Cami Wimberley has a plan, and that plan includes no room
for boys—especially the big time party animal, Hunter Wilder, no matter how
handsome and charismatic he is. She’s beautiful, a senior, extremely talented,
gets good grades, and is working her way toward her dream college to be a
musical theater major. Everything is perfect.
Hunter Wilder does not want a girlfriend—that would
complicate his life way too much right now. He especially doesn’t want this
girl, Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes, so how come he can’t keep his eyes off her? He
tries to keep her at arms length, but fate seems to keep pushing them together.
Before long, it’s obvious to everyone they’re crushing on each other.
As sparks begin to fly, Hunter finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into hot
water. Soon he’s scrambling to keep Cami from discovering his dark secret—one
that can destroy their entire relationship.
Life is good. Cami is
away at her dream college with her dream man by her side. She thinks if she can
just get through with meeting Hunter’s family that everything will be perfect.
Little does she know that life’s about to turn upside down again when Hunter is
called to infiltrate a gang whose specialty is chopping and racing cars. His
contact happens to be a beautiful curvy girl who is the gang leader’s sister
and he has to pose as her boyfriend. Communication with Cami is basically
forbidden to help keep his cover.
Hunter, however, can’t
stand being away from the girl he really loves, and he sneaks away one night to
meet her across town. He doesn’t know the gang leader, Ripper, has suspicions
about him already and he’s following him to see where he goes. He surprises
Hunter and Cami, and Hunter quickly introduces her as his cousin who is having
some car trouble. He thinks all is well until he discovers he has one serious
problem. Ripper likes Cami and decides to pursue her, drawing her into the same
dangerous world he’s supposed to bring down.
Can he keep his cover
without having Cami get caught in the crossfire? Will the two of them survive
having to watch each other fake it in the arms of another? Or will their hot
stolen kisses destroy everything?
CRUSH
She looked amazing in
her green dress, her soft, red hair falling in waves down to brush her
bare-skinned shoulders. She was showing a fair amount of leg—something I hadn’t
really seen her do before—and I didn’t mind one bit. She reminded me of some
sort of green apple just ripe for the picking.
I grunted internally,
realizing I was comparing her to fruit again. What was up with that? You know exactly what’s up with that, my
mind countered, but I couldn’t force myself to look away. I knew she wasn’t for
me, though somehow, it didn’t seem to matter much at the moment.
“Enjoying the eye candy
again, I see,” Russ said, joining me after getting his snack.
“Who? Clayton Bradley? I
don’t think so.”
Russ snorted. “Yeah,
we’re both aware that’s not who you were looking at. Dude, if you like her that
much just go get her. You know you want her.”
I shook my head and
turned in the direction of the theaters. “Can’t.”
“Why not?” Russ
pressured, trying to understand. “You got a girlfriend back home? Or are you
saying you play for the other team?”
I snorted. “I just
can’t, okay? No girlfriend for me, period.”
“So you’re going to lust
after her from afar?” He elbowed me as he took a bite of his giant popcorn.
“Something like that.”
We found ourselves a
seat at the back of the theater. I liked sitting here so I could watch what
everyone around me was doing while I was waiting for the movie to start.
“This is just a crying
shame,” Russ said.
“What is?”
“Sitting on the back row
and not having any honeys to make out with in the dark. I need a date soon.”
“Good luck with that,” I
replied. “Maybe you should try actually talking to a girl. That might help.”
“Oh, look who’s Mr.
Advice all of a sudden—he who stares and drools from afar.”
“At least I have an
actual babe to drool over instead of just wishful thinking.”
“Ah ha! You just
admitted it. You do like her!” His face was lit up like he’d just discovered
electricity or something.
And dang it, he was
right. “Eat your popcorn like a good boy and leave me alone.” I grinned.
He laughed. “There’s not
a good bone in this body.”
“That sucks for you,” I
countered with a sly smile. “Good bones are all I have lately.”
Russ choked, spewing
popcorn out into the aisle.
“That’s just sick, man,”
I chuckled with a shake of my head, observing the chewed popcorn on the back of
the chair in front of him.
