Frenched Series Bundle (79 page)

Turn the page for a special bonus scene from Charlie's point of view!

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Erin scrunched her pretty face like a little pug puppy—a comparison I knew she would not appreciate, even though I thought it was cute—before tipping back the rest of her beer. She set it on the counter next to her with an angry clank. “Stop it. I’m not perfect. I’m not what you think.”

I tried not to smile. Damn, she was sexy when she got feisty. “No?”

“You think I’m a joke. The Teacher’s Pet. The Homecoming Queen. The Goody Two Shoes who likes everything just so, everything neat and clean. Well, I don’t, you know. Like
everything
clean.”

My cock stirred at the possible meaning behind her words. But this was
Erin Upton
, and while I didn’t think she was a joke, she was certainly all those other things—at least, she had been in the past. Was there more to her now? Or was she just playing with me? The power had browned out due to the storm, and the lights were dim, making it tough to read her expression.

I took a breath and a risk. “You like some things dirty. Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes steady on mine.

Blood and heat surged between my legs, the crotch of my jeans growing tight.
Jesus, I could get dirty with her. Fucking filthy.
Still… “I’m not sure you do.”

Still perched on the edge of the island, she straightened her back and lifted her chin. “Try me.”

You little temptress. You have no idea what you’re asking for, do you?

I moved toward her, slowly. She opened her knees, and I stepped between them, sliding my hands up the tops of her thighs. Her breaths came faster, and she looked up at me like a rabbit watching a hawk circling above.

Good. You should be scared.

Keeping my eyes locked on hers, my breathing deep and even as I fought to keep control, I slid my palms underneath her sweatshirt, up the sides of her ribcage and back down. Her skin was warm, her waist narrow. “Such a tiny little thing,” I whispered.

“Scared you’ll break me?” she taunted.

Fuck yeah, I was. “Yes.”

“Do it.”

That’s it.
Yanking her off the counter, I spun her around and kicked her heels apart so her legs were spread. Pinning her arms behind her back, I bent her forward over the island and stood close enough behind her to push my hard cock against her tight little ass.

The power went out completely.

Erin went slack against the marble, laying her cheek on the hard surface.

Oh no. You wanted to play dirty, we’re going to play dirty.
“No, don’t give up,” I said, keeping my voice low, my tone insistent. “Fight me. Come on. Struggle.”

She wriggled her arms a little but I held them fast, tightening my grip on her wrists. When she tried moving her legs, I pinned her hips against the marble with my own. When she wiggled her fingers, I laughed softly. Her little attempts at defiance were fucking adorable, just like everything else about her.

“That’s it. Try everything. Scream if you like.” I wanted to hear her—both to enjoy the sounds of her struggle and to make sure she was turned on by this. If she remained silent, I’d have to let up on her, but something told me not to let her off too easy. Erin Upton didn’t strike me as the kind of girl who stayed quiet when something wasn’t going the way she wanted it to.
Let’s hear you then, sweet thing. Come on.

“Tell me I’m hurting you,” I demanded.

She said nothing.

I wrenched her arms harder and spoke through clenched teeth. “Tell me.”

“You’re hurting me.” Her voice was weak, and I went still. I had to read her very carefully here.

“Tell me to stop.”

“Stop.”

But she didn’t struggle.

I rubbed my dick against her ass, testing her. “Tell me you don’t want this from me.”

“I don’t—want this—from you.” As she said the words, she widened her feet and rose up on tiptoe.

That’s it, baby.

I smiled. “Good girl. You don’t want this from me, sweet thing.” Taking both her wrists in my left hand, I reached around her waist with my right, sliding my palm inside the front of her panties. “You don’t want my hands on your pussy.” I slipped my fingers between her legs, finding her warm and wet.
Fuck, I want to lick you up and down.
“You don’t want my tongue on your clit.” I dipped one fingertip inside her, then slowly rubbed liquid satin over the hot little button. “You don’t want my cock inside you.” Shoving two fingers inside her dripping pussy, I closed my eyes, imagining how incredible it would feel to slide my cock into that snug, velvet place inside her, to feel her wrapped around me as I fucked her. I pushed my fingers in deeper before rubbing the silky wetness over her clit again. She moaned softly, her legs buckling a little.

