Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Today along with Kismits Tours I have and excerpt and giveaway to share from the new adult novel Demanding Ransom by Megan Squires . Enjoy and look for my review in late August.

Demanding Ransom
by Megan Squires
Publication date: April 30, 2013
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Purchase*: Amazon
*purchases through buy links support this blog

Determined to move forward, Maggie embarks on her first year of college, hoping to finally put her past behind her, exactly where it belongs. But that’s hard to do when the present is just as difficult. And even harder when someone like Ran, the gorgeous paramedic that keeps crossing Maggie’s path, challenges her to face things head on, rather than bury them like she always does. Ran hasn’t had a perfect life either. But there’s something different about him, and something different about the way he makes Maggie feel. Maybe meeting Ran is life’s little gift for Maggie—a sort of consolation prize for enduring everything she's had to go through. But things don’t come easy for Maggie. Why should love be the exception? And just when everything starts to settle, it’s all turned on its head once again. If there is one thing Ran has taught Maggie, it’s that you can’t sit on the sidelines of your own existence. When life takes something that’s yours, you have every right to demand it back. Only for Maggie, that is easier said than done.

Teaser Excerpt

“I think I’m in love with you, Ran.” I thought I’d choke on the words, but the way they flow out of me—the way they sound like they’ve always been there, right on the tip of my tongue, just waiting for permission to finally be uttered—makes everything in my world fall into place.

He hasn’t said anything, but instead listened intently while I bared my soul, which honestly wasn’t as terrifying as I’d envisioned it being. The way he looks at me right now, the way I see everything I’ve just declared reflected in his eyes, melts something deep in my core.

The water roils around us in the hot tub and my heart pounds in my chest.

I swallow hard. “I’ve owed you that for a long time, Ran.” I force out an insecure laugh.

The ball of muscle at the back of his jaw tightens and he shakes his head, his indigo eyes strained. I feel the rush of air that he pushes out as he says, “And I think I owe you something now.”

Ran’s mouth collides against mine with force and I bobble backward in the water, and I’m immediately shocked when his lips give instantly, molding softly despite the rush of impact. The heat of them, the supple way they feel, the way he inclines in with just the right amount of pressure, steals all of my senses from me—all but the one involving touch because that’s all I am now, just one exposed nerve ending that feels every single movement of his mouth against mine echoed in every part of my body.

Sliding his hand out of the water and up the curve of my bare spine, the wet tips of Ran’s fingers trail up my back and Ran cups the base of my head in his palm gently, hooking his finger into my hair that’s twisted there. It tumbles from its temporary hold and spills across my shoulders, chilling them, but I’m all chills right now anyway, so they make themselves at home with the rest.

Our lips haven’t parted and the way Ran angles as he tugs my bottom lip into his mouth and then rotates his head the other way to deepen the kiss more, makes me thankful I’m submerged in water because everything in me goes limp and the water is the only thing that keeps me afloat. If it weren’t for the buoyancy, I’d be a puddle on the ground right now.

We both draw in air. We’re probably just trading it back and forth between us, really. Everything feels seamlessly synchronized as his lips tangle against mine. If there’s some kind of ideal method for the way people are supposed to kiss, I’m one hundred percent sure Ran has found the perfect formula. Like the necessary ingredients are his mouth, my lips, and this exact moment in time, combined to create this sensation that I didn’t know was possible, just by meshing two mouths together.

Eye Candy and Quotes

About the Author

Megan Squires lives with her husband and two children just outside of Sacramento, California. A graduate from the University of California, Davis, Megan is now a full-time mother, wife, and dreamer – though her characters don’t often give her much opportunity to sleep.

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