“It’s your fault. Don’t
blame me.” He took a napkin, wiping his mouth and then the chair.
“You’re never gonna get
a girl like this. Maybe I should show you how it’s done.”
“Well, master, here’s
your chance.” Russ gestured into the theater, and I saw Cami and Clay enter
together.
I stiffened immediately
as I watched them. They chose some seats a few aisles down from where we were.
Clay put his drink in the cup holder and leaned in close to her. Cami clearly
shifted away from him.
This caused an alarm to
go off in my head. She was obviously uncomfortable with his close proximity. I
wondered if he’d tried to hit on her, and she didn’t like it. It was as if they
weren’t the same people I’d watched in class together. Clay had changed his
appearance, and it seemed to have the opposite effect of what he was going
for—changing the dynamic between them completely.
He bent closer and
whispered something in her ear and she leaned even farther. There was
definitely something bad going on between them.
I reached over, grabbed
Russ’s popcorn, and got up.
“Hey, where you going?”
he asked, looking confused.
SMITTEN
“I hope you don’t mind
spending a little alone time with me.”
Cami smiled. “Are you
kidding? This was the best idea ever! Besides, I’ve been starved for time with
you.” She flopped back onto the park grass—our impromptu picnic from
Francesca’s spread in between us. I’d been unable to resist the opportunity to
recreate our first date. “I can’t believe you got a whole strawberry pie too!”
I chuckled and leaned
against the tree providing us a nice shady spot. “I know it’s your favorite.”
“But a whole one?
There’s no way we’ll be able to eat it all.”
I loved seeing the smile
across her face. She hadn’t been this relaxed in weeks. “Then give what’s left
to your parents, or better yet, take it home with you as a treat for later.”
She sighed heavily, her
smile slipping. “Do we have to go back? I say we forget about everything and
stay here forever. I’ve missed all this.” She waved her arm in a broad arc.
“What? This park?” I
teased, trying to get her smile to return.
She rolled to her side
so she was facing me, propping her head with her hand. “No. Everything. Home,
this town, us—how we were in this town—I miss all that.”
“Shall I call Mr.
Adams?” I joked. “We could see if he’ll give us the keys to the darkroom, and
we can go make out in it.” I winked at her.
She giggled. “That was
heaven! I had no idea what I was getting myself into back then, did I?”
“Do you regret it?” I
asked before taking a sip of my shake.
She sat up and crawled
over, climbing into my lap. She placed her palms on the sides of my face and
stared deep into my eyes. “Not for even one second. I love you.”
I’d never get tired of
hearing those words from her. I set my shake in the grass and slid my hands
around her hips. “Say it again.” I stared at her beautiful mouth, thinking
about all the things I liked about her lips.
“I love you,” she said
again, obliging me.
“I love you too. Now
kiss me.”
She grinned. “You’re
bossy today, aren’t you?”
“Are you going to kiss
me or not?” I arched an eyebrow, staring at her seriously.
She bit her bottom lip
and appeared to ponder. “On our first date here I spent the whole time wishing
you’d kiss me with those amazing lips of yours. You fought it, though, and
wouldn’t give in. In honor of that day, I think I’ll decline your order and
make you suffer like I had to.”
“Wrong answer,” I
replied, moving quickly so she was pinned on the ground underneath me. I lifted
her hands above her head and held her wrists with one of mine. “If I remember
correctly, you wouldn’t admit you liked me, and I had to do some tickling.”
“Don’t you dare tickle
me again, Hunter!” She squirmed beneath me causing my body to react instantly.
“If you’ll remember, you didn’t win that battle either.”
“I did win the battle—just
not on that day—but I’ll win today.” I grinned as I tickled her side.
She jerked and squealed.
“Oh, I’m gonna kill you!”
“Kiss. You’re gonna kiss
me. Get your words right.” I laughed as she tried to twist away. “Give it up,
Goody.”
“Fine! You win!” she
gasped. “I’ll do it!”
I stopped immediately,
letting her catch her breath for a moment. “See? That wasn’t so difficult, was
it?” I grinned triumphantly.
“You’re a . . . a . . .
pig!” she countered.
