{"product_id":"9781370445738","title":"Lovers \u0026 Ropes: Book 1 of \"Dark Desire\"","description":"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnastasia Allyson has been on\u003cbr\u003e her own with nobody to care for her and nobody to love her for as long as she\u003cbr\u003e remembers. If she doesn't let anybody get close, she can't get hurt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eThen Trevor Savage shows up\u003cbr\u003e and ruins everything. He's broken her heart before. She wasn't going to let him\u003cbr\u003e hurt her again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eShe might not have a choice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnastasia is the first love\u003cbr\u003e story in Dark Desires, a series that is as dark as it is steamy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e~~~~~\u003cbr\u003e Excerpt ~~~~~\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eHis perfectly shaped eyebrow\u003cbr\u003e arched together with a corner of his lips. He towered over her, a tall statue\u003cbr\u003e of a man, sculpted to perfection. There was nothing about him that any sane\u003cbr\u003e artist would change. Yet, there was something about him that she wanted to\u003cbr\u003e change. Something to make him less perfect; something to give her an excuse to\u003cbr\u003e dislike him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Perhaps you would like\u003cbr\u003e to know about me before asking me out?\" she asked. \"I'm quite\u003cbr\u003e infamous around these parts, you know,\" she divulged magnanimously. It\u003cbr\u003e didn't matter if he was the hottest man on earth. The truth was, she wasn't\u003cbr\u003e looking to date anyone. Not now. Not anytime soon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eHe pondered for a moment, a\u003cbr\u003e low 'hmm...' that vibrated in the air, as if considering the option.\u003cbr\u003e Ultimately, he grinned and shook his head. \"No,\" he said with an air\u003cbr\u003e of finality that took her breath away. \"I would prefer knowing you. The\u003cbr\u003e real you.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnd just like that, she knew.\u003cbr\u003e She knew in her heart that this was a man who could wrench her heart from her\u003cbr\u003e ribs in his palm and squeeze it until it stops beating.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eShe took a shuddering inhale.\u003cbr\u003e \"Perhaps I would prefer you not,\" she responded, also full of\u003cbr\u003e conviction, because her heart could not take another beating.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Not what?\" he\u003cbr\u003e asked, his smile genuine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eHer mind spun and just like\u003cbr\u003e that, it was hard to breathe. \"I would prefer you not know me at\u003cbr\u003e all,\" she answered without blinking, eyes wide with something she wasn't\u003cbr\u003e quite prepared to feel. Her heartbeat sped up without her permission and she leaned\u003cbr\u003e against the wall for support.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Wouldn't you like to\u003cbr\u003e know me?\" he asked, full of questions she hadn't the answers to.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eShe stared at the confident\u003cbr\u003e man in front of her and shook her head. \"No. I would not,\" she said.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen she turned to walk away,\u003cbr\u003e he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back until she was flush against his\u003cbr\u003e chest, all hard muscles.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Give an old man a\u003cbr\u003e chance,\" he murmured, his breath warm against her skin, spreading into\u003cbr\u003e warm butterfly flutters in her belly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"You're hardly an old\u003cbr\u003e man,\" she breathed, her breasts inches from his body, each inhale bringing\u003cbr\u003e her aching nipples dangerously close to touching him. His gaze burned, intense\u003cbr\u003e eyes dilated as he stared into her mesmerized look.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"How old are you?\"\u003cbr\u003e he asked.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Twenty two,\" she\u003cbr\u003e answered automatically.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"I'm forty,\" he\u003cbr\u003e grinned, unabashed about his age. \"Old enough to be your father.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Then perhaps you should\u003cbr\u003e stay away,\" a painfully familiar voice interrupted. She didn't need to\u003cbr\u003e turn around to know the owner of the voice. It haunted her countless sleepless\u003cbr\u003e nights and tickled her naked skin in the showers. It made her tremble with both\u003cbr\u003e desire and the need to run away.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eLike a ghost, he was there,\u003cbr\u003e the man who had broken her heart into so many pieces years ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eHis expression was angry as\u003cbr\u003e he walked forward into her view, dressed in dark slacks and a shirt underneath\u003cbr\u003e a dark jacket. Everything about him was as perfect as she remembered.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Anastasia,\" he said her name like a caress. It\u003cbr\u003e wove through her, creating patterns of desire on her skin. She couldn't move as\u003cbr\u003e he stood close to her, stopping just inches from her. His gaze penetrated\u003cbr\u003e through her. \"I was hoping to see you here.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"PublishDrive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47121488445680,"sku":"9781370445738","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781370445738_p0.jpg?v=1763711323","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781370445738","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}