Sunday, May 6, 2012

Excerpt: No Strings Attached by Stephanie Morris (Romance/ PG13)

TITLE: No Strings Attached SERIES: Guilty Pleasures AUTHOR: Stephanie Morris AUTHOR URL: http://www.stephaniemorris.webs.com GENRE/THEME: Contemporary Interracial Romance PUBLISHER: Amira Press URL TO THE BUYING PAGE: http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=366
Blurb: Maya Dunbar has dreamed of moving out of the small town she’s from to the big city for a long as she can remember. She’s put her own life on hold to take care of her responsibilities, but now she can finally start to live for herself. Maya wants to cut loose, experience a little excitement and mind-blowing sex. When she lays eyes on Zac Landon, she knows exactly who she’ll start with. Zac Landon is blown away the first time he meets Maya. She is breathtakingly beautiful, full of life and has a list of things to do behind closed doors that makes him more than willing to be a participant. The problem is Maya thinks she needs more than one man to fulfill her every need. Zac knows that he is the only man she needs and he won’t settle for no-strings attached.
Excerpt: The instant the door closed behind him, Maya walked over and sat down on the carpet next to Carla. “Okay, what are you up to now?” “Nothing, actually. A few weeks ago, I came up with a great idea.” “I just bet you did.” Maya wasn’t ready to share Carla’s excitement. “I’m betting it has something to do with this Zac guy, right?” “Yes. He’s the guy who was Jay’s best man, but he didn’t get a chance to be there, remember?” Maya nodded but kept her tone guarded. “Oh yeah, now I remember. Zac Landon. We had to put Roderick in his place in the wedding at the last minute. Flu. The guy you said was so rich his parents know the Perots.” “Guessed it in one.” Carla stretched a little, then rubbed her back before leaning forward to rest her elbow on her knees. “Maya, Zac is so sweet. He has that charming personality. He is best friends with Jay and they work together.” “Hang on a second.” Maya leaned forward to look Carla square in the eye. “This sounds like the sort of introduction you give someone when you are trying to play matchmaker. I don’t want to be set up with Jay’s loyal friend. What if he is looking for something serious or...or marriage?” “Believe me, Zac’s not. His last—” “Fine, but he is still Jay’s best friend. I want to have the chance to go out and meet completely random people.” She placed a hand on Carla’s leg to stress the importance. “Do you know that I haven’t come across many strangers in my life? I haven’t had the chance to experience the mystery of getting to know someone. Nor have I experienced the intrigue of trying to figure out a total stranger. And being here in Fort Worth, I have nothing but space and opportunity. I have my list, remember?” She started reciting it. “I want to know what it’s like to date a guy that’s wealthy.” “Which would be Zac.” Maya kept talking. “And a lawyer, and a police officer, and a military guy, and—” “I remember, but when we came up with the idea of moving to Fort Worth, we thought you and I would discover these adventurous guys together.” “So that’s it! You’re envious because you landed Jay before you could explore the way you’ve always wanted to.” “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just concerned that you’ll be out here alone at first, and that might not be the best thing for you.” Maya shrugged. “I’ll be fine. I’m twenty-five and have experienced enough responsibility and maturity to last me a lifetime.” “That’s what worries me.” “Wait just a minute. Are you implying that I can’t be trusted on my own?” Carla’s expression softened. “I’m saying it’s a big difference in living in Wills Point versus living in Fort Worth. It’s no secret that you have been looking forward to this move for a long time. I just think you should spend the first couple of weeks with a guy like Zac, who can show you some of the trendy places and show you the seedy parts of town while you’re finding your way.” Maya scowled at Carla. “I hope you know that you sound like my mother right now. Is this one of those side-effects of being married and pregnant?” “Of course not,” Carla replied around a laugh. “Believe me when I say that Zac is the guy mothers do their best to keep their daughters away from. He’s extremely attractive, sinfully sexy, and he has no desire whatsoever to get into a committed relationship.” “You don’t say.” Mr. Zac Landon was starting to sound more intriguing. Maybe he could be her wealthy guy, as