to get in edits for In His Hands, the third book in the Blank Canvas series, before *gulp* tomorrow! So here's an excerpt from Under Her Skin, which opens the series on February 7th. There will be a giveaway on my social media soon, so check in for more on that. Enjoy!
Her Body is His Canvas
Her Body is His Canvas
A darkly possessive relationship has left Uma alone and on the run. Beneath her
drab clothing, she hides a terrible secret-proof of her abuse, tattooed onto
her skin in a lurid reminder of everything she’s survived.
Caught
between a brutal past and an uncertain future, Uma’s reluctant to bare herself
to anyone, much less a rough ex-con whose rage drives him in ways she will
never understand. But beneath his frightening exterior, Ivan is gentle. Warm.
Compassionate. And just as determined to heal Uma’s broken heart as he is to
destroy the monster who left his mark scrawled across the delicate tapestry of
her skin.
Excerpt:
“Come closer,” he said.
So Uma could see him better? So he could get a clearer look at her? So he could
touch her? She wasn’t sure she could take him touching her, but she gave him
three small steps.
Still a ways from the
rumpled bed in the corner, he stood beside his anvil, shirtless in the
half-light. She wished he’d pick up the hammer and make the sparks fly again.
She wished for bared teeth to go with the dark smattering of fur across his
chest and arrowing down into his waistband. Uma wanted him feral, a beast she
could tame. Would he bite her if she let him?
Her gaze slid down his body—taking in the long lines marred by
gentle whorls of dark hair and the occasional scar. Thick thigh muscles wrapped
in white, white skin. Their heft excited her. Her nostrils flared with some
strange animalistic desire to bite him.
Oh, that. That notion was right.
“Will you take your shirt
off?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
It didn’t even sound like her voice—harder, surer.
A strangled little half
sigh escaped his mouth, and Uma felt for him; she really did. Only she wanted
so badly to see him that she couldn’t let him off the hook. So she waited.
And then he did it.
Throwing his head back to look down his nose at her in that defiant way that
big men have—professional athletes in the stadium, soldiers on the
battlefield—he curled his fingers around the elastic clinging to his hips.
Without blinking, Uma
stared, panting lightly. Nothing could have pulled her away.
For once, she wasn’t the
self-conscious one. For once, she was in the position of power, the watcher
instead of the watched. Was it wrong to enjoy it? Probably. She nearly put her
hand out to stop him. She shouldn’t demean him like this.
He smiled. A strange
hybrid of a smile—a perfect mix, much like the man. The kind of smile a gentle
monster would give. Half-sweet and half utterly wicked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Praise for Under Her Skin:
“The perfect romance…a hint of danger, a whole lot of spice, and an HEA you believe in.” - Anne Calhoun, award-winning author of Under the Surface
"Passionate and heart-wrenching." - HelenKay Dimon, author of The Fixer
About
Adriana Anders:
Adriana has acted and sung, worked for start-ups,
multinationals and small non-profits, but it wasn’t until she returned to her
first love—writing romance—that she finally felt like she’d come home. Today,
she resides with her tall French husband, and two small children in the
foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Visit
Adriana: www.adrianaanders.com
Read
more: www.booksmarttarts.com
Thanks for the excerpt!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure!
DeleteThis is awesome! I love this book and I can't wait until the rest of the world gets to read it!
ReplyDeleteYou're so lovely!
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