REVIEW & EXCERPT - An Indecent Affair Part IV by Stephanie Julian

Title: An Indecent Affair Part IV

Author: Stephanie Julian

Publisher: Moonlit Night Publishing

Release Date: 16 September 2014

Genre: Adult Erotica

Synopsis:
Kat has uprooted her life and moved to Philadelphia. She's starting her own business and opening her heart. But caring for two men brings both rewards and pitfalls.

Tristan and Adam are determined to keep Kat close and win her heart. But work dangers and family obligations conspire to tear them apart before their fragile relationship has a chance to grow into something stronger.

EXCERPT:

Kat’s mouth dropped open at Tristan’s bald statement.

Naked and between them.

Oh, god, yes. That sounded wonderful.

She wanted that. And everything that went with it. All she needed was the courage to take what they offered.

Go ahead. Do it. Say yes.

Tristan watched her, his expression intent and a challenge in his eyes. From the very first, he’d been upfront about exactly what that he wanted. Which was her.

Nothing in her life had prepared her for Tristan. No one had ever pursued her with such straightforward commitment. It made her ache for everything he wanted to give her.

At the same time, it made her wary of giving herself over to him and having the rug pulled out from under her later.

That was a game her mother liked to play. Give with one hand and take away with the other.

Kat had learned to be wary of anyone who offered her anything with no visible strings attached. There were always strings. Something else her mother had taught her.

Her gaze skipped to Adam, who had all sorts of hidden strings. She wasn’t sure she had the necessary tools to deal with him. He held his emotions so closely in check, she sometimes wondered if he felt anything at all. Well, anything besides lust.

If they continued this affair, she’d have to learn to deal with that. And decide if she could live with a man who only wanted her sexually.

If Adam didn’t commit… If he was only in it for the short-term...

Could she live with knowing she would be only a bed partner to him?

Can you live with knowing you didn’t even try?

She’d regret it every single day.

“I want that, too.”

Tristan’s immediate smile lit him up, stealing the air from her lungs. His expression transformed into one of a man who’d gotten exactly what he wanted. Which was her. The thought made excitement sizzle and pop along her nerves.

Then she slid another glance at Adam and panic nipped at her confidence.

“It’s just…” She struggled to pick the right words. “I’m just not sure I know how to do…this.”

Tristan shook his head. “There’s no right or wrong. We’ll figure out what works for us as we go.”

She nodded but that didn’t exactly make her feel better. She liked having a plan. Liked knowing what was expected of her. Where she fit into the scheme of things.

“Kat.”

Adam’s voice made her blink before her gaze flipped to him.

“Yes?”

“We want this. Both of us.”

Adam stared at her just as intently as Tristan had seconds ago. But his eyes lacked the warmth Tristan’s held. Or did they?

She couldn’t read Adam. As much as she tried, as much as she wanted to, she didn’t know what he was thinking. The only thing she was sure of was Adam’s desire for her. That was clear as day.

Frustration bit at her. Would it always be like this? Would she always be lacking something in Adam’s eyes? And did it matter, if she found what she needed in Tristan’s?

“Do you? How can I know that for sure?”

Adam’s chin lifted. “You can’t. You can only trust me when I say that I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be.”

She absolutely believed that. She also knew that Adam’s bond to Tristan was so strong, Adam might accept her into his bed simply because he knew that’s what Tristan wanted.

Except that didn’t explain yesterday’s encounter.

“Did you tell him?”

The question escaped before she could bite her tongue. She wanted to take back the words immediately. Glancing at Tristan, he didn’t look shocked or surprised as Adam nodded.

Thank god.

That pressing weight on her shoulders suddenly felt twenty times lighter.

“Good. That’s…good. I don’t want there to be secrets.”

With a widening grin, Tristan took a step closer. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. Adam and I know each other. We trust each other. You’re not a prize we’re competing for. You’re the woman we want to make love to.”

Desire heated her blood at the warmth in Tristan’s eyes. Her fingers itched with the urge to reach out and run her fingers along Tristan’s strong jaw. To feel the slight abrasion of his whiskers against her skin. To let her fingers run down his neck to the broad muscles of his chest. Wanted to strip off his shirt and press her naked body against his.

She wanted Adam to plaster himself against her back, grip her hips with his hands and bite her neck so hard he left a mark.

Her gaze flipped to Adam, who’d held his ground.

“But you have to understand,” Adam said. “I’m not Tristan. I’m not easy.”

Amazingly, Adam’s blunt statement made her smile. As her lips curved, Adam’s expression lost some of its darkness.

“I’ve actually been able to pick that up on my own.”

