REVIEW and EXCERPT: (Promo) One Night of Scandal (After Hours, Book 2) by Elle Kennedy

RATING:

Hi! As mentioned in a previous post, more Elle Kennedy to come...

*Complimentary copy received from publisher AND I also own a copy purchased previously*

Note: Graphic language/scenes

One Night of Scandal

The wrong man never felt so right...

Ex-fighter Reed Miller has been secretly lusting over his best friend’s girl for months, but he refuses to jeopardize a friendship over a woman—especially one who doesn’t like him all that much. Now that Darcy’s on the market again, it’s even more imperative to stick to his strict hands-off policy. But the sizzling attraction between them is too powerful to ignore, and once he’s had a taste of her...all bets are off.

Darcy Grant is tired of walking the straight and narrow path. She’s on the hunt for passion, and there’s no denying Reed is just the man to give it to her. Although she has no interest in dating a bad boy, and certainly not her ex’s best friend, it’s impossible not to melt beneath Reed’s skillful touch. Now it’s just a matter of setting a few ground rules— and hoping her rule-breaking, sweet-talking bad boy agrees to follow them. But if she lets Reed into her bed, does she stand a chance of keeping him out of her heart?

AMAZON | B&N | Entangled

REVIEW

(Originally posted on Goodreads)

This is now Reed and Darcy's story and what a yummy read! 

I admit, it was a little weird, with Darcy being the ex of one of Reed's best friends, like too-close-for-comfort weird. But I thought Ella did just fine giving us the history of Reed's feelings for Darcy which I totally bought. And I thought Ella also did just fine with the chemistry between those 2, hot dang!

Reed, with all his alpha actions is just adorable with his thoughts, and I thought Darcy is a pretty cool chick. Mature actions from mature adults who, whether they like it or not, has this incredible attraction between them. Until of course the conflict near the end, which I thought was a tad lame, hence a star off, sorry. But I must say, at least even that was handled maturely by the characters...

Oh, Reed, you dirty talkin' you!... sigh...

And now, on to AJ's story, One Night of Trouble.

EXCERPT

“Stall as long as you want. I ain’t going anywhere, Darce.”

His deep, razor-sharp voice snapped her from her inappropriate ogling. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice she’d been checking him out. His expression displayed a cloud of displeasure mingled with steely determination, leaving no doubt as to how serious he was about cockblocking her tonight.

Or was it vagina-blocking for girls? She wasn’t sure.

“You’re being totally unreasonable,” she said, raising her voice over the music. “I’m not seeing AJ anymore, which means it’s not considered cheating if I happen to meet someone I like.”

“Don’t care. Won’t be happening on my watch.”

God. He wasn’t going to back down.

Cut your losses, girl. You’re not the one-night-stand type, anyway.

The defeated voice in her head was spot on. Hopping into bed with strangers wasn’t something she indulged in very often. Or ever.

Darcy stifled a sigh. Maybe this had been a mistake from the start. A stupid, spur-of-the-moment decision brought on by her break-up with AJ, which, in all honesty, had seriously bummed her out. Not because she’d lost the love of her life or anything, but because their relationship had been so lacking it only highlighted everything she’d been missing. Everything she craved.

Fun. Laughter. Excitement.

Passion.

Yep, full circle, right back to passion.

“C’mon, quit being a brat.”

She felt herself being tugged, blinking to find Reed’s fingers curled over her forearm. 

His hand was big and warm, and utterly impersonal as he guided her to the dance floor.

Darcy swallowed her anger as they maneuvered through the crowd. Fine, if he wanted to act like a macho jerk and be her shadow, then she’d let him. Clearly passion wasn’t on the table anymore, but fun and dancing were still up for grabs, and she might as well get something out of this botched evening. Though maybe just the dancing part. After all, fun and Reed Miller didn’t exactly go together.

The sultry beat pounding out of the DJ’s turntables immediately snaked its way into Darcy’s blood, and her body responded of its own volition. AJ had hated to dance. Poor guy had no moves, either, but his best friend didn’t seem to share that affliction.

To her surprise, Reed wasted no time yanking her toward him. He rested one hand on her hip and began to dance to the pulsing, decadent rhythm as if he’d done it a hundred times before.

His head dipped to her ear, his warm breath fanning over her neck. “Why is your dress so short?” he rasped.

She stiffened at his disapproving tone, glancing down at the silky green dress that nearly reached her knees. “It’s not that short. Look around us—half these girls are practically naked.”

“Half these girls aren’t you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

Rather than answer, he brought his other hand into play, running it up and down her back as his hips rotated in a slow, addictive rhythm.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A USA Today bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a BA in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

Elle loves to hear from her readers. Visit her website or sign up for her newsletter to receive updates about upcoming books and exclusive excerpts. You can also find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter (@ElleKennedy).


~Leftie