Title: Strip Me Bare
Author: Marissa Carmel
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: TBA
Cover Art: Amber Rendon - Novel Idea Designs
http://novelideadesign.com
Blurb:
“I
may have had more lovers than you, and I may take my clothes off for countless
women, but you are the only one who can strip me bare.”
Do
you ever stop loving someone just because they’re gone? Five years ago Ryan
Pierce disappeared from Alana Remington’s life without leaving so much as a
post-it note behind. He was the one she gave her heart to, her soul to and her
virginity to. So imagine her surprise
when she finds him dancing at one of NYC’s hottest male revues as Jack the
Stripper.
Ryan
never stopped loving Alana, and now that she serendipitously dropped back into
his life, he’s vowed never to lose her again.
But being together has its costs, and challenges Alana isn’t sure she
can handle.
She
finally has Ryan back; but how in the world is she supposed to share the love
of her life with half of the women in New York City?
Excerpt:
(All excerpts are unedited
and subject to change)
“Nothing’s wrong,” I try to
pull his lips back to mine, but his head won’t budge. He just stares down at me
with a forceful glare.
Resigned, I ball my fists
over my eyes and sigh. “What do you want me to tell you? I’m insecure? I’m
trying not to think about all the women you have all over you? Or of all the
women you’ve had?”
“You’ve been with other
people?”
“One other person Ryan. One
other person besides you, and it was a disaster. I don’t even think it
counts.”
“What do you mean?” he asks
confused.
We never did dredge up my
intimacy issues or talk about my sexual past, if you could even call it that.
One boy my sophomore year of college, the all around nice guy I could never
pull the trigger with. Even though I tried, desperately. I couldn’t muster up
enough courage to go through with it. I was so messed up after Ryan; I had
trouble letting anyone in.
Sexually that is.
We’d start but never
finish. And the one time it got to the
point of penetration I absolutely freaked. We stopped speaking after that and
I’ve sworn off men ever since.
“Intimacy was hard for me,” I
tell him, “because I was always afraid I’d wake up, and who ever I spent the
night with would be gone. I didn’t want to hurt like that again,” I look away
from him. This conversation sucks. I don’t want to look weak. It’s a character
flaw imbedded by my father. Remington’s aren’t weak. They don’t show emotion.
They don’t even have emotions.
I’m not a very good
Remington.
“Alana,” he coos, and I want
to slap him. Maybe kiss him, “I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t want you to know.”
“You have to talk to
me.”
“Talking isn’t my problem,
Ryan.”
Thinking is.
“You didn’t tell me,” he
stipulates, “Do you really think I’m not going to be here in the morning?”
I shrug, because for all
intents and purposes I do believe he’ll be here tomorrow, but there’s still a
hurt, eighteen year old girl inside me who needs to come to terms with what
happened. That Ryan didn’t leave because he wanted to. He made a choice that
affected more than just us. And it hurt us both equally the same.
“I don’t want to disappoint
you,” I mumble, and now I’m beet red. I’m pretty sure when Emily told me to
vulnerable in Ryan’s arms, she didn’t mean like this.
“Alana, you could never
disappoint me,” he shifts while still on top of me, “I may have had more lovers
than you, and I may take my clothes off for countless women, but you are the
only one who can strip me bare.”
Playlist: (Still in progress)
Mirrors-
Justin Timberlake
Sorry-
Buckcherry
Muse-
Madness
Run-
Leona Lewis
I Know
You Want Me- Pitbull
Troublemaker-
Olly Murs feat. Flo Rida
What You
Wanted- OneRepublic
Gimme
More- Britney
(I Just)
Died in You Arms Tonight (Club Remix)- Cutting Crew
Counting
Stars- OneRepublic
Author Bio:
Marissa Carmel has
loved writing ever since a young age. She has a duel degree in History and
Political Science, but took as many creative writing classes in college as she
could. She spent most of her twenties bartending, which is where she met her
husband and a multitude of interesting people. When she’s not reading or
writing, she’s hanging out with her family, experimenting in her kitchen or
doing yoga on the living room floor.
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