Meet Cohen & Danielle in the newest stand alone
in the Hope Town Series by Harper Sloan!
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1Aguv8a
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1z4HNQJ
Nook: http://bit.ly/16PbeyN
Synopsis
Or I should say recognize him for who he was.
I’ve loved Cohen Cage since I was a small child. He’s been my everything for the last twenty-two years. I’ve loved him through every girlfriend he’s ever brought home. Through his college years and then mine. I’ve loved him through two deployments. And ever since the day I told him how I felt, he’s acted like I’m a stranger.
My name is Danielle Reid, and it’s time for me to get my man.
Our future is an unexpected fate, and no matter what our parents, siblings, and friends say…it’s going to be worth every second of the fight to make it happen.
4.5 Stars by Lisa Kane
Danielle Reid, Izzy and Axel's daughter, has longed for Cohen Cage for most of her life. The two have always been close in spite of the five year difference in their age. But as they got older, they drifted apart. Cohen joined the marines and has been deployed off and on for the last few years.
Dani is 21 and works in Sway's hair salon. Sway is well known as he has a reality show about his business-Sway All the Way. His shop is upscale, hip and the place to get your hair done. Dani is witty, gorgeous and very independent. The whole offspring of the Corps Security group are close and Dani's best friends with Lyn and Lila (the twin sisters of Cohen) and Maddi Locke (Emmy and Maddox's daughter). Cohen has always been protective of his "Dani-girl." But when Dani comes down with a bad case of the flu, he finds out exactly what she craves from him in one of her fever induced dreams.
"Are you hard...everywhere? My dream is going to stop soon. It always does. You should just tell me now. Then, when I wake up, I won't be disappointed because I once again missed all the good stuff." I sign deeply. "I bet you're huge," I giggle.
"Fuck. Me," he whispers on a prayer.
"That would be nice too."
It's obvious that he wants her as much as she wants him, but he won't cross that line. But Dani wants more and this time she's willing to put her feelings out there. Cohen knows all about how she feels, when she was 15, and he was about to be deployed, she told him her feelings and that she would wait for him to realize he felt the same way about her.
"I'm going to miss you, Cohen. I know you don't look at me like I look at you, but one day, you're going to come back and I'll still be waiting for you. Waiting for you to see me like I see you. Mark my words, Cohen Cage. One of these days, you're going to be mine. And until you're ready...I'll be here. I'll be waiting."
And in spite of all the years between then and now, he has never forgotten a single word of what she said. Whether he was on a date, or playing a big game in his football career, her words always came back to remind him of her. Most recently when he was in the middle of a warzone, they gave him the extra push he needed, the hope to keep going on.
Since the story is told in both POV's the reader is made aware of Cohen's mixed feelings. He is so torn; on one hand he wants Dani and she is finally old enough for him to give in to the desire he's had for her since she was a teenager. But on the other hand, he is being deployed in a few weeks and what can he offer her?
As much as he pushes her away, she pushes back. The night of his going away party Dani is hurt by his actions and I just may have had the stomach plummets from this part. A jealous, hurt Dani pushes his buttons and he finally confesses how he feels about her. Passions flare, and what they both have wanted forever happens.
This story can almost be broken into two parts-before Cohen's deployment and after it. He is crazy for Dani and being away from her is messing with his mind. With the covert operations that he does, his life depends on keeping his wits about him and with limited communication allowed, he can't focus. Dani is having her own hard time and there are big changes coming in her life. But there is also danger. She somehow has attracted a nut job admirer and he isn't happy that Cohen is the man she wants.
Dani and Chohen have a rough road ahead of them. There is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding between them.
"I love you, Cohen. That will never change. But don't ever hurt me like that again. I'm strong, baby, and I'll make as many building blocks as we need until the day my last breath leaves my body, but don't make me build them out of pain."
We never doubt that they are perfect for each other, but these two will have to really work for their HEA. And did I mention the chemistry between these two or how they tear up the sheets?
Oh, God. I'm going to die. If he doesn't fuck me now, I'm going to die. My body is strung tight, every muscle just waiting to snap, and the nerves are firing sporadically throughout my whole body. I whither against the mattress, my fist clutching the sheets as my body heats with arousal so powerful that my back lifts off the mattress and a whine-cry-scream noise shoots from my mouth.
And the epilogue...Harper Sloan nails her epilogues! Each one leaves my eyes wet and tears rolling down my face and I love it!
I loved this story! I particularly liked that we got to revisit all our guys and their women from the Corps Security series. But having the kids grow up and develop their own story lines-pure magic! I don't know how many books are planned or which offspring will get their own stories, but I hope there are lots in our future!
"We've been fated for this moment since before we were even born, baby, and I'm beyond fortunate with this unexpected fate that's been given to us."
Excerpt
“Dani-girl.” His voice, that rich rumble of masculine excellence, washes over me and I shiver again before cursing under my breath. The rumble of his low laughter tells me that he definitely didn’t miss that little move.
Kill me now.
“Hey, Coh,” I say with a smile. “What brings you in? Last minute, I might add.” I pat the chair before walking around and holding the back while he sits down.
When his scent hits my nose, I almost come on the spot. Lord, he smells good. I wonder what he would smell like while his body covered mine, all sweaty from hours of good lovemaking. I run my fingers through the longer lengths on the top and feel my cheeks heat slightly, thinking about doing the same when his face is buried between my legs.
“…needed a trim.”
Shit. I missed what he said because, naturally, I was thinking about him naked. Naked and thrusting into my body. Naked and feasting between my spread thighs.
