Title: Talon
Series: Ashes & Embers #4
Author: Carian Cole
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: November 24, 2015
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Caring. Hard-working. A devoted family man, loves kids.
Clean cut, funny, smart, quiet, but a good communicator.
~ Asia Jenson
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL PARTNER:
Independent. Tall, blonde, sexy. Outgoing. Intelligent,
neat. Unslutty. Confident. Loves to travel. Committed.
~ Talon Valentine
A SOCIAL EXPERIMENT.
The concept was scary but exciting...
Marry a total stranger.
Live together for six months.
Journal everything. (Feelings. Fights. All of it.)
After six months, we each get $50K in trade for our journals, whether we stay married or not. But the goal is to commit to the experience and see if the relationship experts could put together the perfect matches.
I have never been lucky in love. This was my chance to find my soulmate.
I couldn’t wait to meet the man the experts felt was perfect for me.
My hopes were immediately dashed when I saw him at the altar.
Shit. I married my worst nightmare.
Right?!
At first she doesn't even know I'm there, and I have the pleasure of seeing her lying back, her eyes closed, one leg bent up and peeking out from the bubbles. And damn those fucking bubbles, they're covering everything else.
The universe is doing everything it can to prevent me from seeing my wife naked. I would laugh at that fact if it didn't bug me so damn much. I'm pretty sure karma is slapping me in the face for insulting her so many times, and karma is a bitch who has no fucks to give about my blue balls.
Her eyes suddenly snap open and she jumps when she sees me, water splashing around her.
"Tally, you scared the shit out of me. Why are you creeping around?" She crosses her arms over her chest and a few bubbles float up in the air. I love that my childhood nickname just slipped out of her mouth without her even realizing it. It sounded so intimate on her lips that I want to hear her say it again and again.
"I wasn't creeping; I just walked in. Should I wear a bell around my neck like the Princess?" I lean against the doorframe and gaze at her in the candlelight, her skin dewy from the moist heat, and I can't understand why she doesn't want me in that tub with her.
"What are you doing in here?"
I cross the room and kneel down next to the tub, taking in the way her eyes shift to my naked chest.
"I wanted to see your bath bomb in action." My eyes travel languidly down the length of her in the tub and catch glimpses of pink water under the bubbles.
"This one is actually a bubble bomb. See the bubbles?" She lifts her hand and blows the bubbles up over my head.
I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. "I see that. Pink water, too. Very pretty." I close my eyes as I kiss her hand, tasting the sweet water on her. "What flavor are you tonight? It's yummy."
She swallows and I can feel her hand trembling ever so slightly in mine. "It's cotton candy."
I nod my approval. "I like it. A lot."
She shifts in the water, lowering the leg that was up and raising the other, giving me a quick glimpse of her thigh as she does so.
"Do you think about me when you're in here?" I ask her, releasing her hand so I can dip my fingers into the warm water.
"I think about you all the time."
My heart does a funny lurch I'm pretty sure it ain't never done before. "Well, that's just about the best thing I've ever heard."
I let my hand slide farther into the water until it's gliding over her outer thigh under the bubbles. "The water feels slippery," I comment. "So does your skin."
"It's from the oils."
Stretching my other arm out along the edge of the tub, I lean toward her face. "I like how it feels. I should be in there with you, all slippery and wet."
"You're too big," she murmurs, locking her eyes on to mine.
Laughing, I kiss her vanilla flavored lips. "I'm gonna ignore that big comment, baby."
She smiles against my mouth. "You're so bad."
"I know… So, I'm going to have to do this the hard way, then. Since I can't get in there." I slide my hand farther down her leg, over her knee to her calf, squeezing gently.
"Do what?"
"Give you your first orgasm."
A small gasp of surprise comes out of her, and a seductive little grin graces her lips. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I've had orgasms before."
"Not from me." I rub my nose along hers, feeling her breath against my face. "And that's gonna change right now, Mrs. Valentine."
I cup the back of her head with one hand and press my mouth to hers, licking her lips while slowly dragging my other hand up the inside of her leg beneath the water to finally brush my fingers gently across her lower lips. I silently curse the water for not letting me feel her wetness.
