You know how it ends, now see how it
all began…
Prequel to Strip Me Bare
"It doesn't matter how many
women touch this body, only one woman has ever touched this soul."
Ryan Pierce doesn’t come from much,
doesn’t ask for much, and doesn’t expect much. And he's come to accept that,
until, Alana Remington. Alana is the girl who struck the match that lit his
world on fire. She's the girl who opened his eyes to more. Who made him believe
that just because you have nothing, doesn't mean you are nothing. And he loves
her fiercely for it. But, just because you come together, doesn’t mean you stay
together. One fateful decision rips Ryan and Alana apart and neither of them
are ever the same again.
For five years he's regretted that
decision, but the deep seeded anger, shame and resentment has kept him from
reaching out. And over those five years, a series of moments have spun Ryan's
world in a direction he never saw coming. A world ruled by endless nights,
infinite women and the name Jack the Stripper. A world, unbeknownst to him,
that may just let two severed hearts collide.
“Do you trust me?”
“Of course not, I just
met you.”
“Then how about giving me
the benefit of the doubt?”
She raises an eyebrow at
me, and before I give her a chance to respond I slam the shot then pull her
face to mine. And as my mouth covers hers, heat rapidly spreads through my
body. She’s momentarily stunned. Her body is rigid against me, but then she
relaxes, parts her lips and lets the tart liquid slide into her mouth.
I can’t believe I just
did that.
I can’t believe she just
let me.
After she swallows, she
lets her lips linger, sucking up the taste of the sweet shot, causing my
nervous system to shift into hyper-drive. We break apart slowly, but I refuse
to let go of the nape of her neck. She just stares up at me with these
enthralling eyes I know I’ll never be able to resist.
“Do you always break the
rules?” she asks.
“No, not usually, but you
seem to make me want to do crazy things.”
“Was that crazy?”
“Let’s do it again and
find out.”
I lick my lower lip,
tasting the sweet remnants of her lip gloss before I drop another shot. I pause
for just a beat before lean down and press my mouth back to hers and let the
alcohol flow between us. I flick my tongue against her teeth right before I
pull away. I shouldn’t like this so much, but I do. I like the way she looks,
the way she feels, they way she smells. There’s something about her, something
ventilating; like she oxygenates the atmosphere.
I catch the cool beats to
a song I recognize pumping though the air. “Do you want to dance?” I ask
her.
“You can dance?”
“There’s only one thing I
can do better.” I smirk.
Alana cocks her eye brow
suggestively.
“Draw.” I fire back. “The
only thing I can do better is draw. Dirty girl.” I tease as I grab her hand and
lead her out to the dance floor knowing Mac will look after our drinks.
Once we find a
comfortable spot, I start to move to the smooth rhythm, leaving a little room
between us so it doesn’t feel like I’m forcing myself on her. Drake sings
coolly about hot love and affection as we move in sync to the beat, our bodies
brushing and grazing as the music plays on, then finally coming together in a
comfortable unison. I wrap one hand around her waist as I roll my hips into
hers, pressing our bodies as close as they can possibly get. Alana runs her
hands up my chest and hooks her arms lightly around my neck keeping tempo with
the music. She moves lithely against me, inducing my heart, thoughts, and pulse
to race. Fuck, I’m drowning in want for this girl. I slide my hands up under
her shirt and caress the smooth, soft skin of her lower back as she nuzzles her
face into my neck, her warm breath skating across my collarbone, making me instantly
hard.
Damn.
She lifts her head and
meets my stare, which I know is filled with lust and unrepentantly wanton. She
bites her lower lip, our bodies still jiving to the slow seductive music. In a
brazen move, I slip my hand up the back of her bare thigh and cup her ass cheek
under the hem of her short shorts. She gasps as I work my fingers against her,
massaging the fleshy part of her bottom. I’m absolutely aching being this close
to her, touching her, stroking her, grinding against her.
“Are you sure drawing is
the only thing you can do better?” she pants in my ear.
~Review~
I really enjoyed reading Ryan's POV. Stripped from You take
us into the past when Ryan first meets Alana and their journey begins. I never
realize how emotional unattached Alana was, how she thought showing her
emotions was a sign of weakness. But Ryan was the one who wasn't afraid to show
his, who would've thought, the way I saw it was that she was one who gave it
her all and he was the one who turned away from it. My heart went out to him on
more than one occasion because he had to deal with his idiotic, selfish twin
brother and a mother who could care less. I really, without a doubt enjoyed
Ryan's story. It was heart wrenching to read is POV and understand where he was
coming from and why he did the things he did. I never realized the emotional
blockage Alana had a due to her fatherland him telling her it's a weakness,
what a prick. Then we have Ryan's mother and his brother, they are in a
category of their own, with family like that who needs enemies. Marissa did an
excellent job because with a lot of books that you read that are telling the
same story but in a different POV, you will still feel like you're reading the
same book over again. But Marissa wrote this book by making her readers see the
past and what Ryan and Alana was before they met back up years later. Excellent
writing and storytelling Marissa can't wait to see more of work.
Hold on, We’re Going Home- Drake
The Other Side- Jason Derulo
Demons- Imagine Dragons
Dark Horse- Katy Perry
Say Something- A Great Big World
Summertime Sadness- Lana Del Rey
Royals- Lorde
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.
~Hosted by~
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