Charlotte Chronicles XI & Cover Reveal for Unraveled

January 3, 2014  | Charlotte Chronicles, Promo  | (3)

The cover reveal for Unraveled occurred today. It’s a fantastic collaboration of photography by David Wagner LA and design by Meljean Brook whose books are more amazing than her design skills. Thanks for The Rock Stars of Romance for putting together the cover reveal tour and thank you to all the bloggers that participated.

Blurb:

Twenty-five-year-old Sgt. Gray Phillips is at a crossroads in his life: stay in the Marine Corps or get out and learn to be a civilian? He’s got forty-five days of leave to make up his mind but the people in his life aren’t making the decision any easier. His dad wants him to get out; his grandfather wants him to stay in. And his growing feelings for Sam Anderson are wreaking havoc with his heart…and his mind. He believes relationships get ruined when a Marine goes on deployment. So now he’s got an even harder decision to make: take a chance on Sam or leave love behind and give his all to the Marines.

Twenty-two year old Samantha Anderson lost her husband to an IED in Afghanistan just two months after their vows. Two years later, Sam is full of regrets—that she didn’t move with her husband to Alaska; that she allowed her friends to drift away; that she hasn’t taken many chances in life. Now, she’s met Gray and taking a risk on this Marine could be her one opportunity to feel alive and in love again. But how can she risk her heart on another military man who could share the same tragic fate as her husband?

You can add it to your Goodreads shelves.  The book will be on sale for $3.99 on January 20, 2014.  There is still time to be part of the tour and obtain a copy of the ARC of Unraveled for review. Link to sign up is here.

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Charlotte

My request for a kiss doesn’t result in Nathan rolling me over and pinning me down on the bed. Oh no, he jumps off the mattress like I’ve stuck a burning iron in his side. His athletic instincts kick in and he’s halfway across the room before another breath is taken by either of us.

“What the fuck?” he almost yells at me and then, tossing a worried glance toward the door as if my dad will bust through any minute, he lowers his voice and repeats the question sans profanity. “What did you just ask me?”

Scowling, I answer, “I asked for you to kiss me, not kill me.”

He places one hand on his hip and another he scrubs through his hair, looking exasperated but his irritation is nothing compared to my mounting annoyance. My earlier shyness is chased away by my frustration. This is classic Jackson brother behavior. Because I’m a girl, I can’t possibly want the same things that they do.

“Charlotte, I…” he begins but I cut him off. I don’t even want to hear what he has to say. I roll over on my side so I’m not facing him.

“Forget it. I’m not going to beg you.” I would if I thought it would do any good. It’s just…since I’ve been sick Nathan’s been different to me. He’s been nicer and he’s held me closer. His behavior is not so brotherly. I catch him looking at me with a gleam in his eye and it makes me feel warm all over. But now he’s looking everywherebut me and so I turn away.

I feel his body depress the side of the bed and he rolls me toward him.

“What’s this all about?”

“Nothing, just go away.” I keep my eyes covered so he can’t see my hurt at his instant rejection. He didn’t even have to think twice about it. He can kiss—and more—with any number of girls at school or other schools or heck, even that a couple of girls who live in our building but the idea of kissing me results in curse words and discomfort.

“I’m not going away,” he insists. His palm is on my shoulder and I feel electrified just from that small touch and I wonder what it would feel like if he touched me other places.

“All that talk about me being important to you seems like just that—talk.” I mumble still refusing to look at him. He pulls on my wrist that is covering my eyes but I resist. It would be easy for him to overpower me but instead he just lets go and even that makes me sad.

“It’s not just talk, but you’re fifteen and I think we should wait.”

“I’ll be sixteen in five months and it’s not like you weren’t kissing girls when you were fifteen.”

“You stay here and we’ll kiss when you’re ready.”

I drop my arm away and sit up abruptly. Nathan reaches out to steady me and we are only inches apart. If I leaned forward I could kiss him. Instead I say slowly and clearly, “I’m ready now.”

“You’re not.”

“How do you know this? You were like twelve the first time you kissed Molly Masterson at her birthday party. And you had sex when you were fourteen at Olivia Petrzelka in her parents’ rec room.”

He gapes at me. “Goddamn Nick. I’m going to beat him until he can’t remember his own name let alone anything about me.”

“Nick? If you want to shut down the gossip pipeline, you better start picking better partners.”

Nathan does a double take. “Are you saying that it’s the girls?” He draws out the word girls in shocked disbelief.

“What do you think we’re talking about?” I drop to the bed and stretch out on the big bed like a starfish.  “I’m going to kiss someone some day. Do you want that first kiss to be yours?”

He glares at me and presses his lips together but behind his glower I can see something else, something that maybe if I was more experienced I could identify. I just know it’s there and it’s something other than anger.

I stretch farther, making tiny linen angels in my bedsheets. Nathan’s attention is diverted and at first I think he’s staring at my chest, where my IV port is but then I realize his gaze is lower, much lower. A devilish impulse comes over me and I undulate my hips, draw my legs up and allow my knees to fall to the side. As I watch beneath my eyelashes, Nathan does not look away. He’s riveted and my gaze falls down his body past his chest and down to his sweatpants that hide absolutely nothing.

I’ve seen erections before, on the Internet, but I couldn’t decide whether I thought that penises were disgusting or attractive. I prefer looking at the naked chest, the abs on a male model,  or even his back.  Somehow I know that Nathan’s erection would be different, amazing. Girls in the locker room talk about blow jobs and oral but I haven’t done any of that. I pretend like I know what they are talking about but the closest I’ve ever come to anything remotely sexual is a few Tumblr gifs. No one is willing to brave the Jackson brothers to get to me and I haven’t been too interested in breaching the line either.

Saliva pools in my mouth as I think about taking Nathan inside my mouth and I wonder what it would feel like ifhe touches me between my legs.  As quickly as the wanton spirit had spread over me, it leaves and I lock my legs together, rolling to the side, embarrassed at my thoughts.

Nathan groans, my motions awakening him from his trance. He turns to face the wall, and presses his forehead against a palm. Shame sets in and I’m sorry for what I’m doing to Nathan, what I’m doing to myself.

“I’m going to Switzerland. I’m leaving after the first of the year and I just don’t want my first time to be with someone other than you.” I bite my lip and then touch him tentatively on his back and wait for his response.

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