We're thrilled to share an exclusive excerpt from Scandal Never Sleeps by New York Times bestselling authors Shayla Black and Lexi Blake, book 1 of The Perfect Gentleman series. We had the pleasure of reading an advance copy and were instantly sucked into a decadent and luscious world of power, money, corruption and sinfully wicked scandal. Scandal Never Sleeps releases on August 18th but we have a treat for you today with a sensual and suspenseful sneak peek. Happy reading and be sure to pre-order today.
Scandal Never Sleeps Excerpt
The Perfect Gentleman Book 1
The music played and they swayed together. Everly’s head came up. Her eyes gleamed as she stared at him. “This is crazy.”
“Yeah. I’ve never met anyone like you.”
She scoffed. “You’ve met a lot of women. It was hard for me to date when I was a teenager. My father would meet any potential boyfriend at the door in full uniform, gun included.”
His parents hadn’t met the first girl he’d fucked. Or the second. Or the third. “Your dad sounds like a smart man.”
He had a sudden vision of the daughter Everly would surely have one day. The girl would have her strawberry blonde hair and sweet smile. And the boys would be all over her. He could do one better than her dad. He could hire bodyguards to protect her virtue.
Damn. He’d thought about having kids with Everly Parker. He was in way, way too deep.
“I didn’t have a real boyfriend until I was in college. Do you know how he met my dad? When we were driving home for the weekend so I could introduce him, Dad pulled him over for speeding. Did a pat down and everything. I swear, I think the only reason Bryan stayed with me was fear that my father would hunt him down if he made me cry.”
“I would like to have met your father. He probably would have been better than the cops I dealt with today.”
“Oh, he would have been so much harder on you. But I think he would have liked you, too. You’re not what he would have expected.”
He was fairly certain what people expected of him. “He would have thought I’d be immature and entitled?”
Her cheeks flushed and her gaze slid away from him. “Pretty much. But you’re not. I think you’re like the rest of us, just trying to hold it together.”
He was trying to hold on to her. For the first time in his life, he’d found someone he couldn’t let go of. “Everly, I need you.”
She rose up on her toes, her head tilted back. “I don’t want to but I think I need you, too.”
It was as close to an invitation as she’d likely give him, and he wasn’t going to question or refuse her. He also wasn’t going to rush this time. He’d been out of control with her this morning. It was time to remind her how well he could take care of her.
He cupped her face, his body never losing the rhythm of the dance. Her hands drifted to his waist, holding on to him. She exhaled, closed her eyes, and offered herself up.
His lips met hers in a sensual brush. As their feet kept time to the music, he led her lips in a dance as well. He sank his fingers into her hair and gave over to the deep need to surround himself with this woman. He slid his tongue along her lower lip until she drew in an aroused breath. Then he invaded.
Everly opened for him, her tongue seeking and gliding along his, teasing and playing. She pressed her body flush against his chest. As the kiss deepened, they lost the dance, primal need taking control.
He slid his hands down to her spectacular ass and dragged her fully against him, letting her feel the hard stalk of his erection, so ready to pleasure her. He’d been surprised at how readily she responded to him, but he reacted to her with equal enthusiasm. When she walked in a room, his body prepared itself for sex. When he even thought about her, he got tense and needy.
“Gabriel, how do you do this to me?” She whispered against his lips as her hands began exploring his body.
This was chemistry at its finest, but there was a little piece of him that thought it might be something more. He didn’t say it. He could barely think it when he wasn’t sure where she’d come from or who she’d been to Mad. “We fit. We’re good together.”
There was a very nice couch only steps away, and Gabriel backed her toward it. He didn’t want to wait. Didn’t think he could stand to.
She sank down to the couch and looked up at him, the softness in her eyes slamming into him like a runaway freight train.
He might always need this woman. God help him, it made zero sense, but he might be in love with her.
She held a hand up, beckoning him to join her. He leaned in to do just that when, over the music from the gramophone, he heard what sounded like a door shutting, followed by footsteps on the floor above.
His adrenaline started to flow.
They weren’t alone anymore.
Posted by arrangement with Berkley Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Shelley Bradley, LLC and DLZ Entertainment LLC, 2015.
“Yeah. I’ve never met anyone like you.”
She scoffed. “You’ve met a lot of women. It was hard for me to date when I was a teenager. My father would meet any potential boyfriend at the door in full uniform, gun included.”
His parents hadn’t met the first girl he’d fucked. Or the second. Or the third. “Your dad sounds like a smart man.”
He had a sudden vision of the daughter Everly would surely have one day. The girl would have her strawberry blonde hair and sweet smile. And the boys would be all over her. He could do one better than her dad. He could hire bodyguards to protect her virtue.
Damn. He’d thought about having kids with Everly Parker. He was in way, way too deep.
