Under My Skin
J.M. Stone
Re-release and new cover reveal
Presented by Sassy Savvy Fabulous PR & Marketing
Synopsis
One
little piercing. That’s all Allie wanted when she dragged her best friend into
Skin Deep. She never imagined that it would result in a busted lip and an
engagement ring for Emma, or that it would come with a double side of six-foot
plus, tattooed, sexy-as-sin, H.O.T. maleness for her! Now she’s torn because
Brandon and Jackson have both let it be known that they want her. And both are
used to getting what they want. But what about what Allie wants?
Brandon is hot for Allie. So is Jackson. Neither of them are willing to step aside for the other and they’re tired of Allie running. So they hatch a plan…
Add in wedding bells, a dog named Doug, and you’ve got a recipe for a good time. Or a disaster.
*Recommended for readers 18+ due to HOT sexual encounters, adult situations, and language.
**This is book two of the Skin Deep Series; recommended to read after Skin Deep, book one of the series.
Brandon is hot for Allie. So is Jackson. Neither of them are willing to step aside for the other and they’re tired of Allie running. So they hatch a plan…
Add in wedding bells, a dog named Doug, and you’ve got a recipe for a good time. Or a disaster.
*Recommended for readers 18+ due to HOT sexual encounters, adult situations, and language.
**This is book two of the Skin Deep Series; recommended to read after Skin Deep, book one of the series.
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***Under
My Skin is ON SALE for $1.99!!
Bonus
Excerpt from Skin to Skin (Book 3…coming soon!)
Chapter 1
“I kissed Brandon.”
The words exploded
from my mouth, following a whispered apology, before I could even think about
stopping them. Horrified, I clapped my hand over my lips, squeezing my eyes
shut as I imagined Allie’s fist meeting my face. That was so not how I
envisioned finally getting this off my chest.
When nothing but
silence met my comment, I risked peeking over at her. She was standing beside me,
her hands frozen over the flaps of the box we were unpacking that had just come
into her store. She stood like that for just a second before she smoothed her
hands down her swollen stomach and nodded decisively.
“You know, I was
going to ask you why there was some kind of tension between you two. Guess I
don’t have to do that now, huh?”
She chuckled wryly,
the corner of her mouth tilting up in a half-smile.
My heart stopped, but
my face crumpled and my mouth started running of its own volition.
“I…I don’t have any
excuse, really, Allie. I’m sorry. I’m so, so completely sorry, and I really
never meant for it to happen. We were just on that road trip and I got drunk
one night when I was feeling sorry for myself and…I just kissed him.” I threw
my hands up, shaking my head as I felt tears threaten.
Soft, small hands
cupped my cheeks and brought my face around. My eyes clashed with the big,
bright blue ones of my future sister-in-law.
She sighed, her
thumbs gently wiping away the tears that had just started to fall. “Chloe,
don’t cry. You didn’t do anything wrong. Brandon and I were done at that point.
I’m marrying your brother, and I’m having your nephew. I’m not mad…I won’t lie
to you and say it doesn’t hurt a little…but I’m not mad.”
The tears began flowing
faster down my cheeks. How could I have done this to the amazing person
standing in front of me? How could I have hurt the person who has done so much
for me ever since I showed up unannounced and buried under a mountain of
personal baggage?
A sob bubbled out
from my chest and I choked it back, not wanting to break down completely. I
didn’t deserve to break down in front of Allie…she was the one who was hurt. I
deserved nothing more than an ass kicking.
Allie groaned and
pulled me into her arms, hugging me tightly and the dam broke. She just held me
tighter, letting me cry on her shoulder, literally. And as shitty as it was for
me to do, I let her do it, and I cried. Hard.
When the storm of
sobs had finally slowed, she pushed me back and looked me over as I stood
there, struggling to catch my breath and wipe my face.
“Okay. I think that
this is a perfect time to just close up shop, head over to your house, and have
some special sundaes.” She paused, rubbing her belly again before shaking her
head and smiling as she said, “Well, you’re gonna have a special sundae
and I’m just gonna eat the frozen yogurt.”
I gave her a watery
smile and nodded. We shut down the store and headed to Allie’s, er, my
house. It was still so weird to say my house, and even weirder to hear Allie
say it, too, especially because not too long ago, it was Allie’s house.
