ETERNAL: A Carolina Beach Novel by
Cecy Robson, tells the story of what happens when all is lost and then you find
the one. Neither Luci nor Landon planned on each other, and they definitely
didn’t plan on love in this New Year’s Eve, one-night stand romance. Fans of
FLIRTING WITH FIRE by Kate Meader and HOT SHOT by Kristen Callihan won’t be able
to put down this emotional and heartfelt read.
After months of bad luck and even worse men, Luciana Diaz
just wants to crawl under the covers and forget the year ever happened. Her
friend has other plans, convincing Luci to attend a New Year’s Eve party on the
affluent shores of Kiawah Island.
Luci never expected to have fun. She also never expected to
wake up next to a man she just met, or for this man to be the new attorney at
her firm.
Landon Summers is done with drama. After an ugly separation
and even worse divorce, he has no desire to jump into another relationship.
When his sister Trinity drags him to a New Year’s Eve party,
he doesn’t plan to stay long. One drink, a few hellos, and he’s out. Until he
meets Luci, the first person in months to draw his smile and incite his
passion.
Neither Luci nor Landon planned on each other, and they definitely didn’t plan on love. But the New Year means a fresh start, and eternal possibilities neither could deny…
Neither Luci nor Landon planned on each other, and they definitely didn’t plan on love. But the New Year means a fresh start, and eternal possibilities neither could deny…
Copyright © 2017 Cecy Robson
That smile that faded in Blythe’s
presence returns. I ease my way out of the bathroom and return to the kitchen,
but Landon is gone. So is my purse and our drinks.
My heart falls to my belly, only for it
to quicken when a hand presses tenderly against the small of my back. “Are you
hungry?” Landon asks. He motions to the corner where a set of heavy curtains
sway in the breeze. “I figured with all that we’re drinking, we should get
something to eat.”
“That would be lovely,” I say,
realizing how much I mean it.
He passes me my clutch and leads me
forward, a server slips out from behind a curtain with an empty tray, nodding
Landon’s way. As he passes, Landon slips something into his palm. “Thank you,
sir,” the young man tells him.
Landon smiles when I look up at him.
“After you,” he says.
He parts the curtain, allowing me into
a small terrace surrounded by tall glass dividers that repels the wind and
allows a magnificent view of the ocean. There’s not much room, the space only
large enough for a rectangular fire pit radiating with turquoise glass and a
small table with two chairs. To our right people laugh from a larger more open
terrace a level down. They can’t see us well, and I don’t really care to see
them.
Our beers are placed beside two empty
plates, along with two unopened bottles of water. At the center, there’s a
large plate filled with food. “Becca likes to eat breakfast out here when she’s
home. But she’s not using it and I didn’t want to waste the view.”
“It’s amazing,” I say, taking in the
splendor.
I didn’t expect to see the ocean this
far into the shore, especially at night. But with moon as bright and as low as
it is, its light spills across the waves, illuminating the water and casting a
glow along the sand.
Landon pulls out my chair. “I wasn’t sure
what you liked, so I asked the staff to bring a little of everything.” He
pauses. “You’re not one of those crazy vegans are you?” I laugh. “If you are, I
can ask them for some of that crazy vegan food you people like to eat.”
“My people like everything,” I assure
him, watching him take a seat in front of me.
“Good,” he says. “So do good ol’
Southern boys.”
We spend an outrageous amount of time
talking, and even more simply gazing at each other, smiling softly when the
words don’t quite come, and laughing when they finally do.
It’s only when Rihanna’s Love on the
Brain begins to play that Landon tears his attention away from me and back in
the direction of the party. “Don’t you hate it when everyone is dancing, and
you have no one to dance with?” he asks.
I glance down, playing with the fabric
of my skirt. “I think it’s worse when the wrong person asks you, and you’ve
been waiting for the right one.”
“Oh, yeah?” He grins when I nod. “I
suppose I should ask you, before the wrong person gets his chance.”
He doesn’t really ask. He doesn’t need
to. I place my hand in his when he opens his palm.
He pulls me up and into him, wrapping
his arms securely around my waist as mine circle his neck. He smiles as he
looks down and meets my eyes. I return it, losing myself in his stare.
We move to the beat as if we’ve danced
a hundred times, despite what I’m feeling is a slew of firsts.
The first time his hard body presses
against mine.
The first whisper of his breath against
my skin.
The first touch that has no inkling of
innocence.
And the first stroke of desire.
His hands slide to my hips as the bass
pounds deeper, craving more. “It’s almost midnight,” he rasps against my bare
shoulder.
I shudder as his lips graze over my
skin, not quite touching, trailing lightly just enough to tease. “Almost,” I
agree.
The allure in his voice robs me of air.
“I didn’t plan on having anyone to kiss.”
I almost reply, but the way Landon’s
mouth hovers over the sweep of my neck keeps me silent, as does the way he
draws an invisible line to my ear with his lips.
My heart thuds mercilessly as I wait
for his next words.
“But I guess I didn’t plan on you
either,” he murmurs, each word softly tortured.
His mouth feathers over mine as the
song ends and the countdown to New Year’s begins, opening and closing
tentatively, giving me a chance to pull away.
I don’t. I can’t. Not with how good he
feels and not with the way his body curls protectively around me.
Urgent voices and anxious steps echo
from inside as people rush to find partners to kiss as the countdown reaches
ten.
Landon and I aren’t waiting. His tongue
dives deep, prodding me possessively and taking me deep.
He grips my hips tighter, pulling me closer,
turning the sweet, tentative kiss passionate and daring.
I’m no longer simply kissing him, I’m
moaning.
And I’m not alone.
A rumble builds in his throat, ending
in a long, dragged out groan.
My body trembles with need, responding
and following the rough caress of his palms along my spine.
The clock strikes twelve, people are
cheering, bottles of champagne are exploding, and the ocean waves crash harder
against the shore. I barely hear them. I only see Landon as he pulls away, his
breaths labored like mine, his intensity welding me in place.
CECY ROBSON
is an author of contemporary romance, young adult adventure, and award-winning
urban fantasy. A double RITA® 2016 finalist for Once Pure and Once Kissed, and
a published author of more than eighteen titles, you can typically find her on
her laptop writing her stories or stumbling blindly in search of caffeine.
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