The Ground Rules #1
The Ground Rules : Rewritten #2
The Ground Rules were impossible to follow. It was hard not to become completely consumed by the beautiful and enigmatic Weston Hanson. The heart of a romantic was not fit for this kind of exchange. So, when it ended, I was shattered, but it was all for the better…or so we thought.
The Ground Rules were rewritten, and then bent. We lied to ourselves. We told ourselves we could handle this. Not a single one of us realized just how big this was...just how devastating it could become.
And now, there are no Rules.
Lust… infatuation…blinds you. It can tear everything apart. But sometimes, life needs to be completely torn apart before it can be mended – not just cracked at the edges, but utterly shattered, before you can truly see the mess you’ve become.
I love them both, but I can’t have them both. While one pulls me in, the other pushes me away. And when both eventually open their hearts, I must make the hardest decision of my life.
And now there are no Rules. We are Undone.
Gabe buries his empty bottle of beer in the sand. And he studies me. His gaze lingers on me for what seems like an eternity. “Where have you been this weekend, Ella?”
I look up at him, not able to say a word.
“You seem distracted…distant. Are you not having a good time?”
I smile at him. “I am. It’s been the best trip.”
“It’s been great,” he agrees, looking up at the dark sky. And then he turns to me with a playful smile. “But I think it’s been missing a little something.”
I can’t help but smile. I know exactly what he’s saying.
He sits up and pulls off his fleece throw. “You think you have room on that chair of yours?”
I smile at him. “I don’t know…you’re a pretty big guy.”
He laughs. “I think you can make room,” he says with a wicked smile. “I think you want to make room.”
“Oh do I, now?”
He bites his lip. “Oh, you do,” he says as he stands and joins me under the purple blanket. The warmth of his body against mine feels amazing. I hadn’t realized how cold I was.
“Much better,” he says, his eyes glued to mine.
“Much better.”
Suddenly I find myself speechless. It’s so wonderful being close to him like this again. I try to forget about everything else. I just want to enjoy being next to him. He shoots me a playful grin – the kind of smile that says it all. Unsuspecting, he’s so carefree, so happy and it absolutely tears me apart. Maybe just tonight, I can pretend it’s just us two, like it used to be. I can let go of everything else and give him the fun wife he’s known forever. I don’t need to drag him down with me just yet.
I want him to kiss me. We haven’t kissed in ages. We haven’t touched each other in forever. I crave him, and I’m sure he craves me just as much.
He leans in and presses his mouth against mine. His kiss is soft and warm, and perfect. I trail my finger along the rough scruff on his face. I relish the feel of his tongue on mine. This is the kind of kiss which is really hard to stop. I get lost in it and savor it a little longer.
And when the sensation of his kiss travels to my sex, I finally manage to pull away. “You…better be careful…kissing me like that,” I warn him, the words caught between ragged breaths. “That kind of kiss usually leads places.”
His smile is playful. “That’s exactly the point.”
I smile a nervous grin. “We can’t…here…they can see us. Everyone can see us.”
“It’s pitch dark,” he whispers against my ear. “No one can see.”
The feel of his warm hand on the inside of my thigh is very distracting. “I don’t think…” I can’t really see us having sex here and now. Because I know the way I feel. Despite the crushing guilt, my body desperately wants him, craves his familiar touch. I’d lose control – I just know it. And people might definitely see that.
Mom, writer, book junkie, doodle addict and hopeless romantic. I have been writing for over ten years, finding my passion for romance in 2008. When I'm not spending time with my family, I enjoy reading, painting, and writing - there is nothing I enjoy more than sitting down at my laptop and making up my own stories - and if those stories should include beautiful men, a little romance, and a few steamy scenes, all the better!
I write contemporary and erotic romance under the pen name Roya Carmen.
Author Links
Lia's Review
I honestly don't think I've been as apprehensive about finishing a series as I have with Roya Carmen's Ground Rules. Yes, I was captured by this enigmatic couple swapping story, and I adore a good, angsty love triangle, but I was scared. Scared that Mirella, Gabe, Weston and Bridgett's web of passion would break me. I normally read a book as soon as it hits my kindle, I put this one off. Finally I put on my big girl panties and dove in, prepared for heartbreak and destruction of my emotions.
This book, in my opinion, is the best one of the trilogy. I feel like Mirella finally came into her own and that I was able to relate to her much more as a wife and mother. The previous books I found her to be very wishy washy and wanted to slap her so many times. This book right here was her redemption. You are treated to a front row seat of the difficult, life changing events these couples are struggling through.
Roya truly outdid herself with this final book. As for who Mirella ultimately chooses, well, you'll have to one click them all for yourself and find out. Prepare to put your heart through the wringer though, this is one of the hardest fought HEAs I've ever read. I'm truly satisfied with the wrap up of these two hot couples and their hot mess.
~ 4.5 Stars
