Morning Star by Kris Jayne
Publication date: June 15th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary,
The marriage is fake, but the passion is real.
Famous for his last name, devilish Anthony Star-Hunter is the black sheep of the Star clan. He’s an expert at using his tall, dark, and handsome charm to get women into bed—the last remnant of his declining hard-party escapades.
But the bucks are about to stop here. His grandfather’s will demands he marry to inherit his fortune. Anthony panics. Even with his bad boy allure, how the hell is he going to find a tolerable bride, like, yesterday?
The minute Sarah Pennington spots the tattooed muscles her new stepsister’s ex hides under his Italian suits, she rolls her eyes. Anthony is not for her. And with her father maybe headed to prison for a financial fiasco, she’s had enough bad male behavior. She’s responsible. She’s hard-working. She…can’t stop having naughty dreams about the sexy “celebutant.”
At a beach-side wedding, a drunken mishap throws Sarah into Anthony’s bed, and he’s intrigued. Can he convince her to give fake marriage a chance? Can she convince herself to keep her heart out of the deal?
Their slow-burn, un-love affair isn’t what either expect, but it might be what both of them need forever.
EXCERPT:
Sarah
“Don’t you ever think about having a passion
that drives you to distraction? Something that makes you feel like you could
dedicate your life to it and it would never feel like work?” Anthony asked.
“Of course, but that’s unrealistic. Most people
just do a job every day and come home to their family. Not every career is a
passion,” I said.
“But you’re not having fun either. You’re just
working. If your job isn’t your passion, then you should find something that
is. Or someone. Life should be enjoyable. Pleasurable.”
I would have thought he was being deliberately
provocative if his emotional intensity hadn’t bordered on pleading. It was as
if the idea of my not giving in to joy went against everything he stood for. As
if my less than decadent life was an injustice and he needed me to see the
error of my ways.
For a second, staring into his dark eyes with
the evening shadows flickering at the edges of his face, denying myself
pleasure felt unjust. I wanted it as much as he did—maybe more since it had
been so long since I’d felt anything close to that level of heat. I wasn’t sure
I ever had.
“I imagine I’ll feel that when I get married
one day,” I said, thinking of the future and what my life might one day be
like—beyond working, beyond bailing my dad out of trouble. I didn’t think of
how that must sound to someone like Anthony.
“Are you a virgin?”
His deep-toned voice rose to nearly a squeak
that caught the attention of a neighboring table with its disbelief. Luckily, I
don’t think they heard the specifics of his question.
“Keep your voice down,” I hissed and leaned
closer to whisper. “Why would you ask me that?”
He tipped my way in his chair, giving our
conversation the air of conspiracy. “Because you make it sound like you have to
wait until you’re married to experience any form of pleasure.
It’s…old-fashioned.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I said with a
sniff.
“When do you let yourself have fun?” The
question had a seductive rumble.
“This isn’t something I’m going to talk about
here, and certainly not with you.”
I glared into his eyes to make my point, which
was a mistake. The dark pools were bottomless and black and shining with a
glint of wickedness.
“That was a deft deflection of my question, by
the way. It only leaves me more curious.” He snickered.
What the hell?
“Of course, I’m not…I’m thirty-one.”
“Age has nothing to do with that. You can be a
forty-year-old virgin, like the movie.”
“Well, it’s too late for that,” I snapped and
stabbed a piece of zucchini. “Not that my…er, love life is any of your
business.”
“What ‘love’ life.” He framed the word with
finger quotes. “Doesn’t sound like you have one. You mentioned work, your
friends, and brunch. And your sister is convinced you’re quite boring and need
help finding a date.”
“Stepsister,” I corrected, keeping my voice to
a hoarse whisper. “And just because I’m not bed-hopping every weekend—”
He interrupted with an exaggerated yawn. “Sex
only on the weekends?”
My lips pinched, stifling a trapped scream
that turned into a hissing sigh as I regained control of my emotions. “Just
because I have self-restraint doesn’t mean I don’t have a love life. Love and
sex are not the same thing.”
Anthony sat up and grinned. “Oh, darlin’, that
I know.”
“I’m not your darling.”
His midnight eyes smoldered with a flirtation
he had no business directing at me. “Don’t you want to be?”
“Not every woman on the planet wants to fuck
you,” I spat in a low voice meant only for him.
He fanned himself with affected horror and
adopted a lilt from deeper in the South than Texas. Damn the man for looking so
deliciously pleased with himself.
“Oh, my. Watch that language, Saucy Sarah.”
“Shut up.” I ate more of my vegetables.
“Be nice. I’m only trying to help you.”
My fork slid from my fingers as I balked.
“Help me what?”
“Get laid, darlin’.”
AUTHOR BIO:
Her passion for writing is only matched by her passion for the adventures of travel. In 2008, she let a friend talk her into sleeping outside for the first time in her life when she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
P.S. If you’re buying her a gift, she has a penchant for single-malt Scotch and scarves.
Thanks for sharing!
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