All of Me
Love Between the Bases # 1
Love Between the Bases # 1
By: Jennifer Bernard
Releasing May 26th, 2015
Avon
Jennifer Bernard, the USA Today bestselling author of
the Bachelor Firemen series, scores another homerun with a brand-new series
about sexy, single baseball players.
Playing for the
Kilby Catfish is hotshot pitcher Caleb Hart’s last chance to salvage his career
after a major league meltdown. But the day of his opener with the minor league
team, Caleb strikes out with the gorgeous woman who is delivering a petition to
run the unruly Catfish out of town. Now to stay in the lineup, Caleb will need
to score big with the feisty brunette he can’t keep out of his thoughts.
After the nasty
lies Sadie Merritt’s rich ex-boyfriend spread about her all over town, she’s
lucky to have a job at all. She can’t afford to screw it up by falling for the
player who is supposed to be helping her change the image of the fun-loving
Catfish. But that’s easier said than done when Caleb’s voice alone is enough to
make her pulse race. And when he surprises her with a mind-blowing kiss, she
knows there’s no turning back.
Caleb made her lose her head, plain and simple.
Sadie rested
her forehead against his chest, amazed all over again by the firmness of his
toughened muscles. The heat of his body contrasted with the cool water in the
most heavenly way. “Maybe I didn’t think this all the way through.”
“Are you telling me a dumb baseball player got the
better of a brilliant future law student? Nah.” He bent his head so he could
nuzzle her hair. “You smell nice. Like water lilies.”
She smelled hot man, mixed with lake water and
sun-baked mesquite. Somehow they’d drifted away from the gravelly edge, so the
stench of mud wasn’t as prominent. She felt so dreamy and secure, held tight in
Caleb’s arms as they floated aimlessly in the lake. He grinned down at her, the
light reflected off the lake water turning his eyes a soft, clear blue. Sun
glinted in his hair, spangled with crystal drops of water. He really was a
remarkably beautiful man. Everything seemed to still while she soaked in the
details of his powerful physique, his rawboned handsomeness, the flash of
vulnerability in his eyes.
She could really lose herself in him. Completely
and utterly. Never before had she felt anything close to that.
“Dream on,” she told him, and flipped out of his arms.
She dove under the surface, letting the slide of water through her hair and
across her body wash away the effects of that alarming moment.
She’d always loved to swim, and it took only a few
moments to put distance between herself and Caleb. But he wasn’t a professional
athlete for nothing, and within moments he was splashing in her wake.
Shrieking with breathless laughter, she flung
herself backward, as if onto a watery couch. He grabbed an ankle, and she
flipped to her stomach, kicking hard. But it was no use; she felt herself being
inexorably pulled toward him, his wonderfully big hands reeling her in.
And then there she was, snuggled against his chest
again. It rose and fell with his rapid breaths. “There, that’s better,” he said
with satisfaction, the words rumbling against her ear. “I kinda like this whole
fishing thing.”
“No fair, I got distracted,” she protested, turning
her body in the circle of his arms so she could see his face. Water streamed
from his hair, down his neck to his wide shoulders. His eyelashes clung
together, so his eyes looked bluer than ever. “I’d forgotten how much I love
swimming in this lake.”
“It’s starting to grow on me too. Or at least
something is.”
She giggled, and then, as a grin split his face,
started laughing. As he watched her something shifted in his expression. His
goofy smile vanished, replaced by an intent, hungry look. His head lowered,
eyes glittering. The rest of the world receded, so only his face remained,
coming closer and closer to hers, his mouth reaching for her …
Oh wow. He was going to kiss her.
And then he was
kissing her. His lips burned against hers, sending pure shock throughout her
body. Kisses didn’t feel like that. They didn’t turn your lips to fire, they
didn’t liquefy your lungs so you could barely breathe. They didn’t make you
dizzy.
She pulled away with a gasp, still in his embrace,
their faces close enough so she felt his quickened breathing. Caleb looked just
as stunned as she felt, his eyes gone dark and gray as a hurricane. For a long
moment the two of them just stared at each other, poised on the edge of the
unknown. Water lapped against her hips, and a breath of air kissed her
shoulder. Everywhere her body touched Caleb’s, heat seared.
And then they were on each other again. He seemed
to consume her, exploring her mouth with long sweeps of his tongue that left
sparkling trails of heat in their wake. He tasted so wonderful, like summer
days, like fireflies and bicycling down dusty back roads, like every time she’d
laid on her back in a meadow and dreamed about the future.
Little whimpers rose from her throat. She pulled
her mouth from his, her cheek brushing across his stubbly chin, its roughness
sending more shocks through her. His grip loosened and she slid down his body
until she stood on the lake bottom, pressed against him from head to toe. The
huge bulge in his briefs made her feel a little faint.
“Sweet Jesus,” he whispered as she nibbled on his
jaw. She couldn’t help it; she wanted to eat him up. “You’re making me crazy.
We can’t do this here.”
“Shh.” She didn’t want to talk. She wanted this
all-consuming, crazy conflagration that she’d never even imagined before.
Tugging at his shoulders, she rose on tiptoe, brushing her lips against his
again. With a heartfelt groan, he gave in.
Great start to a new series! I happen to love baseball, so I had high hopes and I was not disappointed. There is plenty of baseball drama to go with the romance drama so that it didn't feel like the hero happened to be a baseball player. Caleb and Sadie make a cute couple and they had pretty good chemistry. Their relationship progresses at a believable pace as they start out by having lots of phone conversations before they finally give into their attraction. There are plenty of characters introduced including Sadie's friend Donna and Caleb's team members as well as the team owner. I can already see a couple of pairings for future books, can't wait to see what's in store for this team! Overall a fun and sexy contemporary romance.
ARC via Edelweiss
Jennifer Bernard is the
USA Today bestselling author of the Bachelor Firemen of San Gabriels series.
She is a graduate of Harvard and a former news promo producer. The child of
academics, she confounded her family by preferring romance novels to … well,
any other books. She left big city life for true love in Alaska, where she now
lives with her husband and stepdaughters. She’s no stranger to book success, as
she also writes erotic novellas under a naughty secret name not to be mentioned
at family gatherings.
Thank you for hosting ALL OF ME
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