I Bookin' Love to Read: Storms over Secrets by J.A. DeRouen

Title: Storms Over Secrets (Over #3)

Author: J.A. DeRouen

Genre: New Adult

Release Date: September 14, 2015

Cover Design: Mae I Design And Photography

Synopsis

Promises are lies dressed up for the party. Secrets poison the fairest of fairy tales. Lies stain the purest of loves.

I’ve paid the ultimate price for my choices. The tendrils of those sins bind me to my past. The remnants of my love hold me captive. Then he walks into my life, and makes me believe in second chances. He awakens feelings in me I know I shouldn’t have. I yearn for a future without guilt. With him, I dream of a love untainted. Regret is a far-reaching emotion. It barrels through time like a blazing comet, and its path isn’t always straight. No matter what I feel, I cannot bring myself to regret the time I’ve spent with Cain. But it doesn’t mean I can have him. My name is Celia Lemaire and this is my story of broken promises. Storms Over Secrets is the third book in The Over Series, a group of interconnected standalone novels.

Excerpt

Celia rips the book from my hands and shelters it in her chest behind crossed arms. “Ha ha! You think you’re so funny. I especially like your squeaky rendition of the maiden,” she says, managing to look embarrassed and pissed all at once.

“Ah, you liked that, did you? I tried my best to do that fine piece of literature justice.” I cross my arms and grin smugly.

“It is, in fact, a fine piece of literature,” she says as she pulls the book from her chest and checks out the cover. “The Affairs of the Duke of Hamptonshire is very thought-provoking.”

"Oh, I’m sure it provokes something,” I say with a chuckle as I grab the book from her hands and flip to the back cover. “’Join the Duke as he ravages innocent maidens throughout London.’ I have to say—I think it’s fan-fucking-tastic that you read books like this. You just surprised me, that’s all.”

Celia releases a huge, pent-up sigh and falls next to me on the couch. She shrugs and twists her hands in her lap. “Marlo got it for me. She prefers the rock star romance books, but she thought I may appreciate something a little more … old fashioned.”

“Like English royalty?”

“Well, yeah,” she whispers, her lips turning to a slight frown and the blush from her cheeks creeping across her face and down her neck. “Since I don’t date, I don’t … well, you know … so she thought this would be a good way to release some tension.”

I resist the smile tugging on my lips because I don’t want her to think I’m making fun of her, but damn if she isn’t the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.

“It seems to me this book would only serve to build up more tension, but what do I know?” I keep my voice in the most serious tone I can muster.

“She’s ordering me something for that, too,” she says before slamming her hand over her mouth, completely shocked by what she just revealed.

“Oh no you don’t,” I order, pulling her hand from her mouth. “You can’t drop a bomb and clam up on me. Celia Lemaire are you getting a—”

She turns her head, closes her eyes, and scrunches her face. The thought of Celia lying in her bed, reading a smutty book, with a battery-operated device has my dick at attention and blood coursing through my veins at high speed. I want to throw my hands up in the air, hollering, “I volunteer as tribute!” This little project has my name written all over it, but she just doesn’t know it yet.

“Uh uh,” I say as I tug her chin up and make her meet my eyes. I continue my questioning with a scandalous whisper. “Are you getting a … vibrator?”

“Ugh! If there is a God, will He please swallow me up into the ground to avoid this embarrassment? I think I’m going to die,” she cries as she covers her face with both hands and nosedives into my lap.

Watch your aim, little fairy, or you’re about to get WAY more than you bargained for!

I stealthily shift my position to keep her from bumping my boner. It’s been only a day since my vow to man up and make my move. But I don’t think this situation could be any more perfect. Celia, head in my lap, already primed with a lady boner thanks to Duke Hamptonshire?

Thank you, universe. I owe you for this one.

About The Author

J.A. Derouen lives in South Louisiana with her husband, son (aptly nicknamed “The Professor”), and her furry friend, Scout. She has earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and nursing. When she’s not writing or inhaling romance novels by the stack, she works as a women’s health nurse. She’s been an avid reader and daydreamer since childhood, and she’s never stopped turning the page to get to the next happily ever after.

The Over Series