“You don’t want me to make you come. Don’t let me.” But even as I said it, I moved my fingers faster, pressed harder. She whimpered, her body writhing beneath me. God, I wanted to fuck her. I wanted it so badly I was starting to lose control.

“Tell me not to make you come,” I snarled, getting rougher with her.

“Don’t make me come.” Her voice was high-pitched, nearly hysterical.

“Louder!” I yelled, plunging my fingers inside her as deep as they would go before grinding the heel of my hand against her clit, pulling her ass back against my dick.

“Don’t make me come!” she cried as her legs trembled against mine and her insides squeezed my fingers in a hot, sweet rhythm.

Before she’d even stopped screaming, the lights flashed on with blinding whiteness.

“Oh!” Erin’s heels hit the ground and I released her arms, backing up against the counter across from the island.

What the hell were we doing?

Hard to believe it’s been more than a year since Mia and Lucas came into the world. The journey has been incredible.

Thank you to my husband and daughters for your patience, love, and understanding while I wrote this series. You deserve more of my time but you have all my love. To my mom and dad, for instilling in me a passion for books—and for agreeing never to read mine.

Thanks to Tom Barnes for gorgeous covers, Cait Greer for her formatting skills, Tamara Mataya for editing, and Angie Owens for proof-reading. You’re the best!

Thanks to Sharon Goodman and Linda Russell at Sassy Savvy Fabulous PR for making me do all The Things, and for sending me Melissa Gaston to help. I don’t know how I ever got along without you—don’t ever leave me!

Lauren Blakely, M. Pierce., and especially Laurelin Paige, over the last year you’ve been more than generous with your time and advice. Thanks for being such wonderful mentors. I adore you.

Kayti and Bethany and Laura, thank you for reading drafts of these books, pushing me in the right direction, and never saying “everything about this was horrible.” You make me laugh so hard I am unable to even.

To all my ladies in the Wrahm Society, the NAturals, The Order…you’re talented and beautiful and smart and wickedly sexy moms and writers. Thanks for keeping me sane.

To everyone in Melanie Harlow Books, thank you for making it such a fun, sexy place! I love you!

Thanks to all the bloggers who read and review and tirelessly talk about books they love, supporting authors at every stage of their careers. To readers who make graphics and attend takeovers and join fan groups and write to authors saying how much they love a story. To fellow authors who read and reach out in kindness…it means so much.

Merci mille fois, mes amis.

Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her lipstick red, and her history with the naughty bits left in. She’s the author of the Speak Easy historical series as well as Frenched and Yanked, the first noveland novella in a sexy contemporary romance series. Find her sipping cocktails at posh places in Detroit, or look for her online…

1. Mia is strong-willed, independent, and intelligent; she evens owns her own business. Is this at odds with her insistence on marriage and a family by age thirty? Did you find her “marriage deadline” believable or understandable?

2. What role do you think Paris played in the story? If Mia hadn’t gone to France, do you think it was possible that she could have fallen for someone else as fast as she fell for Lucas?

3. At the cemetery, Lucas tells Mia the story of Abelard and Héloise. In what ways did that story affect Mia? Do you think it influenced her thinking about Lucas or about love at all, even subconsciously?

4. In what ways is Mia a likable character? In what ways is she unlikeable? Were you ever frustrated with her?

5. Lucas is the first person to satisfy Mia sexually. Was is believable that she was going to marry Tucker, even though their physical relationship wasn’t good? Do you think she’d have stayed married to him if he hadn’t called off the wedding?

6. Lucas’s favorite spot in Paris is the Musée Rodin, and he says to Mia of the sculptor, “I like the way he didn’t make everything beautiful, you know?” How does this illustrate differences between Mia and Lucas? How are their differences good for Mia?

