Excerpt: A Slower Lower Love by Lila Munro

As promised, I’m back to share a bit about the first novel I have coming out in 2011. A Slower Lower Love will hit e-shelves at www.allromanceebooks.com , www.amazon.com , and www.coffeetimeromance.com on January 18 through Rebel Ink Press. If I may, I’d just like to extend a few cudos their way. They are an amazing bunch of people to work with both through my writing and as a part-time marketing assistant. Their service and attention to detail is stellar and I believe they offer one of the most comprehensive PR plans available if I do say so myself. You can check them out at www.rebelinkpress.com .

As I stated earlier today, the inspiration for my novel A Slower Lower Love came from my husband’s hometown, Seaford, Delaware. There’s just something about that slower, lower lifestyle that screams romance. It just happens that he has a friend that’s a police officer in a neighboring town and after picking his brain a bit—the idea came to full fruition. A Slower Lower Love was originally a stand-alone novel, but once my editor at Rebel Ink Press got done with it, she wanted more Delaney brothers and a series was born. I only write two or three sentences about Logan, but it only took those two or three to make her fall in love with him. In book two, you’ll get to know more about Kurt, the oldest Delaney and Logan will get his story told in book three. Here’s a quick summary of A Slower Lower Love:

When running isn’t the answer,

 Cait O’Kelley loved Bryce Delaney with all her heart. But loving him scared the hell out of her. She didn’t want to settle for being married to a cop and having his children. She wanted more. Unfortunately, more came with a price. After leaving her small home town for more glamorous life and working her way up the corporate ladder, a whirlwind affair with the boss’s son tears her world apart. On the brink of losing everything she’s worked for, she had to make a decision.

 and going back seems impossible,

 After eight years of living without her, Bryce finds himself tasked with the job of watching over Cait during her week-long stay at her parent’s beach house in Bethany. She’s come there to sort her life out and while she’s contemplating her future, they discover the fireworks are still there. But can they ever go back to where they once were? As his secrets begin to surface, he sees only one way to save her. He disappears without a trace leaving Cait behind to pick up the pieces and deal with a whole host of new problems. One of which she can’t explain away or hide.

 can you find middle ground?

 With Bryce out of the picture, his brother, Kurt, finds what he’s wanted a lifetime handed to him on a silver platter. After watching Cait and Bryce toy with each other for fifteen years, he steps up to the plate. He’s always wanted her and now is his chance. But is he strong enough to ground Cait and keep her from making yet another mistake? Which brother will win her heart and show her that a slower lower love is enough?

 As you can see, Bryce, one of the middle children has his hands full with plenty of conflict—my forte. Here’s a sneak peek at Cait’s and Bryce’s story:

 With darkness only an hour away, Bryce and Cait watched the sun penetrate the horizon as they sat at the picnic table on the Delaney’s deck.  The sound of the local radio station drifted out the front windows and an easy breeze stirred the lacey curtains.  Bryce opened up two cold beers, sending a hiss into the air between them.  Not even bothering with plates, they each took a huge chunk of the pie and began to stuff themselves.  Cait finished off her first slice and when Bella saw that she was done she whined, begging for the crust.

 “Well, at least you don’t let the crusts go to waste these days.” Bryce watched as the tiny dog dragged the crust to the other end of the porch floor and began gnawing on it in earnest.

“We make a pretty good pair, I suppose. She doesn’t have much to say, but that’s probably for the best. I’m sure there’s plenty I need to be told at times that I don’t want to hear.”

Cait scooted off the bench, walked to the porch railing and sat on it with her feet swinging and her flip-flops dangling off her toes.

“You’re too hard on yourself, Cait.  People make mistakes. It’s how they deal with them afterward that defines them as a person.” Bryce pulled another slice from the box and started to devour it.

“Well, there’s only a couple of words I can think of that define me right now.”  Tilting her beer back, she drained it and sat the bottle on the rail next to her. 

Bryce opened another one and handed it to her. “There’s a lot more to you than that and you know it.”  He studied her for a minute. “Did you love him?”

“Jamison?  God, no.  That was a disaster waiting to happen.  But like you said, how you deal with something says a lot about a person and I went about that about as well as I did when I ran away from you.” She hopped down and turned to the ocean,placing one hand on her hip and rubbing the pucker between her eyebrows with the other.  “I’m really sorry, Bryce.”

“I know.”

