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BAD ROMANCE
A Stepbrother Novel
Jen McLaughlin
Releasing Sept 15th, 2015
In this explosive novel from bestselling author Jen McLaughlin, a good girl falls for the ultimate bad boy: her stepbrother. Perfect for fans of Sabrina Paige, Caitlin Daire, and Krista Lakes, Bad Romance proves that passion can be so wrong it’s right.
Seven years in the army will change a guy. But after a shoulder wound ends his career as a sniper, Jackson Worthington finds himself back home, fighting a battle that’s all too familiar: keeping his hands off Lily Hastings. She’s still her rich daddy’s little angel, innocent, impossibly lovely, as squeaky-clean as Jackson is dirty. And she’s still his stepsister—forbidden but not forgotten, not after the soul-melting kiss that got him kicked out of the house at eighteen. He couldn’t resist her then. How the hell can he resist her now?
Lily is about to marry a man she doesn’t love, and commit to a high-stress job she hates, all to please the father who controls every waking moment of her life. On top of everything, her teenage crush is back, with a sleek, chiseled body and a trace of the rebellious boy whose lips sealed her fate. Jackson’s timing couldn’t be worse . . . or better. Because Lily’s all grown up, too. She’s aching for another taste. And for the first time, she’s ready to be a bad girl.
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Not
even once.
“It
feels nice,” I said, trying to smile. Her thin legs flexed as she moved her
feet in the water, brushing her toes against mine. It wasn’t something we
hadn’t done before. Soft touches like that. But tonight . . . it made me suck
in a breath.
I cleared my throat and tried to think of something, anything,
to say. “I’m not even going to get to swim in it. Even if your dad refuses to
admit it, I’m out of here for the army soon.”
“I
know.” She sipped on her Coke, her gaze off in the distance. She looked . . .
sad. Which inexplicably made me sad, like our emotions were tied
together or some shit like that. Her small, delicate features looked flawless
in the late-afternoon sun. For some reason, I couldn’t stop staring. I was
going to miss her when I was gone, but that wouldn’t stop me from going.
Nothing would. “I’m sorry he’s such a jerk to you. You deserve better.”
And
that was why I liked Lilly; she was always on my side. She was the only one in
this ridiculous family that cared about me. I lifted my own Coke and shrugged.
“Whatever. I don’t care.”
“Yeah.
You do.” She rested her hand on my thigh, and I tensed. I had board shorts on,
so she didn’t touch skin, but still. It felt . . . intimate. And good. “I can
see it in your eyes.”
No
eighteen-year-old guy liked to hear his feelings showed in his eyes. So I
scoffed. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
“It’s
true,” she said a bit defensively.
No.
It. Wasn’t.
I
didn’t care about Walter, or his wife, or anyone but myself . . . and
Lilly. She was the one exception. And I’d show her that, right here. Right now.
Her hand was still on my thigh, so I covered it with mine. “The only person
whose opinion matters to me in this house is sitting right next to me, and I
mean it.”
She
licked her lips and shifted closer. “I care about you very much, Jackson.”
“Yeah.”
My heart sped up, and I smiled. “I know.”
A
laugh escaped her, and she bumped me with her shoulder, her gaze focused on my
lips. “Cocky much?”
“Yep.”
The way she looked at me, as if she wanted nothing more than to see what it
would feel like if I kissed her . . . well, there was only so much a guy like
me could ignore. And I was leaving, and I wouldn’t see her again, and man, I
wanted to find out what she tasted like so damn badly. Just one small, tiny,
innocent kiss. That was all I wanted. No one would ever know. Not even Walt.
“Know what I see in your eyes?”
She
parted those soft pink lips and stared at me as if I was some sort of god or
something. It made me feel a little bit ill, but also as though I could rule
the world, if I had her by my side. “What?”
“You
want me to kiss you,” I said, some unknown, greedy man taking over my actions.
I trailed my hand up her bare arm, leaving goosebumps in my wake. “To be your
first kiss. The one you remember for the rest of your life. To touch you.”
She
trembled and licked her lips. “How did you . . . ?”
Curling
my hand over her chin, I grinned. “Go ahead. If you’re brave enough to do it,
to take what you want, kiss me. No one will ever know you kissed your
stepbrother but us. It’ll be our little secret . . .”
I
knew she wasn’t going to, no matter how much I might wish otherwise. It was why
I left it up to her. I didn’t have qualms about it. Didn’t think it was wrong,
or dirty, because she wasn’t my damn sister. But there was no way she had it in
her to—
“You
know what?” Crawling into my lap, facing me, straddling my thighs, she cupped
my face and stared into my eyes. I got lost in hers, and some sinking suspicion
told me that I was staring at the person I was meant to live the rest of my
life with—which was crazy. “I know you think I’m too young, or too good, or too
scared to do it . . . so I’ll prove you wrong. And guess what? You’re going to
like it.”
And
then she did it. She kissed me.
And
she was right. I did like it.