Tristan cut the distance between them by another step and her heart skipped a couple of beats.

“So are you ready to eat?’ Tristan asked.

She blinked. “You want to eat first?”

Tristan’s grin widened and even Adam’s lips curved.

Reaching for her hand, Tristan squeezed her fingers then rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “We’re not just interested in sex.”

Neither was she. But relationships were fraught with even more pitfalls than “just sex.”

“Okay.”

“Kat.”

She looked at Adam.

“Yes?”

“Do you want to eat?”

She did. Her stomach rumbled at the thought. “Dinner. Yes. Let’s order dinner.”

“Or would you rather we lay you out on the table and show you why you won’t be sorry you said yes?”

Have a look at Part I,  Part II & Part III of An Indecent Affair

Part I 

One night. One woman. Two men. Twice the desire.

Katrina refuses to give in to her mother’s demand to marry a man she can’t stand. After years of trusting no one with her heart or her body, she wants to be swept off her feet, to experience complete surrender, if only for one night.

Tristan has lusted after Katrina for years and tonight he’s making his move. He’ll steal her away from his brother, who doesn’t deserve her. Then he and his best friend, Adam, will give her exactly what she wants…

 Amazon // B&N

Part II

Katrina is finally taking control of her life. She's quit her job in Boston and is opening her own law practice in Philadelphia, home to Tristan and Adam. She spent one sensually mind-blowing night in their arms. And then she snuck out before morning.

Tristan is looking forward to breaking down Kat's walls and starting a relationship. Adam isn't sure Kat is the woman he and Tristan need in their lives. And he'll do whatever it takes to make sure they don't make a huge mistake...

Amazon // B&N

Part III

Letting her insecurities get the better of her, Katrina pushed Adam away after another amazing night in bed between him and Tristan. In the light of day, she realizes she needs to apologize. She only hopes Adam will listen.

After walking out on Katrina, Adam believes the only way Tristan can have a shot at a relationship with her is for Adam to step aside. He’s not the kind of man she needs in her life and Tristan has wanted her for too long to give up now.

Or course, passion has a way of derailing the best of intentions…

Amazon//B&N

About Stephanie Julian:

I'm a reformed reporter who enjoys making up stories much more than writing about real life.

In sixth grade, I found my mother's stash of romance novels hidden under her bed and realized they were much more interesting than the books in the school library. I devoured Rosemary Rogers, Bertrice Small and, most especially, Kathleen Woodiwiss.

In college, I majored in English and continued to expand my favorites list. Shakespeare, the Canterbury Tales, the Bronte sisters, Mary Shelley. Then I graduated and discovered there wasn't much I could do with an English degree.

That's when I found out they would pay me to write for a living at a newspaper. Want to learn how to write tight and clean? Work for a daily local and condense a three-hour meeting with an angry mob of residents upset about a sewer system overhaul into 15 inches in 20 minutes.

After my sons were born, I freelanced, working at home in my drafty attic office, and developed a two-book-a-day Harlequin habit that turned into a writing habit. My first attempts at romance were firmly rooted in the Harlequin tradition and I sold my first two romances to Avalon Books under the name Stephanie Scott.

But writing sweet romances was not what I'd had in mind. I wanted to write books where people actually got to have sex. I contracted my first erotic romance to Ellora's Cave and never looked back.

I write sexy series that combine heat with heart. Four are linked by Etruscan Magic: Magical Seduction, Lucani Lovers, Forgotten Goddesses and Darkly Enchanted. I also write the silly-funny, super-sexy Lovers on the Fringe series and the straight contemporary DeMarco Investigations series. I'm also writing the serial menage, INDECENT.

BY PRIVATE INVITATION, NO RESERVATIONS and OVER EXPOSED comprise the contemporary erotic romance series, Salon Games.

I'm happily married to a Springsteen fanatic and I'm the mother of two sons who introduced me to the joys of Slipknot, Warped Tour and never-ending headaches.

Review:
What I like about this series is that each new part picks up immediately from the end of the previous installment. This part of the series we learn several interesting things: Tristan's brother Phillip attempts to blackmail Katrina about her arrangement with Tristan and Adam, and mentions that she should ask the guys about a woman named Diane; Katrina's father knows of the arrangement and drops his own bombshell; Katrina meets one of Adam's sisters, Adam's father is released, and there all kinds of fallout from that happening, and the friction that results causes Katrina to make the decision that leaves this part on a big cliffhanger. I was almost ready to throw my Kindle because I couldn't believe the last part and I need to know what happens now. 

Rating 

ARC provided in exchange for honest review.