I guess I’m even more flabbergasted at the generosity of Allie…I mean, I had
nowhere to stay when I showed up on Luke and Emma’s doorstep, looking for my
brother. I knew he was building a house and I could always crash with him, that
went without saying. Instead, I ended up at Allie’s house in her spare room,
and when she moved into Jackson’s house, she’d handed me a piece of paper that
turned out to be the deed to her house. I tried to refuse, but…I finally gave
in a took it for what it was worth; a chance to start over fresh on my own two
feet, which is exactly what I came here for. I just didn’t expect it to happen
so quickly.
I left L.A. a broken
and battered mess, running to the little town of Phillus, Ohio where my brother
had decided to relocate. Initially, he’d come to see his best friends, Luke and
Brandon, but one look at Allie and his mind was made up. He bought land,
started building a house, and now he and Allie are engaged and expecting my little
nephew in a little over two months. Of course, their story was a little more
complicated than that, but…you get the idea.
Half an hour later we
were sitting on my couch after a slight detour to the store to grab special
sundae items. The first time they’d handed me one, I was a little skeptical.
Strawberry daiquiri wine cooler over strawberry frozen yogurt? Yeah, not a
combination I ever really thought would be good. But lemme tell ya, it is
yummy!
I took another bite
of my sundae and laughed at the yearning, pathetic look Allie shot my bowl as
she spooned up her own bite of boozeless fro yo. She scowled as she shoveled it
into her mouth on a huff.
We ate in silence for
a minute before Allie broke it on a sigh. “Look. I know I said it hurt earlier
when you told me you kissed Brandon. It’s true…it does hurt. But I have no
right to be mad at you, and like I said, I’m not mad at you. Brandon
made his choice to walk away from what we had, and I made the choice to let
him. I gave up, didn’t fight for him, and do you know why?”
I shook my head, my
own eyes beginning to brim with tears as they started falling from hers.
“I didn’t fight for
him because I realized that, deep down, I knew the love I had for Jackson was
so much deeper than the love I have for Brandon. But I’m selfish, I guess,
because if he hadn’t walked away, I would have kept him with me, and honestly,
that would have probably ruined us...someone would have ended up unhappy and,
in the end, we wouldn’t even have the friendship that we do. I couldn’t bear
that. Besides Emma, he’s my best friend.”
She paused for breath
and to wipe away the tears falling unchecked down her cheeks. “I was so jealous
of you, Chloe, when you showed up. Brandon was always running to help you,
sleeping in your bed. You knew it…I mean, hell, you apologized every five
fucking seconds. And I think my jealousy stemmed from the fact that you guys
were close…you’ve known each other and been friends for years. Not only that,
but…you’re fucking gorgeous!”
She laughed and I
just shook my head at her. She held her hand up when I would have voiced my
protest, and I shut up, allowing her to continue.
“In the long run,
Brandon did what was best for him, and for me and Jackson, too. And yes, God,
it still hurts and I’m still so pissed off at him at times, so much that I just
want to throat punch him! But, again, he did do what was best. For all of
us. Regardless, I love him, and I always will. He’ll always hold a special
place in my heart, and the woman who finally lands him is just gonna have to
deal with it, because I’m not letting go of his friendship. I can’t. Trust me,
I’ve went back and forth about this whole thing many times since he walked
away. Emma was ready to castrate him because of it; she kept saying that he had
made such a big deal about making it work and everything…and then just left it
all behind when things got hard.”
“But, he didn’t!” I
interjected loudly, shocking both myself and Allie.
She quirked her
eyebrows at me and cocked her head. “Well, yeah, Chloe, he kinda did,” Allie
said softly.
I shook my head,
still unsure as to why I was forcing the issue, but…I just couldn’t let her
think differently. Unable to stop, my mouth opened and the words poured out,
memories overtaking me…
About J.M. Stone
J.M. Stone is a legal assistant by day, and a writer by
night. She started writing at a young age, mostly poetry and song lyrics, some
of which were published. She currently lives in Ohio where she's lived for most
of her life, and enjoys spending time with her other-half, their mouthy
daughter, two spoiled and crazy dogs, and the rest of her abnormal family.
(Don't worry, abnormal is good!) In her spare time, she loves to read, write,
sing, and make people laugh, which usually happens at her own expense!
She loves to hear from her readers, so drop her line at jadelynna23@yahoo.com or connect with her online!
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4560885.J_M_Stone
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/JM-Stone/622443461116902
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorJMStone
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