7. Lucas is into light bondage and discipline, which Mia discovers she enjoys. Why do you think it thrills her so much? If she’d been asked about it before meeting Lucas, what do you think her reaction would have been?

8. When she’s reading the love letters of Abelard and Héloise out loud to Lucas in the orchard, Mia admits to herself that she’s in love with Lucas. Do you think she meant it? Is it possible to fall in love that quickly, or was it just an infatuation that later grew into something more?

9. Tucker flew to Paris to get Mia back. If she hadn’t met Lucas, do you think she’d have gone back to Tucker? Why or why not?

10. Lucas quotes this line of Heloise to Abelard: “God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself; I wanted simply you, nothing of yours.” Why do you think he chose that line?

1. In what ways has Mia changed since she’s been dating Lucas? In what ways is she still the same person?

2. Many readers were upset that Lucas behaved the way he did at the beginning of Yanked. Do you think what he did and said to Mia was totally out of character? In what ways did it make sense? In what ways did it stray from the Lucas we saw in Frenched?

3. If you were Mia, would you have forgiven him? Why or why not?

4. Do you think, if Lucas hadn’t changed his mind about marriage and family, Mia would have ended things? Why or why not?

5. Lucas has always been the one to focus on the present, but it’s memories of Mia and their first days together that push him to admit he wants more. What do you think they’ve learned from each other? How will that help them in their marriage?

1. Coco and Mia a very different. Why do you think they’re such good friends? What makes them successful business partners?

2. Coco’s flaws include impulsivity and a lack of self-control. How have those things hurt her in the past? Do they help her as well?

3. In
The End of The Affair
, author Graham Greene asks, “Why doesn’t hatred kill desire?” Do you agree that it doesn’t? How does that apply to Coco and Nick?

4. Coco blames Nick for their break-up, but in what ways are they both at fault? Do you think she was too stubborn back then?

5. What role does the past play in the story—both their romantic history and their family history?

6. The timeline of Forked is very tight—most of the action takes place over just a two-day road trip. What is the effect of that timeline on the story? If they hadn’t gone on that road trip, what might have happened differently?

7. What is the role of place in the story—from Corktown to Indian Village to the Lupo family farm? What do all of those places have in common? Why do you think the author chose those settings?

8. What do you think Coco loves most about Nick? What makes her willing to try again? Would you have given him another chance?

9. Coco has a tattoo of a quote from
The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry that reads, “One can only see clearly with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” Why do you think she chose that quote from that particular book?

10. The epigraph of Forked reads, “A heart which has loved as mine cannot soon be indifferent.” Do you think it’s possible to be indifferent toward someone you’ve loved in the past?

1. Erin, Coco, and Mia are a tight-knit threesome. What does each of them bring to the friendship? How do they complement and challenge each other?

2. Why do you think Erin’s romantic past has been less than successful? How has her family history influenced her?

3. Erin and Charlie knew each other in the past, but they weren’t exactly friends. If they had been friends back then, would Erin have acted the way she did sexually with him? In what way is it easier for her to dislike him?

4. Coco and Mia are at different stages of their lives than Erin. How does that affect her? Do you think it influenced her behavior at all?

5. Did you begin to suspect that Charlie was hiding something? At what point? What clues were given?

6. Was it believable that Erin never suspected anything? Why or why not?

7. When she confronts Charlie with the truth, did you feel any sympathy for him? Were her actions and accusations justified? Was his reaction fair? Should that kind of secret be a deal-breaker in a relationship?

8. If you were Erin, would you have given Charlie another chance? Why is he good for her? What does she learn from him?

9. All books in the series are romances, but Floored has the longest time frame in the series—how does timeframe influence each of the three books? What role does time play in love?

10. Were you satisfied with the final epilogue? Where do you see these couples in five or ten years? What will the biggest challenges be for Mia and Lucas? For Coco and Nick? For Erin and Charlie?

1. Which main character did you most identify with and why?

2. Which male love interest was most appealing and why?

3. Which scenes are most vivid in your mind after reading the series?

4. Do you think the author believes true love takes time?

5. Do you think the author believes more in fate or free will?