Every Breath

by C.J. Burright

Overview

She wants the full fairy tale. He’s no prince offering a happily ever after. True love may have met its match this time.

True love… Happily ever after… The full meal-deal fairy tale… Glamour girl Gia Hellman almost had it all until death stole the love of her life. Two years and a string of dead-end hook-ups later, she’s through fooling around. Love will be hers again, but sexy, one-night-only lawyer Ian O’Connor doesn’t fit into the equation. No matter how charming or tempting, he’s neither knight nor prince, and she’s done kissing frogs.

Prestige… Power… A pristine reputation… Ian O’Connor allows nothing to derail his goal of becoming the next partner in the most distinguished firm in town, not even Gia, the curvy vixen in sparkles and pink stilettos who haunts his fantasies. With a past full of long-buried secrets, he never breaks his rule of only one night with any woman. But when the case to propel Ian to the top requires working with Gia, and a slip-up results in a fake engagement, keeping his distance may be the trial of his life.

As the passion between them builds and rules break one by one, Ian must decide between protecting a secret that could destroy him or risking it all for Gia’s dream of happily ever after. If only Ian believed in fairy-tale endings…

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781913186951
Publisher:	Totally Entwined Group
Publication date:	02/25/2020
Series:	Music, Love and Other Miseries , #3
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	351
File size:	924 KB

About the Author

C.J Burright is a native Oregonian and refuses to leave. A member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal special interest chapter, while she has worked for years in a law office, she chooses to avoid writing legal thrillers (for now) and instead invades the world of paranormal romance, fantasy, and contemporary romance. C.J. also has her 4th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and believes a story isn’t complete without at least one fight scene. Her meager spare time is spent working out, refueling with mochas, gardening, gorging on Assassin’s Creed, and rooting on the Seattle Mariners…always with music. She shares life with her husband, daughter, and a devoted cat herd.

Read an Excerpt

Copyright © C.J. Burright 2020. All Rights Reserved, Totally Entwined Group Limited, T/A Totally Bound Publishing.

Weddings suck. Gia Hellman trailed her finger around the rim of her second-round wine glass and tried not to feel jealous or sorry for herself.

Endless strings of twinkling white lights peppered the country club’s vaulted ceiling with imitation starlight. Soft, sublime, romantic music performed by professional musicians, all friends of the groom, blended perfectly with the sweet scent of roses lacing the summer air. The food made her wish she had an appetite instead of the twisting pit in her stomach.

In the center of the dance floor, her best friend Adara melted into her new husband. She’d never seen Dar so happy. The fact that anti-romance Dar had followed through with a formal wedding ceremony and until-death vows should’ve made Gia all weepy in a good way.

It should be me.

She slouched in the cushioned chair and rested her chin in her hand. It wasn’t that she wanted Dar’s husband, Garret. It was the ‘happily ever after’ fantasy she wanted, would have had by now if fate hadn’t been an unfeeling witch. But her ‘happily ever after’ had vanished a little over two years before, when the love of her life had been ripped from the world too soon.

Joey. He was irreplaceable.

“Dance with me, Ms. Hellman.” The smooth, low voice brushed her ear and sent tendrils of warmth through her, more intoxicating than the wine in her bloodstream.

Gia twisted in her seat and lifted her gaze to the ridiculously sexy man standing behind her, his hand out, waiting with annoying confidence. He knew she wouldn’t say no, even though she absolutely should. Ian O’Connor was her co-worker and the off-limits man of her darkest fantasies—breaker of hearts, hater of love, lawyer for the right price. And the groom’s oldest friend. Avoiding him was impossible, resisting him a full-time pursuit.

“Have you already made your way through the throngs of willing women?” She batted her eyelashes. “Must be a new record.”

“I strive for perfection.” Ian’s cool, blue eyes gleamed, his hand still out, expectant. The lights danced in his dark hair and gave his every line a magical edge. He always looked good, but in a tuxedo, the tie loosened at a rakish angle? Devastating. “You can’t blame me, Princess. I had to do something to make the time pass while you made your own, more elegant way through the ranks of men slavering on your heels, waiting their turn to cop a feel.”

“Classy.” She set her glass on the table and stood, facing him. “All my dance partners tonight have been nothing but respectful.” Gia planted a hand on her cocked hip and lifted an eyebrow. “Not all guys are like you, Sugarpop.”

His smile was pure wolf. “No wonder you look bored out of your mind.”

She sighed and slipped her hand into his, ignoring the tingles that ran up her arm at the contact. Dwelling on them would only bring trouble, and she’d had enough man trouble for a lifetime. “One dance. That’s it.”

“One is perfect,” he murmured, pulling her close to his side as he led her onto the dance floor.

One. She repeated the word in her head instead of dragging in a full breath of Ian’s spicy cologne. One was his rule. One night, no more. One night of fun, then on to the next woman who wanted nothing more than casual. There seemed to be an endless supply of women who’d settle for a single hookup with Ian O’Connor.

But she wasn’t fling material, not anymore. Still, as he slid his arms around her and pulled her tight against his solid heat, it was hard to remember why.

“Nice dress.” His breath caressed her earlobe as he skimmed his fingers over her bare shoulders, drifting all the way to the base of her spine. “At least Adara and I agree on one thing—this dress, on you. Off would be even better.”

The responsive shiver was impossible to hide, so she narrowed her eyes at him. “Careful, O’Connor. She hasn’t officially lifted the ban on you.”

Nearly a year and a half before, Gia had drunk one too many margaritas at the annual law firm Christmas party, and in her state of missing-Joey inebriation, she’d been too weak to resist Ian’s charms. Adara had come to her rescue, ripped Ian a new one, reminded Gia why she should stop at two margaritas and the Ian Threat Act had been established.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” His focus flicked to where Adara slow-danced with Garret, oblivious to the outside world.

Gia kept her gaze on the dancing couple, the pit in her stomach expanding. The last thing she’d expected was Adara dealing with Joey’s death before her, let alone finding her true love and getting hitched. When Joey had fallen sick, he’d made Gia promise to drag Adara out of solitude—a brother’s desperate way of looking out for his introverted older sister when he would no longer be around to do it. Now her vow to Joey and her obligation to Adara were finished, and instead of being happy, a longing for what used to be rose from the deep, unstoppable.

That was why she couldn’t keep up the fling routine. She wanted what she’d had with Joey again—more than a mere physical connection, to be someone else’s favorite person. She wanted to find someone who made her sun shine brighter, even in the rain, to give her heart to the man who deserved it, a man who had enough sense to notice her excellent taste in shoes.

Basically, the full-price fairy tale, with no discounts.