I laughed. “I’ve been
called way worse. Besides, pigs are thick skinned, so you’re gonna have to try
harder.”
She groaned and rolled
her eyes. “Just shut up and kiss me already.”
“Gladly.” I kept her
hands pinned above her as I lowered my mouth to hers. Sparks exploded the
moment our lips touched. I’d intended the contact to be soft and subtle, but it
quickly built into something hot and fiery. It amazed me how every time felt
like the first time. I’d never known chemistry like this with any other girl,
and I wasn’t sure what it was, but Cami seemed capable of turning my insides
out. She made intensely lustful thoughts tumble rapidly through my head every
time she was near. All I could ever think of was claiming her, keeping her,
making her mine in every way possible.
My lips traveled to her
neck, and she moaned my name as I gently sucked at her skin. The scent of her
hair was like an intoxicating drug—everything about her smelled amazing. I
wanted to lick her—taste her everywhere. She turned her head to the side and
arched her back. I slid my arm underneath her, crushing her tightly to me.
“I’ve missed holding you
like this,” I whispered in her ear. “I need to be able to touch you. This
separation has been killing me.” I nibbled at her skin again.
She sighed. “I know.
I’ve missed you too.”
The sound of children
running and laughing close-by broke into my thoughts, and I quickly released
her, rolling to my side, sad that it seemed like I always had to pull away from
her. I propped my head and stared at her, running my fingers through her
gorgeous red hair. “You’re so beautiful.” My gaze locked with hers. “I wish I
could carry you off someplace the two of us could be alone together.”
She linked her fingers
with mine, and I lifted them to my lips, kissing them each tenderly. She sighed
and closed her eyes. “Are you sure we can’t run away together right now?”
“It’s very tempting,” I
agreed. It would be so easy to pick up and leave everything behind.
She sighed again. “I can
see the wheels turning in your head. Forget I even brought it up, Hunter. You’re
too dang trustworthy, and we both know it. There’s no way you’d abandon this
case before it’s through. Your word is as good as gold.”
I chuckled. “Why do you
make it sound like that’s a bad thing?”
She smiled. “I don’t
mean too. I’m just tired of being frustrated.”
I laughed harder. “I
give you my word—I promise to take care of any and all frustrations you may
have.”
She rolled her eyes and
gave me a pointed look. “Your selflessness overwhelms me.”
I lifted a shoulder
casually, laughter still escaping me. “What can I say? I aim to please.”
It was while she was
attending the small country school in Clay Springs, that she read her first
"big" book at the age of eight. It was a Nancy Drew novel and Lacey
was instantly hooked. She read every book that she could find in the series and
decided that she wanted to write stories too.
Lacey spent a lot of
time at the library from that time forward, even volunteering in her later teen
years and early twenties. She would don a crazy clown outfit for the Friends of
the Library fundraisers in an effort to help get the new town library built.
When she and her husband
moved away from the area, Lacey took the opportunity to take some creative
writing classes at the local college to help further along her interests.
Several years later, they were blessed with the opportunity to move back to Clay
Springs with their family. The town had finally succeeded in building their
library and Lacey had the opportunity to be President of the Friends of the
Library for a very short time, before relocating.
Lacey and her family still live in the White Mountains of Arizona, where she
continues to write young adult novels that have a fantasy/fairytale or
paranormal bent to them, as well as being sure to include a great romantic
storyline!
CRUSH
SMITTEN
Well, I am kicking myself in the rear because I haven't read this book before now.
Every single moment was AWESOME!!
I really liked Cami. Even though she is young, she holds her own with her wit, her humor, and just her overal compassion. She tries her best to see the good in everyone and in so many ways that is her downfall...
But never fear, Hunter is here to make sure she is taken care of...
Boy, did he steal my heart...Even with all the mystery surrounding who he was...and let me tell you, the suspense of what is happening centers around his mystery....
This book was filled with action, keeping you on your toes, wondering exactly what is going to happen next. Although I figured some things out before they were revealed, Crush was an exciting, fun read. I was literally on the edge of my seat up to the very end waiting to find out whether or not things are going to work out...I highly recommend...
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