Where There's Smoke, an all new Standalone emotional rock star romance by Kathy Coopmans is coming March 14th!
Synopsis
From USA Today Bestselling Author comes a standalone in The Sweet Sin Series.
The lives of Dean Wagner and Tatum Fields have been ruled by the hand of fate.
The past six years of my life have been consumed by guilt. Since we lost Landon to a fire, I’ve done everything in my power to protect my daughter, Leila, from finding out the truth about how her twin brother died. Nothing in my life means more to me than her.
Not my band, not my reputation. Nothing.
Until I see Tatum, the woman I saved on the beach the same night she dealt with a loss of her own.
~
The daily routine I’ve settled into is what keeps me going. Work at my chocolate shop, pay the bills, repeat. I don’t date. I don’t trust. And I have never forgotten the man who walked away from saving my life without allowing me to thank him.
I know how to reach him, but I avoid him at all costs.
Until fate decides to make another appearance.
This is a story of how destiny ends up bringing these two souls back together, and how fate, the word very little people believe in is really their friend, after all.
Excerpt
Death by chocolate and Dean. Yes, please.
“Well, this could lead to a whole lot of trouble.” My nerves all lodge in my throat when he speaks. I suddenly lost my appetite for anything but him.
I swallow when he shuts the door and locks it behind him, confining me with curious brown eyes that have turned as dark as the violent sea after a storm, and yet they don’t release my face.
From them pulsates a force I can feel in my bones. The look hidden behind his stare is far from gentlemanly. His darkened gaze makes me want to stand up and press against him. Feel those lips move in a kiss while his hands roam all over the curves of my body. Those eyes of his touch me everywhere, and I like it so, so much that I don’t want to break away.
“That depends.” I lift a brow, my voice indicating confidence I surely don’t have.
“On what?” His low voice rumbles through my boiling blood and hits me between the legs. I welcome the stirring sensations that have been as dead as the woman they belong to.
“Whether you like chocolate mixed with caramel or not.”
One corner of his mouth lifts, followed by the other. There are many things I find attractive about Dean. His mouth is one of them. However, his mouth lifted in a smile that’s all for me is one of the sexiest things I’ve seen.
“I haven’t had the two together in years. Something tells me I’ll be eating it as often as I can after today.” His grin is so wicked it descends to the tips of my toes. Innuendo to a sexual plea that only I can fill or not; I’m taking it as one.
Right now, though, I want to find out if this man can fulfill all my needs. I won’t settle for anything less. As far as I’m concerned, I deserve someone who pleases me, makes me happy, listens to me, and will hold my hand through all aspects of life. For today, I’m putting my sexual needs above everything else.
His long legs bring him within a foot of me. I tilt my head back, my neck straining, throat bobbing when I take him in. He is so incredibly handsome I’m afraid if I reach out and touch him, he won’t be real. Yet he is. Towering over me, hands dangling at his sides, fingers bunched up in a fist as if he’s straining himself from pulling me into his arms, placing me on the counter, and ridding me of my clothes while he stands there deciding what part of my body he wants to spread the contents of the jar I’m clutching to my chest first.
“Have a seat.” I gesture to the floor, place the jar between us, and screw off the lid.
His big body meets the floor. He stretches out his legs until they’re a few inches from my hips. Then he does something that makes me sopping wet. He hooks his feet behind my backside and slides me a little closer all the while dropping a little deeper into my soul with eyes that embrace so much grief I want to leap into them and take it all away.
I’m so far out of my element that I swallow the lump in my throat, lodging it up against my heart that’s beating at an accelerated speed.
“Let me.” He takes the jar from my hands, draws in a deep breath, and starts to read the directions. The lid hits the wooden floor with an echoing clank. The bubble we’re in widens. Thank God it does; I was beginning to feel the dampness between my warm folds leak out of me. This man is going to drive me insane before he lays a hand on me. I’m suddenly frightened that when he does, I’m going to break apart from his touch.
What on earth was I thinking asking him to come here and test items that should be for lovers who are acquainted with each other, or ones who are a lot more promiscuous than I’ve only dreamed of being?
I mentally shake the fantasies I’ve had ever since I could remember away. I want this to be a slow, deliberate seduction. One that in the end will drive us both to our knees.
“I take it you haven’t done this before? Take off your shirt,” I ask with a sudden burst of boldness and position myself on my knees between his legs.
“No. Have you?”
I shake my head slightly as he exhales a deep breath. The resistance to hold back from kissing him just about snaps in half. He is so strikingly handsome there should be an eighth deadly sin named after him.
“That’s good to hear. Don’t mind taking off my shirt. I gotta ask, though. I thought I was the customer.”
“You can be when I’m done. If I’m going to sell this stuff, then I need to know how good it tastes. Take it off,” I demand as I dip my fingers into the gooey concoction. My mouth goes dry as he unbuttons his shirt and slips it off his muscular arms, providing me with a close-up of a chest that’s smooth, demanding, and well-defined.
“Oh, I plan on taking full advantage of trying this out. Fair warning, Miss Fields, if you put that on my chest, it’s only fair I put it on yours. I make no promises I’ll stop there.”
About Kathy Coopmans
USA Today Best Selling Author Kathy Coopmans is a Michigan native where she lives with her husband, Tony. They have two son's Aaron and Shane.
She is a sports nut. Her favorite sports include NASCAR, Baseball, and Football.
She has recently retired from her day job to become a full-time writer.
She has always been an avid reader and at the young age of 50 decided she wanted to write. She claims she can do several things at once and still stay on task. Her favorite quote is "I got this."
Stalk Kathy Coopmans
Janae was born and raised in the California Bay Area. She grew up a very creative only child and has been writing for as long as she can remember.