“I didn’t have a real boyfriend until I was in college. Do you know how he met my dad? When we were driving home for the weekend so I could introduce him, Dad pulled him over for speeding. Did a pat down and everything. I swear, I think the only reason Bryan stayed with me was fear that my father would hunt him down if he made me cry.”
“I would like to have met your father. He probably would have been better than the cops I dealt with today.”
“Oh, he would have been so much harder on you. But I think he would have liked you, too. You’re not what he would have expected.”
He was fairly certain what people expected of him. “He would have thought I’d be immature and entitled?”
Her cheeks flushed and her gaze slid away from him. “Pretty much. But you’re not. I think you’re like the rest of us, just trying to hold it together.”
He was trying to hold on to her. For the first time in his life, he’d found someone he couldn’t let go of. “Everly, I need you.”
She rose up on her toes, her head tilted back. “I don’t want to but I think I need you, too.”
It was as close to an invitation as she’d likely give him, and he wasn’t going to question or refuse her. He also wasn’t going to rush this time. He’d been out of control with her this morning. It was time to remind her how well he could take care of her.
He cupped her face, his body never losing the rhythm of the dance. Her hands drifted to his waist, holding on to him. She exhaled, closed her eyes, and offered herself up.
His lips met hers in a sensual brush. As their feet kept time to the music, he led her lips in a dance as well. He sank his fingers into her hair and gave over to the deep need to surround himself with this woman. He slid his tongue along her lower lip until she drew in an aroused breath. Then he invaded.
Everly opened for him, her tongue seeking and gliding along his, teasing and playing. She pressed her body flush against his chest. As the kiss deepened, they lost the dance, primal need taking control.
He slid his hands down to her spectacular ass and dragged her fully against him, letting her feel the hard stalk of his erection, so ready to pleasure her. He’d been surprised at how readily she responded to him, but he reacted to her with equal enthusiasm. When she walked in a room, his body prepared itself for sex. When he even thought about her, he got tense and needy.
“Gabriel, how do you do this to me?” She whispered against his lips as her hands began exploring his body.
This was chemistry at its finest, but there was a little piece of him that thought it might be something more. He didn’t say it. He could barely think it when he wasn’t sure where she’d come from or who she’d been to Mad. “We fit. We’re good together.”
There was a very nice couch only steps away, and Gabriel backed her toward it. He didn’t want to wait. Didn’t think he could stand to.
She sank down to the couch and looked up at him, the softness in her eyes slamming into him like a runaway freight train.
He might always need this woman. God help him, it made zero sense, but he might be in love with her.
She held a hand up, beckoning him to join her. He leaned in to do just that when, over the music from the gramophone, he heard what sounded like a door shutting, followed by footsteps on the floor above.
His adrenaline started to flow.
They weren’t alone anymore.
Posted by arrangement with Berkley Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Shelley Bradley, LLC and DLZ Entertainment LLC, 2015.
Scandal Never Sleeps Synopsis & Pre-order Link
The Perfect Gentleman Book 1, releases on August 18
They are the Perfect Gentlemen of Creighton Academy: privileged, wealthy, powerful friends with a wild side. But a deadly scandal is about to tear down their seemingly ideal lives...
Maddox Crawford’s sudden death sends Gabriel Bond reeling. Not only is he burying his best friend, he’s cleaning up Mad’s messes, including his troubled company. Grieving and restless, Gabe escapes his worries in the arms of a beautiful stranger. But his mind-blowing one-night stand is about to come back to haunt him . . .
Mad groomed Everly Parker to be a rising star in the executive world. Now that he’s gone, she’s sure her job will be the next thing she mourns, especially after she ends up accidentally sleeping with her new boss. If only their night together hadn’t been so incendiary—or Gabe like a fantasy come true...
As Gabe and Everly struggle to control the heated tension between them, they discover evidence that Mad’s death was no accident. Now they must bank their smoldering passions to hunt down a murderer—because Mad had secrets that someone was willing to kill for, and Gabe or Everly could be the next target...
Maddox Crawford’s sudden death sends Gabriel Bond reeling. Not only is he burying his best friend, he’s cleaning up Mad’s messes, including his troubled company. Grieving and restless, Gabe escapes his worries in the arms of a beautiful stranger. But his mind-blowing one-night stand is about to come back to haunt him . . .
Mad groomed Everly Parker to be a rising star in the executive world. Now that he’s gone, she’s sure her job will be the next thing she mourns, especially after she ends up accidentally sleeping with her new boss. If only their night together hadn’t been so incendiary—or Gabe like a fantasy come true...
As Gabe and Everly struggle to control the heated tension between them, they discover evidence that Mad’s death was no accident. Now they must bank their smoldering passions to hunt down a murderer—because Mad had secrets that someone was willing to kill for, and Gabe or Everly could be the next target...
Shayla Black and Lexi Martin
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