Expat Irish rugby player Declan Fraser only wanted to play the sport he
loves. He didn’t want to be stuck in this middle-of-nowhere town at this all
too quaint university. He didn’t want his team captain to be an entitled
jackass who switched Declan's position on the squad just to make himself look
good. And he sure as hell didn’t want to fall in love with graduate student
Autumn McShane.
Autumn
is stubborn, but gorgeous; she bristles at any hint of dependency on anyone or
anything, but she’s also a survivor. She’s everything Declan didn’t know he
wanted. When Autumn finds herself in the middle of a challenging bet with her
ex-boyfriend - who just happens to be the arrogant team captain that Declan
hates - he feels honor bound to help her out. But he didn’t expect to fall for
her in the process.
“Behind
the Pitch” reveals the most twisted and erotic thoughts in Declan’s head as he
navigates through his on again/off again, frustrating and deeply erotic
relationship with Autumn McShane.
And
lordy, does he have a filthy mind.
My first thought when I
opened this this book was, “YAY!!! More Declan Fraser!” I loved Declan in
Finding Serenity, and this novella did not disappoint. This is told in Declan’s
point of view and switches from the beginning of his and Autumn’s relationship
to the present. I absolutely loved getting his take on things from the very
beginning. While there are some scenes that are repeated, it doesn’t feel
tedious at all. While I remember the scenes, everything feels new and fresh since
we are in Declan’s mind getting his take on things. And oh, what a mind!
If you are reading this
novella, I’m going to assume that you have read Finding Serenity. However, if
you haven’t read it yet GO GET IT!
You can find my review for Finding Serenity by following this link.
I’m not going to rehash
the past. I will say that I enjoyed getting a better understanding of him and
seeing things through his eyes made me fall harder. Okay, so on to the present…
Declan and Autumn are yet again caught up in a secret that Joe has been hiding
from them. She seems to revert into herself again and Declan has to fight to
keep them together. Declan having to fight his way back to her heart rubbed me
wrong. In my eyes, he did nothing wrong, yet, I feel he is being punished. This
however is a pet peeve of mine. Lately I have been bothered when I read about a
supposed mess up on the guy’s part and he has to crawl and grovel back into the
girl’s good graces. Should a guy have to do that, sure, if he really messes up,
but I’ve noticed that in many books it is just the girl being irrational and
the guy (and all the other characters) thinks that she is in the right. I
totally get that this is my own personal issue, so I pushed it aside and let myself
get lost in the story; which really wasn’t that hard because, come on, it’s
Declan. I also knew going in that Autumn has issues due to her father walking
out and losing her mother, so that made pushing aside her irrationality a bit
easier.
If you enjoyed Finding
Serenity, this is a must read!
“I’m not going to ask you to do anything you don’t
want, love.” I didn’t know why my voice thickened, became a whisper I knew
sounded like wanting, desperation. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop
touching you. Not if you don’t stop me.”
There were very few freckles on her neck. Four, perhaps
five, that dotted near the cleft of her throat. But as my fingers worked open
the buttons on her blouse, the collection of spots grew, until I saw the most
beautiful sweep of freckles across her collarbone, down into the full, buggering hell, blessedly full cleavage.
I had to physically restrain myself from attacking her tits, or ripping apart
the lacy bra she wore.
Then, I couldn’t control myself. I had to taste her;
her smooth skin, the brilliant cushion of her chest, I had to kiss every
freckle I saw. One, two, ten, twenty; my mouth ran over each one, loving the
delicious taste of her flesh, the sweet, intoxicating flavor of her body.
When I thought I could not possibly kiss another space
of beautiful skin without exploding, I moved back to helping her discard her
shirt, then lowered the straps of that lacy bra, and was met with even more
freckles. “I knew you had freckles everywhere,” I said, enjoying the sweet
sound of her laughter.
We looked at each other, confirmation, approval, as I
worked the clasp at the front of her bra and my heart stopped beating for a
second. This was it, what I’d been desperate for, what I’d fecking dreamed
about for ages. And then, she was free, the most beautiful tits I’d ever seen
spilling out, displayed for my examination.
I. Was. Dead.
My fingers smoothed over her perfect, pink nipples,
already hard, standing at attention for me. I knew I sounded like a wanker, the
way I groaned, the way my voice vibrated in my throat. But I couldn’t help
myself. Not one bit. Those tits were a temple and I was a lowly worshiper. I
closed my eyes at the feel of them, at the hardened points sliding against my
palms and felt myself grow so hard I thought I would explode just from touching
her.
Her skin was like satin, without the slightest flaw and
I opened my eyes to watch her face as I touched her, loved the way her eyes rolled
up, loved how her soft mewing sounds mimicked my own.
I took my communion at her altar, her chest rising to
meet me, her nipples melting against my tongue. I craved this skin, the sweet
sounds she made as I lapped her pink nipple between my lips, my teeth, sucking
harder as the sound of her moans amplified.
Eden Butler is an editor and writer of New Adult Romance and SciFi
and Fantasy novels and the nine-times great-granddaughter of an honest-to-God
English pirate. This could explain her affinity for rule breaking and rum. Her
debut novel, a New Adult, Contemporary (no cliffie) Romance, “Chasing Serenity”
will launch October 2013.
When she’s not writing or wondering about her possibly Jack
Sparrowesque ancestor, thinking up impossible plots, Eden edits, reads and
spends way too much time watching rugby, Doctor Who and New Orleans Saints
football.
Graduate
student Autumn McShane has had her share of heartbreak. She's been abandoned
and betrayed and she lost her beloved mother in a tragic car accident five
months ago. That loss damaged her body and fractured her spirit but she's
learning to recover, until her ex-boyfriend returns to town, intent on making
her life miserable.
Declan Fraser hates her ex as much as Autumn does,
but the last thing she needs is to put her trust in the hands of another man,
especially one like Declan: his hard body and lulling Irish accent makes more
than a few girls weak-kneed. The talented rugby player is rude and sarcastic,
with tattooed, muscular arms and a cocky attitude, but he's the only one who
can help Autumn win an ill-advised bet that, if lost, could cost her more than
she's willing to pay. The reluctant alliance between Declan and Autumn stirs up
cravings she doesn't want to admit, but Declan is a hard man to resist.
Just
when Autumn starts letting down her carefully constructed walls to the sexy bad
boy, he betrays her when she needs him most. Autumn suspects Declan has
secrets, and she is determined to uncover what drove him away from her, even if
that means fraternizing with the enemy. But will the truth return Declan to her
arms or add to the scars on her heart?
Eden is offering up (3) eBook set
copies of Chasing Serenity & Behind the Pitch or (1) signed copy of Chasing
Serenity up for grabs. Giveaway is
international and ends at 11:59 PM CST 02/17/2014.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
To follow the tour, click on the tour banner.