“You feeling okay? I thought Nate said you were better?”
“Uh, I’m fine. Just—is it hot in here?” I fan my face and avoid his eyes.
He’s silent, so I take that as a sign that it’s safe to bring my attention back to him.
Big mistake there. His knowing eyes are boring right into mine. The chocolate depths sparkling in a way that makes it clear he has a good idea about where my mind was going.
“Did you hear what I said, Dani-girl?”
“Of course I did, Cohen. What, did you think I was standing here daydreaming?” I joke.
“Well, yeah, that’s exactly what I think.” His eyes darken and he smirks a devilish grin. “Did you know you talk in your sleep, Dani?” he asks, and I drop my comb.
Oh, God. Shut up, shut up, shut up. This is not happening. No way.
“No, I don’t,” I childishly snap.
“Dani, you do. So, yeah, I do think you were standing there daydreaming. Want to know why?” He uses his booted foot to move his chair so that he’s facing me, and then he leans in so that his face is dangerously close to mine. Even when he’s seated, his head is almost level with my own. Curse my horizontally challenged self. “While you were zoning off into space with your fingers running through my hair, you had this smile on your lips. The same smile you had the other day when you were dreaming. About me, Dani. And don’t deny it, because you don’t moan my name if you’re dreaming about another man. Yes, Dani, you very much do talk in your sleep.” He smiles again before leaning back and looking down to his phone. “Clean up my neck please, cut the length off the top, and give me a buzz on the sides. Other than that, you’re clear to continue with your thoughts.”
I must have been standing there like an idiot because he looks up from his phone, laughs to himself, and, with one tan hand, reaches out and pushes my mouth closed.
“You’re going to catch flies that way, Dani-girl. One day, maybe you can clue me in on what those dreams are about.”
Drives me insane, the control he has over me. There isn’t a single person in the world, other than Cohen, who can turn me into a ridiculously stupid, sputtering fool. My normal confidence disappears. And clearly, he isn’t as oblivious to my feelings as I originally thought.
How in the hell am I supposed to handle this?
Wait a minute. Cohen or not, I’m not going to let him pull my strings when I know he is just doing this to make me feel uncomfortable.
So, time to call his bluff.
“Why? You planning on doing something about it?”
He looks up sharply, clearly not having expected me to actually say something in return since he was going for shock value.
“Try me,” he demands, his voice thick and even deeper than normal.
I throw my head back and reach out to run my fingers thought his hair again, just barely suppressing the shivers. Curling my fingers slightly so that I can grab a good hold, I lean in and pull his head back at the same time. With my nose just a hair away from his and our breaths mingling together, I say, “Cohen, you couldn’t handle the truth of my thoughts when it comes to you and we both know it. So how about you let me know when you’re ready for me to clue you in.” I give his hair a light tug and smile when he swallows loudly and shifts in his seat. “Ready for that trim?” I ask with a wink, and I’m rewarded with his groan.
I have no idea how I do it, but I manage to get through his cut without coming unglued. I can see Lyn trying to get my attention from across the room. Stella had to leave after she overheard my words to Cohen because her giggles were getting the best of her. Cohen has remained silent the whole time. His eyes though… They’re speaking louder than his words ever could.
They haven’t left my reflection in the mirror since I started. I can feel them every time I shift. When I stopped to go grab another comb after I dropped my fourth one, I felt his gaze follow me across the room to Stella’s station. The few times I stopped cutting to meet his eyes, the heated promise written all over his face almost did me in. I almost just said ‘fuck it’ and climbed on his lap to have a go regardless of the people watching our every move.
I finish the last buzz of my clippers around his right ear and move to brush all the stray hair off. “All done,” I say softly and unclip his cape.
He stands, shoving his phone in the back pocket of his jeans, and walks over to stand in front of me. I continue to pretend I’m busy with the cape I just removed, brushing stray hairs off here and there, when his hand comes up, his finger and thumb hitting my chin, and my face is lifted until I have no choice but to look in his eyes.
“Do not tease me, Dani. It’s not a game you want to play if you don’t intend to follow through.”
“I-I wasn’t… I wouldn’t,” I stammer.
“You did, and I have no doubt you’ll have the brilliant idea to do it again. The next time you allude to those dirty thoughts I know you have about me, don’t think for a second that I won’t drag you to the closest bed to show you just how fucking dirty they’ll get.” He leans close, his scent hitting my nostrils, and I involuntarily inhale deeply, earning me a rumbled chuckle. “What you don’t know, Dani—because contrary to what you think, you don’t know me well enough to assume what having me would really be like. But I promise you this: every little thought that you have had that causes you to moan my name while scissoring those perfect legs back and forth, praying for completion—it would be so much hotter than you could ever imagine.” He gives me a soft, sweet kiss against my temple that has fire racing from that spot all over my body until it ends in the awareness that I’m pretty sure I just came in my pants.
About the Author
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About the Author
Harper lives in small town Georgia just a short drive from her hometown of Peachtree City. She (and her 3 daughters) enjoy ruling the house they dubbed 'Estrogen Ocean', much to her husband’s chagrin. Harper has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books; you can almost ALWAYS find her with her eReader attached. She enjoys bad reality TV and cheesy romantic flicks. Her favorite kind of hero--the super alpha kind!
Harper started using writing as a way to unwind when the house went to sleep at night; and with a house full of crazy it was the perfect way to just relax. It didn't take long before a head full of very demanding alphas would stop at nothing to have their story told.
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