Welcome back to The Core. ALICE includes all four installments of Alice's story: Enticed, Seduced, Exposed, and Elevated!
The most exclusive, anything-goes, all-night dance club is alive with music, drinks, and unrivaled passion. As The Core’s top matchmaker, Alice is gunning for a promotion. One she’s got locked down as long as nothing disrupts her dance-floor dominating routine. But when the sexy mechanic Evan walks into her work and shakes her confidence in her matchmaking abilities, Alice can’t resist his good looks or his passionate ways. He sweeps her off her feet, enticing her with the adrenaline of his bike and the intensity of his attraction to her.
But Alice knows she can’t get close to anyone from The Core. And after learning the secrets in Evan’s past that drive his irresistible, never-hold-back personality, she’s not sure she can let him go without falling back on the dangerous patterns that haunt her own drug-addicted history. Admitting his part in the devastating loss of his brother nearly rips Evan apart.
Those pills locked in a drawer in her office grow more tempting with each passing day.
Now it’s Alice’s turn to let go of her fears and elevate herself to a new level... one filled with passion, confidence, and—she hopes—Evan’s reckless love.
Alice’s tale unfolds in this collection from The Core with a hot, emotional story that will tantalize new readers of the series and fans of The Core: Andee alike.
“Does it bother you?” Evan asks.
“Does what bother me?”
“The male attention at The Core. Do the security guys take care of you?”
His intensity has shifted focus now that we’re speaking openly about our feelings for one another. This is protective-Evan, and I like it. A lot. The way his arms hold me up right now, the concern crinkling the corners of his eyes. It’s possessive, hot, and just for me.
“It doesn’t bother me. I’ve never had an incident at The Core where I felt unsafe. But Andee and I have met women who don’t appreciate our sexual openness. I’m sure it’s mostly born of jealousy, but we’ve been called sluts a few times.”
“And that bothers you.”
“Not being called a slut, no.” The truth of my own words warms me inside and helps press away the nagging guilt I feel that while Evan is being so open with me, I’m still not telling him anything that matters. “I love that men find me attractive. I love that I’ve had many partners, both male and female. Being called a slut doesn’t make me feel any worse than being called dark-haired. It’s just a part of who I am: outgoing, sexual, and not afraid of it.”
Evan waits for a moment, and then quirks up an eyebrow. “But...?”
“What bothers me is that girls feel the need to insult other girls based on differences. So I’ve fucked more guys than I can count. I’m not any better than a girl who married her first love. Nor is she better than I am. In The Core, we don’t have the right to shame other people for their sexual preferences or fetishes. It doesn’t matter. Doesn’t define the person or take away from a person’s value. But in real life...” I trail off, unsure of where I’m going with this, or what Evan will take from it all.
“In real life, we seem to think it does matter.”
“Right.” My voice drops to a whisper. “So I worry how you’ll feel when you someday introduce me to a friend of yours, and she knows me because I’m that slut from The Core.”
He nods, understanding. “You think I’ll be ashamed of you.”
I peer up at him through my lashes, twisting my fingers together nervously.
A grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Even though I told Derek I wouldn’t come to The Core at all because I was looking for love, not just a one-night-stand.”
What? I tilt my head, confused.
He averts his gaze, still smiling, as if remembering something funny. “Even though Derek convinced me I could find love in The Core, from anyone except Alice. Alice isn’t into that kind of thing.”
“I don’t get where you’re going with this,” I say. My heart pounds with anticipation. I hadn’t thought about what Evan was looking for when he decided to show up at my work. I only knew he wanted me when he saw me, and I couldn’t resist him even when I tried.
He turns his charming grin on me full-force, taking my breath away. “I knew you were untouchable, Alice. But I’m a thrill-seeker. And a challenge like that?” He lets out a satisfied groan, as if re-living a moment of pure ecstasy. “What an unbelievable turn-on.”
My mouth falls open. “You came to The Core because Derek... dared you? Because he said there was no way you could get me?”
He shrugs, sheepish. “He didn’t say it like a dare. I made it into one, I suppose.”
A laugh of disbelief escapes me. “And you pulled it off.”
“Well, if you still love me after I’ve told you that... yeah, I think I did.”
Nola Sarina and Emily Faith are authors, mothers, and lovers of music and art. Represented by Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency, they draw inspiration for their fiction from Nola's edgy fantasy concepts and Emily's flair for romantic tension that ignites both in and out of the bedroom. For more dark and sexy stories, check out Nola & Emily's spicy paranormal romance, WILD HYACINTHE, and Nola's dark fantasy VESPER series. The Core: Andee, is also available in ebook and paperback format.
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