Her mouth opens to mine and I delve my tongue inside, tasting the heat of her breath and catching the sweet moan she lets out when I push my finger into her warmth. Her thighs part and her hand comes up out of the water to caress my cheek as I let my hand own her, my thumb rubbing her pulsing clit while I slip my fingers in and out of her. My cock throbs like mad in my shorts, begging to get into her. Holy fuck, is she tight. Three years of no sex is very, very good.
Her thighs squeeze my hand and she grasps the side of my neck, her breath panting against my mouth, and I know she's there already. I really want to drag this out, tease her and make her crazy, but that seems cruel right now when she's writhing her hot little core all over my hand and devouring my lips. I like little horny Asia. A lot.
I want to pull her out of the tub and take her right here on the floor and put an end to this madness, but I'm hell-bent on sticking to my promise to her, even if my dick hates me.
Her walls clench and drench around my swirling fingers up inside her, while the rest of her body arches up, pressing against me, her muscles tightening and quivering. I kiss her softly as she recovers from the first of many sexual escapades I have planned for her now that the doors have been opened, so to speak.
"Who's my girl?" I whisper against her ear, moving my hand up to caress her stomach.
"Me," she answers breathlessly
"That's right."
The universe is doing everything it can to prevent me from seeing my wife naked. I would laugh at that fact if it didn't bug me so damn much. I'm pretty sure karma is slapping me in the face for insulting her so many times, and karma is a bitch who has no fucks to give about my blue balls.
Her eyes suddenly snap open and she jumps when she sees me, water splashing around her.
"Tally, you scared the shit out of me. Why are you creeping around?" She crosses her arms over her chest and a few bubbles float up in the air. I love that my childhood nickname just slipped out of her mouth without her even realizing it. It sounded so intimate on her lips that I want to hear her say it again and again.
"I wasn't creeping; I just walked in. Should I wear a bell around my neck like the Princess?" I lean against the doorframe and gaze at her in the candlelight, her skin dewy from the moist heat, and I can't understand why she doesn't want me in that tub with her.
"What are you doing in here?"
I cross the room and kneel down next to the tub, taking in the way her eyes shift to my naked chest.
"I wanted to see your bath bomb in action." My eyes travel languidly down the length of her in the tub and catch glimpses of pink water under the bubbles.
"This one is actually a bubble bomb. See the bubbles?" She lifts her hand and blows the bubbles up over my head.
I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. "I see that. Pink water, too. Very pretty." I close my eyes as I kiss her hand, tasting the sweet water on her. "What flavor are you tonight? It's yummy."
She swallows and I can feel her hand trembling ever so slightly in mine. "It's cotton candy."
I nod my approval. "I like it. A lot."
She shifts in the water, lowering the leg that was up and raising the other, giving me a quick glimpse of her thigh as she does so.
"Do you think about me when you're in here?" I ask her, releasing her hand so I can dip my fingers into the warm water.
"I think about you all the time."
My heart does a funny lurch I'm pretty sure it ain't never done before. "Well, that's just about the best thing I've ever heard."
I let my hand slide farther into the water until it's gliding over her outer thigh under the bubbles. "The water feels slippery," I comment. "So does your skin."
"It's from the oils."
Stretching my other arm out along the edge of the tub, I lean toward her face. "I like how it feels. I should be in there with you, all slippery and wet."
"You're too big," she murmurs, locking her eyes on to mine.
Laughing, I kiss her vanilla flavored lips. "I'm gonna ignore that big comment, baby."
She smiles against my mouth. "You're so bad."
"I know… So, I'm going to have to do this the hard way, then. Since I can't get in there." I slide my hand farther down her leg, over her knee to her calf, squeezing gently.
"Do what?"
"Give you your first orgasm."
A small gasp of surprise comes out of her, and a seductive little grin graces her lips. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I've had orgasms before."
"Not from me." I rub my nose along hers, feeling her breath against my face. "And that's gonna change right now, Mrs. Valentine."
