Nastasia Leokov has
loved her brother’s best friend since the very moment she met him.
Understanding that she’ll never be anything more to Viktor Nikulin than a
treasure to guard, Nas sensibly hides her feelings. But when she makes a
brash decision to kiss him, everything changes.
That kiss. That hot, explosive, all-consuming kiss.
It haunts Vik. And suddenly, Nastasia Leokov isn’t just a teenage mob princess.
No.
She is his. Undeniably. Indisputably.
An unbreakable connection. A hidden relationship. A lifetime of firsts.
And yet, something is missing.
Nas desperately craves the one thing Vik has never offered her.
His heart.
ARC received for an honest review
It seems an age since we have had a story from Ms Aurora (no shade here, I have just missed reading her stories) and Vik was a great way to get back to it.
It has been a hot while since Lev, so I am not ashamed to say that i don't remember much other than I loved Lev back then, and i adored Vik and Nastasia here. Well, most of the time, the rest of the time they frustrated the heck out of me.
There's is a difficult relationship, and not always an easy read. I mean, JFC people.
This pair, as much as they say they love each other, they are sure as sh!t pretty toxic to each other. There is a fine line between love and hate, and this pair cross that line a heck of a lot.
And Nas, Nas, Nas - stop the blame game girl, cos you are throwing that shade in the wrong direction. i got a bit tired of her blaming Vik for everything when she was the one who walked away.
And FFS people - communicate. All these years you have known each other, and all this stupid sniping and blaming and you can't have a decent, adult, sensible conversation. That, more than anything else, gave me the irrits!
I did also find that there was so much back and forward between Vik and Nas that it did feel to me that it dragged along.
I enjoyed seeing more of Lev and Mina - Mina's cooking exploits had me cracking up more than once.
There is also a character who I am sure that we are supposed to hate, but I couldn't. There was something about Roam that called to me! I hope we see more of him in the future.
EXCERPT
I was tired. I was restless. I was irritated.
The trifecta of bitchiness.
So, when I saw him sitting at a table by himself, I stilled midstep, and my annoyance grew.
Seriously?
Why, God?
How dare he look so good when I could barely find matching shoes this morning.
He brought his espresso up to his lips as he read from the newspaper he
held in his hands. I didn’t know why that got to me. Maybe because he
looked so effortlessly relaxed, and my fragmented mind was being split
in a flurry of puzzle pieces, none of which fit back into their original
spaces.
My body rigid, my feet started moving, and they didn’t stop until I
stood in front of him with a cold expression that could’ve set off the
next big freeze. Before he even looked up at me, I hissed quietly, “This
is my spot.”
Vik simply peered up at me with a furrowed brow. “No, it isn’t.”
Uh, excuse me? “Yes, it is. This is my spot. My café. You go get your own.”
And his grin had my heart racing with anger. “Firstly, I brought you
here, so if we’re getting technical, you wouldn’t even know about this
place if it weren’t for me.”
My neck flushed.
Oh, right. I’d forgotten about that.
Feeling stupid, I huffed out a short breath, threw up my hands, and said, “Fine. I’ll leave.”
As I turned to walk away, Vik’s hand shot out and gently but firmly
circled my wrist. I twisted back to find his gaze had darkened some, and
he uttered, “Stay.”
It wasn’t a plea nor a demand. I might’ve been delusional, but to my ears, it sounded like a wish.
My rigid stance loosened mildly.
Only one word out of his mouth, but I felt the caress of it all over.
I peered down at that hand. It held me firmly as his obsidian gaze
locked me in. “I heard you’ve been spending time at Laredo’s. I know
you’re smarter than to try to get the attention of a particular
Frenchman, so I won’t warn you against it.” Those eyes sliced over the
length of me. “You know better, don’t you, baby?”
Every fiber of my being screamed to sit and stay, but the insecure part
of me told me to leave before we hurt each other. Against my better
judgement, I sat opposite him, and because I often had trouble keeping
my mouth shut, I said smugly, “Sounds like you might be jealous.”
The hand on my wrist flexed, and Vik held me down with his glacial gaze. “Wanna test that theory?”
My chest squeezed.
My ego was a petty bitch and hooted loudly, all for it. My heart thought
nothing would be more romantic. But my brain, on the other hand, knew
what Vik plus jealousy was capable of. And it wasn’t pretty.
Don’t get me wrong. I was never the target of his anger when he got like
that. The men standing in his warpath, however, usually ended up with a
split lip, a broken nose, or a concussion, or all three. And after it
was all done and dusted, Vik would then take me home, take my mouth, and
then take me roughly against the nearest surface, all while maintaining
eye contact.
Ugh. It was so fucking hot.
The memory had my knees snapping together under that table, trying in
vain to ignore the thrumming warmth that suddenly lit in my core.
Hmmm. Maybe we should test that theory after all.
No.
But—
Not a good idea.
My inner self pouted and called me a prude.
Not so smug anymore, I cleared my throat and asked, “What do you want from me, Vik?”
Refusing to let go, his thumb gently caressed the sensitive spot at my
inner wrist, and without hesitation, he responded one word that
shattered my resolve.
“Everything.”
The way he said it, with zero hesitation, had my heart aching. I wanted
that too. If only the stakes were even. If only he had as much to lose
as I did. My heart was on the line. I wasn’t sure if Vik even knew how
to access his.
Belle Aurora is thirty-something year old and was born in the land down under.
At an early age she fell in love with reading. Boredom one summer had her scouring the bookshelves at home. She stumbled across Sandra Brown’s Breath of Scandal and fell in love with romance.
Having been brought up in a loud and boisterous family of Croatian descent, she developed a natural love for dramatics and laughter. Only some years ago had she discovered a new love.
Humorous romance novels.
So many authors had opened a brand new world where she could lose herself yet feel safe and at home in their stories. Belle has been known to become a screeching banshee while anxiously awaiting their newest titles.
Belle never thought she would write. It had never interested her until recently. Friend-Zoned began to form and in February this year Belle typed the words Chapter One. And she fell in love.
With words.
With writing.
With a creative imagination she never knew she harbored.
Belle Aurora is a USA Today best-selling author.
