A Mediterranean Affair
By Angela Aaron
A sizzling romance on the high seas!
Blurb:
When Andrea's boyfriend presents her with a romantic cruise
through the Mediterranean on Cupid Cruise
Lines, it seems just the inspirational backdrop needed for him to finally pop
the question. However, when her
boyfriend is a no-show and sends yet another consolation gift to make up for
his absence Andrea knows any hope for romance is extinguished.
Lorenzo has better things to do than play delivery boy to a
spoiled cruise ship passenger.
Returning to his native Italy, after swearing off love, he
spends his time in solitude working at the vineyard. Nevertheless, when his
grandfather asks him to make the special delivery, he can't refuse. From the
moment he walks in on the scantily clad American woman he knows his life is
about to take an unexpected turn.
Now Andrea and Lorenzo must each let go of their past to
make room for each other. Can they accept the lure of Cupid's arrow despite the
miles that separate them?
**Content warning.
Explicit Scenes.
Available at Amazon, Nook, Smashwords (iTunes, Sony) and
Kobo
Soon to be available in print at Amazon
Excerpt:
Lorenzo slammed the car door with too much gusto. He had better things to do than deliver gifts to some spoiled Yank, even if the gifts were the best bottles of vino produced at his winery. His job was the vineyard and the grapes, not playing delivery boy to spoiled cruise ship passengers.
Despite his displeasure at the
prospect of driving all the way into town and to the crowded docks, Lorenzo
couldn't turn down his grandfather when asked to make the delivery. He'd seemed
rather distraught at the message he brought with the wine and had asked Lorenzo
to pick up a bouquet of flowers to accompany the delivery. Though he hadn't
revealed the details of the message inside the envelope, Lorenzo guessed it
wasn't good.
"Just perfect." Lorenzo
mumbled under his breath, spying the volume of passengers he would have to wade
through to reach the ship. Letting out a huff, and tucking his hair behind his
ears, he trudged forward into the crowd, weaving his way in and out and around
until finally reaching someone who could help him. In his haste, however, he
nearly knocked over the crewmember as he approached. It was the quick action of
a man who dodged out of the way that prevented a collision.
"My apologies, signore, but I
have a delivery for one of your passengers." Lorenzo held up the bottles
of wine he juggled and waited for directions to the delivery area. The young
crewmember looked at him curiously for a moment before an impish smile graced
his boyish face.
"And what passenger are you
here to see?" he inquired, rather hastily, scanning the sea of remaining
passengers who needed to board.
Lorenzo shifted the bottles of wine
into one arm and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a slip of paper. "Signorina
Andrea McDonald. An American."
Half expecting to have the wine and
flowers taken from him, Lorenzo was shocked when the man instead referred to
his tablet, jotted something on his clipboard, took papers out of his pocket,
and handed them to him.
"Well, Mr. Robinson, your
lovely lady has already boarded."
Lorenzo looked at the number on the
paper.
"It is your cabin number and
ticket stub."
"But I thought.... Wait.... I'm
not.... Don't I just give this to someone who will see she gets it?" Even Lorenzo
knew he couldn't just wander about the ship.
"Just go to the left over
there and look for the elevators. I'm sure Signorina McDonald will be very glad
you have arrived and pleased with your gift."
"Wait. This isn't my gift…."
Lorenzo's protest went unnoticed by the young crewmember who turned his
attention to another person. Lorenzo threw a glance to the heavens then scanned
the number on the papers before stuffing them in his pants pocket and heading
in the direction the crewman had instructed him to go.
"This is ridiculous."
Lorenzo grumbled, rounding one final corner, halting in front of a door with
the same numbers as on the papers given him. He sighed, shifted his packages,
and knocked on the door. He waited, tapping his foot impatiently. After a
moment, he knocked again.
"It's open," called a
female voice from the other side.
Bena.
He thought Good. He was anxious to
finish this task. Lorenzo turned the handle, pushed the door open with his toe,
and stepped inside,
Much to his astonishment, sprawled
out before him on the bed, wearing nothing more than the skimpiest lingerie,
was a beautiful auburn haired woman, posed very provocatively.
"Oh merda!"
His eyes raked over the luscious
vision an instant before decorum had him spinning around, turning his back to
her, but not before noting her long legs and ample breasts that were barely
contained by the silky material. Bella
donna.
"Oh!" came the woman's
surprised squeal. "Oh no. I'm so sorry."
Lorenzo could hear fabric rustling
and assumed she'd covered herself. He glanced over his shoulder unable to
resist one final look, smiling to himself at all that lovely flesh hastily
concealed by a thick terry robe.
"I'm so sorry. I thought you
were someone else. I expected…."
