Of course he is, but he’s also just a cool guy. Athletic, hot, smart, committed to great causes—and here’s one you don’t see every day—diabetic. I found this to be an interesting twist, but I have to say, it’s way under-played. This was a perfect opportunity for some drama—or if nothing else, a teachable moment, right? Wrong. It comes up once and is rarely mentioned again, except in passing. Ms. Laurens dropped the ball here, I think, and really missed an opportunity to add another dimension, not just to Alex, but to the story as a whole.
Serena is a likeable character, as well. Smart, pretty, and very guarded, she’s trying so hard to start over, to build a life that’s separate from her very painful past; but it’s like the famous saying, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Serena cannot get away from herself, and her secrets just keep coming back up. She doesn’t let her best friend, Kaylee, in and she’s does her best to keep Alex at an emotional arms length as well. Thank goodness he doesn’t let her.:)
There were some great love scenes and they were handled well, and I loved the relationship between Alex and Serena; but in the end, I felt like some great opportunities were missed. I think this is Ms. Laurens’ first book, and that being said, I look forward to her second and third…..I will definitely read Love Me If You Dare (#2 in the Safe Haven Series), Kaylee’s story (Serena’s very loyal and sweet best friend). Ms. Laurens has mucho potential. Keep an eye on her!
“MacKinnon.” I had to take two strides
for his every one, but I noticed that he tried to keep his stride level with
mine as we turned from the street onto the campus. “Which one do you live in?”
I wondered if he would ask me to go back
to his dorm with him.
I wondered if I would say yes.
“I live off campus.” I hadn’t been
expecting that. Not a lot of students did, because the cost of living in
downtown West Haven wasn’t cheap. “It’s just a couple of blocks away.”
“Oh.” My eyes widened, though I tried to
keep the surprise out of my voice. I was here on scholarship, and it still
barely covered my living expenses. He was a football player and might have a
bigger one. Or the shelter might pay really well.
It wasn’t any of my business and I didn’t
know him well enough to ask. I bit my tongue, and stayed silent until we’d
crossed campus to where my dorm stood.
“Thank... thank you for a fun night.” I
smiled up at him shyly. Since I’d never been on a date, I didn’t know what I
was supposed to do right now, so I just told him the truth. “I liked it.
Really.”
He said nothing, instead staring down at
my lips, my smile. Though I knew that he had snuck past my guard, had made me
want things that I didn’t have any business wanting, I still felt overwhelmed
by the urge to grab him, to pull him close to me and to never let go.
“I’m glad.” My nails dugs into my palms
as the silence between us stretched out, thick and heavy.
“Well. Um. Goodnight.” I turned towards
the neon lights of the dorm, a stone settling in the pit of my belly.
“Serena.” Alex’s voice was raspy, and it
was exactly what I had been waiting for. I looked back over my shoulder, my
heart in my throat.
“Yes?” I whispered.
“I want to kiss you.” My skin suddenly
felt too tight. He stood beside a battered old car, his hands stuffed into his
pockets, the streetlights casting a buttery glow over his face. He wasn’t
reaching for me, instead waiting for my consent.
He couldn’t have known how important that
was to me.
He was beautiful. He could have had any
girl he wanted, yet he was asking me if he could kiss me.
“May I?” His face was solemn. Longing was
an ache in my belly as I nodded, jerkily. And then he closed the distance
between us, placed his hands on my waist the same way he had while we were
dancing, and dipped his head down.
All the wondering about whether or not he
was into me flew from my head as he slowly pressed his lips to mine. I had
thought he would crush me to him, would devour me with his kiss, but he was
slow and in control.
It was no less hot. His hands slid around
to splay over my lower back as he tasted my lips with excruciating slowness. My
breath caught and I curled my fingers around his upper arms, right where his
tattoos lay hidden beneath the soft leather.
Even through the thickness of the jacket
I could feel the iron of his muscles, a hardness that spoke of something beyond
football practice. I moaned softly into his mouth as my fingers danced,
exploring up to his shoulders, his neck.
He made a sound deep in his throat,
before backing me slowly against the parked car. I felt the chill of the metal
seep through my jacket and my shirt, as he finally closed the last inch of
space between us, pressed his body against mine, and deepened the kiss.
“Oh.” I parted my lips beneath the warm
swipe of his tongue. I’d kissed with my tongue before, but never like this,
never like I was being savoured.
An unfamiliar heat surged between my
legs, and I felt the tips of my breasts pucker as they brushed against his
chest. He wasn’t doing any more than kissing me, his hands still roaming the
expanse of my back, but I felt my breath coming faster, harder.
“Is this okay?” With excruciating
slowness he moved his hand from my back, across the stripes of my ribcage, and
over to... oh man.
His large palm cupped my breast, over my
tank but inside of my jacket and sweater. His thumb strummed over my nipple and
I choked out a gasp against his lips, my hips pressing forward into his own.
“Serena.” His pelvis arched into me in
response for one, long, satisfying second, and then he pulled back entirely,
breaking the kiss, a groan escaping his lips as he did.
I could still feel the hardness of his
need pressing into my stomach, the skin there sensitive and overly aware from
the touch. There was a quick flash of self preservation in which I wondered if
this was wise.
It wasn’t, I knew it wasn’t, but by this
point I didn’t care.
My head swam as I tried to get some sense
of my bearings back. I vibrated with need, wanting his lips on mine again.
He gave them to me, but in the form of a
short, sweet, frustrating kiss.
“Night, Serena.” His hands moved to my
hips, squeezed gently, then pushed me towards the dorm. Dazed, I did as he
urged, walking the short distance across asphalt to the front door.
I only snuck one quick glance back over
my shoulder, once I’d reached the glass door that had been smudged by a
thousand fingerprints.
He was still leaning against the battered
car, his arms crossed as he watched me—protectively?
I shivered. The look on his face was of
restrained need... and it said clearly that he had claimed me as his.
He waited until I was inside the
building, looking back through the glass door, before he pushed off the dented
metal and walked away, hands stuffed into his pockets. He left me pondering
what it felt like to have someone watching out for my well being.
I was pretty
sure that I liked it.
Kate loves to hear from her readers. Find her at www.katelaurens.com
She's also on Twitter as @KateLaurens
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