Excerpt from ONE GOLD HEART by Sadie Haller

Synopsis 

Mac Wallis agrees to join the wind quintet, Dominant Cord, for the Christmas concert season as a favour to an old friend. It's her first step towards recovery after a vicious attack more than a decade before. However, sparks fly when Dominant Cord's unofficial leader, flutist, Finn Taylor takes issue with Mac's reliance on medication in order to perform.

Mac can't understand why the asshole who so completely humiliated her at their first rehearsal keeps showing up in her late-night fantasies as the Dom of her dreams. It's not even like he's the good kind of bad boy.

After his marriage ended in disaster, Finn tries to steer clear of damaged women, but as a Dom, he feels compelled put aside his own hang-up to help Mac reclaim her independence and her former life.

A note of warning, this story contains material not suitable for readers under 18.

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Sadie Says:  Mac has suffered a nightmare and her screaming wakes Finn and their friend, Sully. This excerpt takes place shortly after Finn and Sully have calmed Mac down and Sully has returned to his own bed.  What makes this scene special for me? Finn kisses Mac for the first time.  

Excerpt

Finn thought hard. Talk about walking a fine line. What to ask that pushes the envelope without tearing it? He needed to make this question count because he didn't want to make her shut down.

"Right then, let's go for an easy one. What's your favourite part of a man's body. Where do your eyes go first when you meet a man you find interesting?"

"I check out the upper arms. I like them to be muscular, but not in a body-builder way. If a guy needs to flex his biceps in the mirror, his arms are too muscular. I want to feel like those arms are for holding me and keeping me safe, not for his own personal eye-candy."

"I can assure you that I never flex any of my muscles in a mirror. I'm going to cheat a bit, and ask a follow up question. How would you rate my arms?"

Finn resisted the groan that threatened when Mac reached up and gave his left biceps a bit of a squeeze.

"I'd say you're well within acceptable muscular parameters."

"That's a relief. Your turn to ask me something."

"Same question."

"My favourite part on a man's body is..."

Mac giggled. "Smart-ass. You know what I meant."

Finn toyed with giving a less provocative answer, but he refused to be anything less than completely honest.

"Okay, I'd have to say lips. They're so very versatile."

"I buy that."

Finn watched with interest as Mac caught her lower lip in her teeth and screwed her eyes shut. He waited patiently for her to resolve her inner conflict.

With her eyes still squeezed shut, she said, "You got a follow up, so it's only fair that I do too. How would you rate my lips?"

She'd no sooner got the words out and her face was buried into his shoulder.

Finn just about stopped breathing. It was the logical follow up, but that she'd asked it had him scrambling for an answer that would satisfy her, but not scare the shit out of her. Finally, he went with his instincts.

He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and gently guided her face to meet his. He paused for a moment and looked into her eyes before touching his lips to hers. "Kissable, most definitely kissable," he declared. He gave her another, slightly longer kiss before releasing her chin.

For more on Sadie Haller, check out her books on:  

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H3QA5MM

B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940149024544

And you can get updates about Sadie and her writing by visiting her website: http://www.sadiehaller.com or following her on Twitter: @SadieHallersPen