Breathe You In
A Novel Set in Northampton
by Lily Harlem
Genres: Contemporary, M/F, Erotic, Romance,
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Soul-aching desire was only the first layer of emotion around a secret I had to keep for all of time.
If the road to heaven starts in hell, then I was ready to start climbing my way out and Ruben Strong was the man to accompany me. With his devastating good looks, seductively sexy charm and lust for adrenaline, he was sure to make it a sensual and erotic experience as well as one to re-awake the passionate, throw-caution-to-the-wind woman I’d once been.
I’d given Ruben something, though, without him realizing, and that gift had come from the man I’d loved before. But I couldn’t tell Ruben. I had to keep that a tight secret even on the nights our naked bodies wound together, sought out pleasure and hit the dizzy heights of ecstasy—because Ruben had my husband’s heart, literally, and that heart was still in love with me, so it seemed, and now I was in love with Ruben.
Emotions tangled with bliss and fears were locked away as I surrendered to the touch of Ruben’s hands, the taste of his skin and the sounds of his pleasure. I couldn’t deny that Ruben had brought me back to life the same way I had him, and there was no way I was giving up that feeling, not for anyone.
Publisher's Note: This book was previously self-published. It has been expanded, revised and re-edited for release with Totally Bound Publishing.
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Thank you for inviting me today, it’s great to be here. I’ve brought my new novel Breathe You In with me. Breathe You In is a sexy contemporary romance with a twist and is set in England.The twist is all to do with a secret the heroine, Katie is keeping from Ruben – well, it is part of Totally Bound’s popular What’s Her Secret line! This isn’t really a spoiler because the reader finds out in Chapter One what the secret is so I’ll go ahead and tell you now…Katie is a young widow, her husband Matt died in a tragic accident and when this happened Katie made the honourable and brave decision to donate his organs. While Ruben knows that Katie is a widow, what he doesn’t know is that he has Matt’s heart and lungs. You see Ruben became very sick and had to give up his Formula One career, it was when he was struggling to even get out of bed he had the transplant operation, which was fortunately, a great success.But Katie didn’t meet Ruben by accident, she orchestrated it because she was obsessed about seeing the person how had received Matt’s heart. It was a thought she couldn’t shake, she just ‘had to know’.Please don’t think Breathe You In is a depressing story, because while it certainly examines Katie’s grief it’s also a tale of passion and love and looking to the future. Ruben’s new heart is serving him well, he’s becoming the vibrant, sexy young man he was before his illness, and he’s ready to get back in the driver’s seat of life and he want’s Katie with him for the ride. Breathe You In is fun, flirty, it also takes on serious issues, and because it’s a book from my imagination, the bedroom door is left well and truly open when the temperature heats up!Breathe You In is set in England, Northampton to be precise. This is the home of Silverstone Race Track where the Grand Prix is held, it’s also the largest town in the country (it should really get city status) and the county the furthest from the coast. The rolling green hills around the town are beautiful and this is where Princess Diana grew up at Althorpe House somewhere I’ve visited many times. Northampton is very proud of it’s Rugby team - The Saints and where the movie Kinky Boots was filmed.
I hope you’ll check out Breathe You In, below is an excerpt to tempt you with. Northampton is also the home of a giant hot-air balloon festival every summer, and Ruben’s apartment just happens to have great views of the park it’s held in. Things are just heating up between the couple after she’s asked him to accompany her to a wedding when they have an unexpected… well, I’ll let you read it.Lily x
“No, I want you there. I don’t want to spend the weekend without you, and besides, Matt’s gone, it’s us now, Katie and Ruben.”“Yes.” He stroked my cheek. “It’s us now.”“I want everyone to know it.”“Me too.” He smiled.“So you’ll come?”“Absolutely. And I’ll be on my best behavior.”I rolled my eyes. “Right, because the girls are always so well behaved.”“What I mean is, I won’t do any of this.”Suddenly I was on my back and he was over me. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his thighs. “I should think not, Mr. Strong, and certainly not in church.”“Mmm, but maybe later, at the reception.” He pressed a kiss to my lips. He tasted of wine and the salty crisps we’d been eating. “In our hotel room, maybe then I’ll have my wicked way with you and do all the things I’ve been dreaming of doing.”“I’ve unleashed a monster,” I said with a smile then groaned when the hardness of his cock, through our jeans, surged against my mound.“You really want to see my monster?”“I think I’d better. See if it can ever be tamed.”He kissed me again, slanting his head and probing deep. He swept his hand up the inside of my T-shirt, squeezed my breast then tweaked my nipple through my thin bra.I became lost in him. Every sense was focused on Ruben. A hungry need settled between my legs.“I want you now,” he whispered hotly. “Here.”We’d made love several times since he’d left hospital, but in bed, at mine—quiet, slow, intense, the same as the first time. I wasn’t complaining, it was wonderful, but this was new, this was middle-of-the-day sex, and damn, I wanted some.“Yes,” I said, “fuck me.”He raised his head, stared down at me. A devilish smile curled his lips. “Say that again.”“What?” I pushed his flopping hair back from his forehead.“What you just asked me to do.”Ah, he likes dirty talk. I can do that. “Fuck me, Ruben, fuck me now, make me come, make me scream your name.”“Oh, Jesus.” His mouth went slack. “Get naked.” He reached for his top, yanked it off, his face now a picture of urgency.I did the same with my T-shirt, wriggling on the sofa then tossing the material aside.He dipped his head to my chest, tugging at my bra.“Oi! Get a room!” shouted a deep, bellowing but distanced voice through the window.We both froze.“Shit,” Ruben said, screening my body with his. “What the…?”I looked outside. Not thirty feet from the flat was a huge basket with two men in it. A massive flame burned bright behind them, sending an orange glow over their bodies. They wore flat caps but didn’t look particularly old—one had a black moustache, the other was holding a rope.“I have got a bloody room,” Ruben shouted. “Bugger off!”The men laughed, the flame burned brighter, and they started to lift upward.“Have fun,” the one with the moustache called with a wave.“We will,” I shouted, managing to wave back as they went from view.Ruben looked down at me. “I’m really sorry about that, I had no idea they’d come so close.”I swatted his shoulder and smiled. “It was funny, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They thought they were going to see some action.”“Pervs.” Ruben grinned. “Now, where were we?”“You were just about to fuck me.”“Damn, you have such a filthy mouth.”
Lily's stories are made up of colourful characters exploring their sexuality and sensuality in a safe, consensual way. With the bedroom door left wide open the reader can hang on for the ride and Lily hopes by reading sensual romance people will be brave enough to try something new themselves? After all, life's too short to be anything other than fully satisfied.
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