Review & (Naughty) Excerpt ~~ Strong Enough by M. Leighton
Strong Enough (Tall, Dark, and Dangerous #1)
Is she strong enough to trust the most dangerous man she’s ever met? And is he strong enough to let her?
How would I describe myself? Well, I’m Muse Harper. I’m a twenty-something painter who loves red wine, quirky movies, and men with a fatal flaw. But that was before I met Jasper King. He became my fatal flaw. Eight months ago, I had a choice to make—abandon everything I’ve ever known to protect my family, or stay and risk someone getting hurt. I chose the former. My plan was working just fine until I found out my father had gone missing.
That’s when I met Jasper. A bounty hunter with the eyes of a tiger and the nose of a bloodhound, he was supposed to help me find my father. What I didn’t know was that meeting him was no accident. Hunting people isn’t all that Jasper does. And helping me was only part of his plan. I just wish I’d found out sooner, before my heart got involved. But even then, I don’t know if I’d have done things differently.
Now, I have another choice to make—trust the man that I’m falling in love with and hope that he’ll do the right thing, or run as far away from him as I can get.
AND HERE IS A LITTLE Excerpt- Beware it’s Rated R
He startles a yelp out of me when he stops suddenly and turns toward me. “I didn’t realize you needed stimulation. Maybe you should’ve made your expectations clear from the outset.” I crash into his chest and stumble backward. He reaches out to grab my upper arms, hauling me up against him to keep me from falling.
I gasp at the electricity in his touch, in the feel of his body pressed so firmly to mine. My front, from my nipples to my navel, is hot and tingly and . . . aware. Too aware.
His eyes burn down into mine. He’s so close I can see the black of his pupils explode to eclipse the amber of his irises. Whatever I’m feeling, it’s affecting him, too.
I struggle to keep my wits about me. It’s a struggle I lose. His nearness is too much. His emotion, something he has showed so little of, is too overwhelming.
“I . . . I . . .” I don’t know what to say. His reaction is so surprising that I’m struck temporarily speechless. I hold his gaze, let it wash over me until I see the golden orbs flicker to my mouth. I lick my suddenly dry lips and when his eyes return to mine, they’re full of fire of a different kind.
“While I’ve got you here,” he snarls, “might as well get this out of the way.”
With no other warning, Jasper lowers his head and crushes my mouth with his own. He’s so forceful, so . . . angry, that I remain stiff in his arms. Until the moment that I begin to taste the real Jasper, the Jasper that he hides beneath his gruff exterior.
I taste softening in the way his fingers loosen their grip. They caress rather than restrain, coerce rather than demand.
I taste dominance in the way his lips move over mine. He is in control, but he is sure to make certain I enjoy every second of it.
I taste acquiescence in the way he groans into my mouth. He didn’t want this, but like me, he can no longer resist it. There’s something between us, something that has a life of its own.
And, finally, I taste desire in the way his tongue slips inside to tangle with mine. He is heat, he is gravity. He is the center of all my senses. He is consuming.
Just like those few seconds when he first walked into my life yesterday morning, life ceases to exist outside his presence. He took my breath away then and he’s taking my breath away now. There are no fears, no reservations, no other people. There is only Jasper and this insane attraction I feel for him. He is wild and raw, dangerous and tempting. He’s a sleek, powerful animal, seeking to thrill and to destroy. He overcomes, he devours, he possesses. He refuses to share his kill with anything else. For a heartbeat, I’m his. His prey. Not necessarily willing, just helpless to fight against him.
And then, God help me, I respond. My body takes over and I lose myself in this kiss, in this moment. In this man. I arch my back, pressing my aching breasts into his chest. With every muscle, every nerve, every fiber, I strain toward him, drinking him in with my body, my soul, my mouth. Unwittingly, I unleash the animal I thought I’d already seen.
With a fierceness echoed in the growl that trembles into my open mouth, Jasper spins, plastering my back to one of the large, concrete columns that support the overhang. He tilts his head and deepens the kiss to a level I’ve never been before, to a height, to a depth, to an intensity I’ve never known. He punishes me with the pressure of his body, but he soothes me with the soft lick of his tongue. I feel him everywhere. Within, without, penetrating, radiating.
The kiss comes to a slow, tantalizing end that makes me want to whimper when Jasper breaks the contact. And then I’m free. Free to breathe, free to speak. Free to think and see and hear, but I don’t. I don’t do any of those things. I can only feel, like the residual sting of a burn. A burn so good.