She was flustered, blushing and
extremely embarrassed, judging by the red stain on her cheeks.
"Oh never mind," she
mumbled.
Lorenzo cleared his throat. "I
have a delivery for you." He lifted the bottles of wine and flowers and
held them out for her.
"For me?" She took the
bottles from him, still wearing the blush from her indiscretion. "Oh, my
favorite wine." She giggled setting the bottles on a nearby table. "And
are the flowers for me, also?"
"Si." He held out the
bouquet.
Lorenzo watched as she held them up
to her nose and inhaled, smiling at the aroma. While she fished in the bouquet
for the card, Lorenzo turned to make his exit. That was, until he heard the
wine bottles crashing to the floor. He spun around, finding she had swept them
off the table. Her expression revealed her anger and what he recognized as
dejection. He turned again ready to make a hasty exit when he heard her speak.
"He's not coming. My dream
trip to the Mediterranean and I'm on the cruise
alone." The woman flung the card and envelope to the floor.
Lorenzo watched as tears brimmed in
her eyes and spilled over her cheeks as she sank down on the edge of the bed. Utter
despair now replaced the sexy, sultry, playful look that only a moment ago
graced her sweet face.
Time
to get out of here, he thought, reaching for the doorknob and jerking open
the door, not attempting to hide his apprehension. This was exactly why he didn't
like to make deliveries. He didn't have any inclination to involve himself in
other people's drama. He'd had enough of his own not that long ago and wanted
to avoid anything remotely similar for a very long time.
Against what every instinct told
him, he halted when she called out to him, and despite his best intension not
to, he turned toward her. She wiped at her eyes and haphazardly reached for her
purse. The sadness on her face undid him. His chest tightened then, as a flood
of memories assaulted him. In his unexpected disarming, he realized she thought
she had to tip him.
"No. Bella." Before she
even looked up, he fled from the room.
~ * ~
Pleasure Island
Angela Aaron
Blurb:
When Cassie Douglas unknowingly arrives at a sultry tropical island resort where the sole business is to provide the perfect pleasure fantasy, Cassie finds it difficult to overcome her inhibitions and join in the fun. When she meets the sexy resort owner, Cassie must decide what is real when it comes to matters of the heart.
Ryan MacKenna isn't about to let the feisty red-head disrupt his life or his business. He lives firmly by his set of self-imposed rules which keep business and pleasure very separate. But from the first moment he meets Ms. Douglas, he is in danger of breaking every rule.
~ * ~
Review!
(This review is for the audio addition of this story, but the review still applies to the book.)
5 Stars!
I’m new to
audio books, and although I love being able to hold a story in my hand, I have
to say I fully enjoyed the experience of having a story told to me.
I was a
child who enjoyed being read bed time stories. There was something wonderful
about being cosy and listening to my mother’s voice as she did the voices of
the characters. Not that my mother ever read me anything like this, of course
she didn’t, but there is something nice about listening to someone else get
into a story, and kinda make it their own.
Firstly,
the story itself was extremely hot and fun. Angela Aaron certainly has a way
with words and boy, does she know how to write a sexy story. Her men were
delicious, especially the main character, Ryan; sweet yet dominant, a gentleman
and yet, well, a sex god, most definitely my cup of tea.
Cassie is a
very realistic heroine. She is understandably hesitant when she first arrives
to the Island, and I can’t say I’d blame her, not with her history, and
certainly because taking a leap into something outside your comfort zone is a
big deal, but she does, and I can assure you she doesn’t regret it.
The story
is about tow people letting their guards down, opening their hearts, and having
one hell of a sexy adventure.
Back to the
audio side . . . well, take this fabulous story and hand it to a lady with such
a captivating voice and man are you in for a treat. Elizabeth Powers has a
fabulous voice. It’s smooth and steady, and she punctuates the words perfectly,
capturing the mood of each scene and the characters, and the best part; she
does the voices! She does accents. If a character yawns, she yawns . . . I
loved that.
Yes, I
imagine those of you who have listened to a lot of audio will be rolling your
eyes right now because you probably know all this, but I just thought it made
the story all the more fun.
All in all,
Pleasure Island is a fabulous, sexy read that will have you hot under the
collar. The characters are great, and believe me you will sooo be wishing this
Island existed by the time you reach the end. I know I did.
As an audio
story . . . Get cosy, get yourself a glass of wine or a mug of hot chocolate,
and settle down for an evening that will make you forget all about this wet,
windy, and freezing weather we are having.
~ * ~
Angela online:
Website: http://www.angelaaaronautho.yolasite.com
Website: http://www.angelaaaronautho.yolasite.com
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