I cup the back of her head with one hand and press my mouth to hers, licking her lips while slowly dragging my other hand up the inside of her leg beneath the water to finally brush my fingers gently across her lower lips. I silently curse the water for not letting me feel her wetness.
Her mouth opens to mine and I delve my tongue inside, tasting the heat of her breath and catching the sweet moan she lets out when I push my finger into her warmth. Her thighs part and her hand comes up out of the water to caress my cheek as I let my hand own her, my thumb rubbing her pulsing clit while I slip my fingers in and out of her. My cock throbs like mad in my shorts, begging to get into her. Holy fuck, is she tight. Three years of no sex is very, very good.
Her thighs squeeze my hand and she grasps the side of my neck, her breath panting against my mouth, and I know she's there already. I really want to drag this out, tease her and make her crazy, but that seems cruel right now when she's writhing her hot little core all over my hand and devouring my lips. I like little horny Asia. A lot.
I want to pull her out of the tub and take her right here on the floor and put an end to this madness, but I'm hell-bent on sticking to my promise to her, even if my dick hates me.
Her walls clench and drench around my swirling fingers up inside her, while the rest of her body arches up, pressing against me, her muscles tightening and quivering. I kiss her softly as she recovers from the first of many sexual escapades I have planned for her now that the doors have been opened, so to speak.
"Who's my girl?" I whisper against her ear, moving my hand up to caress her stomach.
"Me," she answers breathlessly
"That's right."
My girl. The last thing I thought I would ever want, and now, all I could ever want.
I was really excited for Talon once I read the synopsis. The thought of marrying a total stranger in some kind of social experiment sounds crazy, but interesting. I immediately scooped it up.
Talon is the fourth book in Carian Cole's Ashes & Embers Series. I have read the other three books, but I think this book could definitely be read as a standalone, or out of order. There is some backstory, but not anything that would be missing if you really want to read just this one book.
Talon is the guitarist in the band Ashes & Embers. He is a rock star in every sense of the word. He is tattooed, he has long hair, he parties hard, he's rich, and he's somewhat entitled. After realizing that his life is going nowhere and that he has no one he agrees to sign up for an experiment where two strangers get married. He feels he has nothing to lose.
Asia is the complete opposite of Talon. She is poor, shy, cautious, and very hard working. Asia's best friend convinces her to sign up for the experiment. She hasn't been in a relationship in a long time, has no real family, and she's lonely. She agrees.
Both fill out many questionnaires and meet with psychologists for a while before they're told that a match has been found. Talon and Asia meet for the first time at their wedding and both are shocked. Asia is looking for someone steady and "normal." Talon is looking for someone like him.
Obviously there is a reason they were put together and even though they have severe reservations, both agree to try their hardest to work things out and have a real relationship. They start off hating each other. Then liking each other. Then there are complications and they almost hate each other before they end up falling in love.
Talon is extremely sexy, but he knows it. He's so used to getting what he wants that he's a bit of a jerk. At first I felt like Asia, and didn't really like Talon that much. But, he doesn't mean to hurt and he really feels bad when he does hurt someone. He wants to help, and has never known how. He wants to love.
Asia is extremely nice and sweet. She just wants to be loved. She wants stability, a family, and a home. I loved her from the first moment, and could sympathize with her right away.
I really got wrapped up in Talon and had a hard time putting it down. Even when I didn't like Talon I loved the book. By the end I was almost crying for both Talon and Asia. Even though they seem to be opposites, they really have more in common than they thought. Don't fall for first impressions!
I give Talon 4.5 stars!
PURCHASE LINKS COMING SOON!
99c
I have a passion for the bad boys, those covered in tattoos, sexy smirks, ripped jeans, fast cars, motorcycles and of course, the sweet girls that try to tame them and win their hearts. My debut series, Ashes & Embers, follows the lives of rock band members as they find, and sometimes lose, the loves of their lives.
Born and raised a Jersey girl, I now reside in beautiful New Hampshire with my husband and our multitude of furry pets and spend most of my time writing, reading, and vacuuming.
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