Bryce tossed what was left of the piece of pizza he’d been chewing on in the box lid. Cait had a fake ‘I need you’ look she used when she  wanted sympathy or attention, and a real one she tried to hide because she didn’t want anyone to see that she could be weak. Bryce knew this look.  This look was real.

Her hair a shimmering copper mass in the dim light of the descending sun, it fell across her face making it impossible for Bryce to see her eyes.  He wanted to run his fingers down her temple and brush her curls behind her ear, but he knew if he touched her he might not be able to stop with just a simple gesture.  The temptation to do much more was barely tolerable and he didn’t want to scare her away.

“I told you once, I forgive you.  I’m not worried about what happened then. That was a long time ago, and we were both much younger. We’re both grown now and I’m only concerned with this week and what we make of it.”

She turned to face him and leaned her hip into the railing. “You’re right, you know.  I do need a friend.” Pausing, she looked into his eyes. “You want to hear something pathetic?  You and Bella are the only friends I have right now.  I appreciate that you would give me that.  You’re the last person I expected to take the job though.” She sighed. “Breaking it off with Jami was a bit like getting divorced I guess.  He got all our friends and I got Bella.”

“Well, two’s a start.” Bryce saw the hurt in her eyes and wanted to do anything to make it go away, but he knew mending her was going to take some time. “So, what else did you get out of the ‘divorce’?”

“Well, I have no job, a mountain of bills piling up, and a townhouse that I’m going to lose if I don’t find a new job soon.”

So, it was pretty bad.  His mother hadn’t let on that things were that far gone.  Honestly, it sounded like Cait needed to scrap it all and start over.

“I’ve tried every marketing agency from Baltimore to Chicago to the west coast, and nothing.  My reputation is a bit impugned right now.  The Curtis’ have influence all over the place and I guess playing hardball with Jamison wasn’t a good choice on my part.” 

Bryce took her hand and led her to the white swing that had hung on the porch since they were children.  She hugged her knees with her beer in her hand. Slowly, he moved the swing in a soothing rhythm with the toes of his shoes.

“Have you thought of coming back? You know one of my sisters works for the state. She could probably get you an interview with the tourism board.  There’s plenty to market right here.  Interlopers don’t swamp us all summer by accident you know.” Taking a chance, he raised his arm and placed it across the back of the swing. When Cait didn’t flinch or move away, he traced his fingers along her shoulder.

 “I’ll have to think about that.  It’s a great offer, it’s just kind of scary coming home in defeat, you know?”

“It’s only defeat if you let it be.” His fingers drifted from her shoulder to her hair, twisting a strand between two of his fingers. “I’m glad you didn’t cut your hair in some smart little business woman short style.  I like it like this.”

Wanting to wrap the thick mass around his fist and pull her lips to his, Bryce reluctantly dropped the strand he’d been toying with.

They sat that way, swinging and sipping beer, and watched the sun completely disappear in streaks of pink and orange.  Once gone, it was replaced by a deep violet canvas dotted with a million sharp points of light.  The ivory moon hung low, just a bit shy of being full.  It created creamy waves on the black ocean water that rippled their way toward the shore to be smashed with the crest of the tide, and it would begin again past the breakers.

“I’d forgotten,” she whispered breathlessly in the darkness.

“Forgotten what?” His arm was still draped around her shoulders.

“How beautiful it is.  There are no stars in the city. No waves crashing to soothe you to sleep, just streetlights invading your windows and sirens screaming all night.”

“How do you live like that?” Bryce traced a circle in the hollow where her throat met her shoulder with his forefinger.

“I don’t know.” The swing trembled when she shuddered.

“You’re getting cold.” He stood carefully so as not to rock her out of the swing. “I’ll be right back.” Moments later he returned with a fleece jacket. “Here, put his on.”

She slipped the soft, cotton jacket on and wrapped it around her, burying her head in the collar.  It smelled like Bryce.Like he’d always smelled since she’d known him.  Like the sun and the sand and an autumn breeze.  The cologne that lingered there was a different brand than he used to wear, but the rest was all Bryce.  She inhaled deeply. Comfort washed over her from being with him, and at the same time sadness gripped her.  She was living a fragile few days where things were okay between them, but at the end of the week it would be over. 

Even if Cait did decide to let his sister intervene and she decided to stay, things could never be like they were before, there was too much water under that bridge.  Besides, Bryce said he was only worried about this week.  But where was this week headed?  Cait was all too aware of where this flirty friendship could lead and she was pretty sure Bryce was, too.  Even more frightening was that she wanted to go there.