Her
soft, sweet lips closed over mine, and she tightened her grip on my cheeks. And,
God help me, I finally found out what she tasted like. She smelled like
vanilla, sunshine, and innocence, and she tasted like heaven. . . .
And
bubblegum.
Moaning,
I took over the kiss, pressing her perky, soft breasts against my chest and
skimming my hands down her sides. When I gripped her ass and arched my erection
up against her, she gasped, giving me access to her mouth. I took it. . . .
And
then I took some more.
My
tongue found hers, and she gripped my shoulders, digging her nails in as she
pressed down against me, obviously wanting to feel my dick up against her core
again.
And
for the first time . . .
I
thought I’d finally found a home.
Burying
a hand in her hair, leaving the other on her sweet ass, I deepened the kiss,
taking it to the next level. Warning bells went off in my head—this was getting
too hot, too fast—but I ignored them, because she just felt way too fucking
good. What had started off as a lighthearted flirtation backfired, because she
was kissing me, and I didn’t want to stop. Having her in my arms made me feel
as if I wasn’t alone.
As
if we were meant to—
“Son
of a bitch,” Walter growled from behind me.
I
stiffened and broke off the kiss, my hand still on his daughter’s ass, and knew
I’d fucked up. I’d forgotten to listen for anyone coming. “Shit.”
“Daddy,
I—” Lilly started to say, scrambling to climb off me.
“Don’t
talk to me. Go to your room immediately.”
Lilly
gave me one long, panicked look, but did as told.
She
always did.
“And
you?” Walter grabbed me by the arms and yanked me to my feet. “How dare you
defile my baby girl? Get out of this house, and don’t come back. You’re cut
off. Not welcome here. Out of this family.”
I
forced a careless grin, even though watching Lilly run from me was like
watching my own heart leap out of my chest and sprint for the door. “It’s about
damn time. I never wanted to be in it, anyway.”
Yanking
free, I walked past the man I hated more than my own father. Walked right past
my mother, and didn’t even look at Lilly, who stood paralyzed halfway up the
stairs. If I looked at her, I’d waver. I’d want to stay, for her. And I
couldn’t afford to do that. Not anymore. So I walked right out the door. . . .
And
I didn’t look back.
"I was a different man than the boy she once knew. Was she still the same girl I kissed beside the pool?"
OH MY GEE!!!
This book was even better than I thought it would be!!
I was wrapped up in Jackson and Lily's world so fast! It was scandalous, and yet, it wasn't. This book was about two souls that were given an unlucky hand in so many ways. Most of all realizing how much they were meant for each other and then only allowed to hold each other at arms length.
"I wanted him to be my act of rebellion after a lifetime of doing everything right."
Lily had spent her life under the watchful (and strict) eye of her father. Once her father married again, she had no idea that her life would change forever. That one boy would make her want to leave everything behind. Too bad he was untouchable....or so she thought;)
Jackson was rough around the edges. He lived day to day waiting for an escape. So who would have thought that just a simple gesture with cookies and a smile would tilt his world on its axis? The one girl that he wasn't supposed to think about, touch, or fantasize about was his only saving grace.
One touch. One kiss. Everything changed.
Now years later, they come face to face again. And boy was the tension on alert!!!
"All I see when I look at you is the same kid who always did as she was told. You still that good little girl?"
"What do you think? Do I look good to you?"
My LAWD!!! Their chemistry was off the charts!! I mean...WOWZA!!
I don't care who you are, you feel the attraction within every page, every conversation. Through every single trial that Lily and Jackson face you can see the love there.
I was so immersed into the story that I didn't even think about the whole step-siblings aspect! I just wanted these two people to be together! You push for their happy ending. You don't want her to marry a man she doesn't love just because daddy says to. I was waiting for Lily to grow her wings and fly away from her father. I was wanting Jackson to fight for her without being scared of the outcome.
"She'd always been easy to read. It was her biggest weakness. Mine was her. The way she made me feel."
I just couldn't get enough of this story!
I never really wanted it to end because I wasn't ready to let go!
Jackson and Lily's story will forever stay in my book-loving heart because I'm a sucker for second chances. I live for a book that has characters you want to reach in and push together. I felt that within the first few pages of this book!
"Seven years in the military and resisting her was the hardest battle I'd ever faced."
Yes, this story might be a taboo subject to many, but you will not regret reading this!!!
It's a wonderful story about leading with your heart and not caring what others think. A story of independence not just from people suffocating your freedom, but from holding yourself back.
Great job, Jen McLaughlin!!
"Who's gonna be your next mistake?"
"You weren't a mistake. You were one of the best decisions I ever made."
Jen McLaughlin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy books with Penguin and Random House. Under her pen name Diane Alberts, she is also an USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance with Entangled Publishing. Her first release as Jen McLaughlin, Out of Line, released September 6 2013, and hit the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal lists. She was mentioned in Forbes alongside E. L. James as one of the breakout independent authors to dominate the bestselling lists. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal-clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, and three cats. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name.
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