ALL FALLS DOWN
By: Ayden K. Morgen
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 329
Cover by: Jada D'Lee Designs
50% of release day proceeds
from All Falls Down will go to the National Domestic Violence Hotline
(NDVH), a 24/7 toll-free hotline connecting domestic abuse victims with
services and support all across the United States, in honor of Cassie M. Combs.
When Savannah Martin walks in on
her abusive boyfriend and her best friend in bed together, she thinks life
can't possibly get any worse. And then she wakes up in a hospital in Italy,
scared and alone. With nowhere left to go, Savannah runs to the family who took
her in when her mother abandoned her as a teenager.
But things aren't as simple as they
were then.
For starters, two years of constant
emotional and verbal abuse has broken Savannah in ways she's not sure can be
repaired. And patriarch Matthew Talbot has been murdered, leaving his eldest
daughter, Lexi, in charge of a global non-profit and her younger sisters.
Jared Corbit, Lexi's gorgeous
boyfriend, is the only thing standing between her and whoever murdered her
father. That doesn't stop Savannah from falling in love with him. She knows
it's wrong, but she just can't stay away from him when he makes he feel like no
one else ever has before.
Finding out his relationship with
Lexi is a ruse should make things easier, but when the truth is finally
revealed, Savannah's fragile world threatens to fall apart. There's a murderer
on the loose, and he's gunning for the only family she has. To save their
lives, she and Jared will be forced to make a decision that just might destroy
her completely.
How is she supposed to let the man
she loves be with another woman?
All Falls Down is available at Amazon
Add to your TBR list on Goodreads.
Join Ayden and twelve of her
favorite authors from 10am to 10pm on Facebook to celebrate the release of All
Falls Down with teasers, games, giveaways, and more: https://www.facebook.com/events/300921340111702/301729096697593
Excerpt:
"Savannah,
wait," Jared calls, grabbing my arm when I fling the front door open and
step out. He pulls the door closed behind us before releasing me.
I immediately
start walking again. My heart races and my left eye does that twitching thing
it does when I'm about to cry. I just want to be away from him, away from me,
away from wanting things I have no right to want from him.
He doesn't take
the hint though and jogs down the steps after me.
"Jared,
please," I whisper when he catches up to me. The wind is blowing hard,
another storm moving in. I wish it would just blow me away. I could live in Oz
with Dorothy and Toto. Adventures. Munchkins. Yeah, I could do that. "Let me
go. Please, just let me go."
I'm not sure if
I'm pleading with Jared or if I'm begging God to sweep me away with the wind,
but neither listens to me.
"Savannah,
stop," Jared says, grabbing my arm again.
I jerk to a stop,
flinching away from him and the shock of his skin on mine. He takes my reaction
for fear and immediately lets me go. Regret and guilt dance through his
expression, wrecking me.
Tears start
trickling down my cheeks.
I'm so tired.
I'm tired of
barely sleeping.
I'm tired of
avoiding him.
I'm tired of
feeling guilty.
I'm just tired.
"Savannah,"
he breathes, his eyes widening when he notices my tears. He lifts his hand and
it hovers in the air between us as if he can't decide if he should touch me
again or not.
I sniffle.
He reaches out and
grabs me instantly, pulling me in to him. And I go. Willingly.
My head nestles
into the hard warmth of his chest. He wraps his arms around me, his head
settling atop mine. For a minute, everything is perfect. All the guilt and
doubts and self-loathing vanish, and it's just me and him. We both sigh in
relief, in regret… and then I start crying in earnest.
"Shh,
beautiful girl," he croons, running his hands up and down my back.
His touch is gentle,
soothing, complete perfection. And so wrong.
Everything is just
so wrong with this.
"Let me
go," I cry and try to push away from him.
He shushes me
again, refusing to let me pull away.
It doesn't scare
me, but I fight harder.
I can't do this
with him. I can't.
"You're
okay," he soothes and I realize that I'm saying it out loud. Crying over
and over again that I can't do this.
A sob catches in
my throat and I slump against him, defeated.
"You're
okay," he says again, rocking us back and forth.
For just a minute,
I let myself believe him. I sink into his embrace. His warmth surrounds me. His
heart hammers against mine. He smells so good, and I feel so safe, so secure.
"Why does
this feel so right?"
I'm not sure if
I'm even meant to hear his question, but I do. And I have no answer.
For just a minute,
I don't want one. I just want… him.
Oh God, what am I doing?
About the
Author:
Ayden lives in the heart of
Arkansas with her childhood sweetheart and husband of ten years, and their five
furry minions. When not writing, she spends her time hiking, reading,
volunteering, causing mischief, and building a Spork army. Ayden graduated summa
cum laude with her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and Forensic
Psychology in 2009 before going on to complete her graduate degree in CJ and
Law. She currently puts her education to use in the social services
field.
Ayden also writes Young and New Adult fiction under the penname A.K. Morgen.
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