She wasn’t sure how long they’d been swinging when clouds began to roll in and cover the moon.  Soon afterward heat lightening began to erupt in pink and white sky-wide bursts on the horizon followed by the low rumble of thunder. 

“Looks like we might get a late summer storm.” Breaking the silence, Bryce moved a little closer to her.

“It’ll be a good night to leave the windows open and catch the breezes.” Then she heard something on the radio that made her search the recesses of her mind. “Do you hear that? I haven’t heard that song in ages.  I remember the first night we heard it, we were parked in the back of your grandparent’s place.  You were…”

Bryce stood and held out his hand. “I remember.  Dance with me.”

Cait would never forget that night. As long as there was breath left in her body she would remember. It was the first time they’d made love.  They hadn’t meant for it to happen, and especially not in the back of his truck in the middle of a farm field.  Things just went too far, and before they realized it, they were lying naked next to each other trying to catch their breath.

She took his hand and stood, letting him pull her in close to him, cradling her gently along his body.  Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart.  It was strong and steady, just like he was.  It was comfortable.  Was comfortable such a bad thing?

In Bryce’s arms Cait felt like she always had against him, like they were the perfect fit.  He ran one hand up and down her back and buried his head in her hair, inhaling her. It was as if they’d never been apart.  Wanting him this bad was dangerous.  They only had a few days and she didn’t know if she wanted this to end when that time was over.  Until she figured it out though, she knew she couldn’t give in to the temptation to let him take her upstairs and remind her of just one of the many ways they were made for each other.  A slow burning heat built in her belly as his fingertips drew circles along her skin.  Realizing that dancing with him had been a bad idea, Cait was grateful when the song ended so she could pull away without making him think she wished he hadn’t asked her to dance.  Bad idea or not, she couldn’t make herself regret it.  She just had to make sure that a dance was a far as things went.

Bryce moved back and looked into Cait’s eyes. “I think I should take you home.” He took her hand and in one swoop, snatched Bella up under his arm and headed next door. 

Cait was glad Bryce was able to put the brakes on their time together because she knew she didn’t have enough strength in her to even try.  As it was, it was painfully difficult to ignore the instinct to jerk off her clothes and let Bryce bury himself inside her. Weak was the only word she could think of to describe her condition.  Weak with desire.  Two cold showers probably wouldn’t put out the fire he’d started in her middle.  Was it desire though, or did she just want to feel the comfort of a warm body next to hers?  Could her feelings for Bryce have lain dormant that long only to have resurfaced so abruptly by a few tender touches?

“I’m sorry I let things get out of control over there.” Bryce opened the door and sat Bella down inside. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

Facing him, Cait saw he was flustered and caught something lingering in his eyes she couldn’t quite place. Regret?  That things had gone that far? Or that they hadn’t gone far enough?

“Don’t be sorry.  Did you think this would be easy, Bryce?  Being together like this?  You should know by now, nothing is easy with me.” Cait squeezed in between him and the door frame and looked into his eyes. “Do you think I left because I didn’t feel anything for you?  It was because I felt so strongly that I left.  What I felt scared the hell out of me.”

“What do you feel now, Cait?” He placed one hand on the door frame and leaned into her, licking his lips as he stared at hers.

“I feel like if you don’t kiss me I’ll collapse into a pile of dust.” She licked her bottom lip and then took it between her teeth hoping her honesty wouldn’t make things worse.

“So let me kiss you and then I’m gonna walk away. And we’ll take whatever tomorrow brings as it comes.  No promises, no guarantees.”

Bryce took her head in his hands and his mouth took hers softly at first, then firmly.  He ran his tongue along her lips, gently coaxing her open, slipping inside, and gliding along her tongue, teasing it, dancing with it deeper and deeper until she felt she might stop breathing. Her heart thundered.  Then he pulled back with his hands still cradling her head and touched his forehead to hers.  Breaking contact, he kissed the tip of her nose and turned away.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Cait. If you need anything before then, I’m right next door.” Then he was gone.

Need anything?  She needed everything.  He’d left her standing there with an empty ache inside her.  An ache that terrified her because she somehow felt it went beyond the physical.  She’d come here to straighten out her life but so far the only thing she’d accomplished was to temporarily forget about  her problems. Bryce had moved to the top of the list of things Cait needed to worry about. 

I hope you enjoy reading  A Slower Lower Love as much as I enjoyed writing it for you. Next, I’ll be talking all things Force Recon—you won’t want to miss it…