long as he understood that it was to be no strings attached. She had a lot of exploring to do. She was dying to know how people outside of Wills Point lived and played. She had every intention to discover it all while enjoying herself. The different men she encountered would add to her bank of exploration until she knew all that she needed to know. Still, she had to be certain that Zac was the right man. “You’re positive that he has commitment phobia? He is friends with Jay, who had nothing but aspirations to find a wife and settle down.” “I’ll be the first to admit that they have similar ideologies in several areas, but rest assured, marriage is not one of them. Zac doesn’t believe that getting married is a wise thing to do. While he won’t admit it to our faces, Zac is positive that Jay and I made a mistake and will be in divorce court before the year is up.” Maya scowled. “You most definitely haven’t. The two of you are meant for each other. Why in the heck would he think something so terrible?” “From what I know about him through Jay, I would say it is because of his upbringing. His parents are still married, but they don’t even live in the same country. They have a marriage of convenience.” Maya shook her head. “I’ll be the first to say that’s extremely weird, but a person can’t base all marriages on something that is out of the ordinary.” “I agree with you wholeheartedly, but that is the only example Zac has. Jay says that a lot of the people that run in the social circle that Zac’s parents do have the same sort of marriage. While they might not live in different countries, they live in different parts of the house, or different houses. But you and I both know that there are a lot of unhappy marriages out there, especially the high-society marriages, which is the sort of arena Zac’s parents are in. I also think that Zac is supposed to marry into that world, which he sees as hell on earth. He’s not the sort to rock the boat, so the path of least resistance is for him not to ever marry.” “Wow. That’s very depressing.” “Not necessarily. There isn’t a rule that states everyone must get hitched. Think about it. You don’t want to.” “At least not for a while, but I’m not saying never. I could end up meeting Mr. Right.” She smiled at Carla. “It won’t be for at least ten years, though. I need to sow some wild oats.” “Maya, I know you have your heart set on just jumping out into the wilderness of the city. Fine. But regardless of how ready you think you are, you need someone to show you around a little. It will be a good way to learn what to watch out for. There are some people in the city that will take advantage of you. Zac would be the perfect partner in crime, and he’s also drop-dead gorgeous.” “That’s good and all. However, I think I am little over the age requirement of needing a babysitter. I mean, I—” She paused when a knock echoed through the apartment. For a second, her brain didn’t process the sound. “Someone’s at the door.” She jumped up. “Carla, someone is at the door! I know it’s only Jay with the food, but I am still excited.” She made her way to the door. “Check to see who it is first!” Carla shouted when Maya went to open the door. “Good suggestion. I got so excited that I almost forgot. Even if I do know who it is, one can never be too careful. It could end up being a crazed killer, right?” Grinning, she looked into the tiny peephole. With a startled squeak, she jumped back. “Maya? What is it?” “It’s not Jay.” She didn’t know the guy on the other side of her door, but even through the distorted view of the peephole, he looked very yummy. “Does he have blond hair and green eyes?” “Yes.” “Then it’s Zac.” “My temporary guardian? He’s white.” “You don’t say? You know Jay is white, too, right?” Maya stuck her tongue out at Carla. “You know what I mean.” “Yes, I do. I also know that you have dated at least one white guy in your past.” Maya shuddered. “Now is not the time to bring up Kirby.” “You’re right. Zac can run circles around him.” Maya peeked through the peephole again. Jeans, red shirt, tennis shoes. Sexy-as-sin. “Are you going to open the door?” Carla asked. “You know what?” Maya turned the knob, a hot chill of anticipation traveling down her spine. “I most certainly am.” Already have this book? Then check out the first book in the Guilty Pleasures series! Book 1 of 4: Compromising Position URL TO THE BUYING PAGE: http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=358

1 comment:

Debby said...

another great excerpt. Thanks so much
debby236 at gmail dot com