Unbalanced
Charity
Parkerson
No Rival, book 4
Using unmatched skill and intelligence, Kurt captures the
attention of every partner he desires. His ability to confuse his prey keeps
them captivated. This trick has never failed him. That is, until he meets
McKenna. As an author, McKenna has gone to great lengths to ensure the details
of her erotic books are airtight. When Kurt challenges one of her scenes, she
doesn’t hesitate to take up his offer to prove his theory. The bad boy MMA
fighter appeals to her on every level. Kurt’s intelligence stimulates her mind
even as his touch sets her body on fire.
In spite of those things, McKenna has no intention of adding her name to
his list of ex-lovers.
McKenna’s odd behavior exasperates Kurt. She is an addiction
he cannot shake. But somehow the two of them make the combination of his OCD
logic and her unbalanced nature work.
Inside Scoop: There are a couple hot but brief
male/male encounters as well as a handcuff scene that may have you reaching for
the fan.
A Romantica® contemporary romance from Ellora’s Cave
By reading any further, you are
stating that you are at least 18 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, please
exit this site.
An Excerpt From: UNBALANCED
Copyright © CHARITY PARKERSON, 2014
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
She wasn’t wearing
shoes. Funnily enough, it was the first detail about her that caught his eye.
At a table, in public, Kurt found her shoeless state odd. There were a thousand
tiny things about her he should have noticed first. Without a doubt, her plain
black t-shirt, yoga pants and the overall lack of effort toward her appearance
allowed her to blend into the background. It shouldn’t have mattered. Kurt
wasn’t usually so blind. None of those points stole an ounce of power from her
beauty. There wasn’t a hint of makeup marring her face. Blonde curls piled on
her head held in place by some sort of clip. Something about her eyes held him
captivated. They were unfocused as they moved across the pages of the book she
held between her hands. In spite of that, he felt sure she absorbed every word,
only on a different plane than others would.
He moved closer. The
lack of footwear became an obsession. Curiosity ate at him. He needed to know
why. The coffee shop located inside a G. Richards’ Bookstore had a sign posted clearly
on the front door. “No shoes. No service.” Once Kurt managed to snag the chair
directly across from her, he bent at the waist. Under the guise of dropping a
napkin, he peered under the edge of her table. Suspicions confirmed. His brows
drew together in a frown as he sat up.
After a moment of
staring at the corner, he couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Your feet are
bare.”
Lifting her gaze
from the book between her hands, she blinked several times. He could
practically see her dragging her mind away from whatever cloud it was on.
“What?”
“Your feet,” he
repeated. “They have no shoes on them.”
“Oh. I’d forgotten.”
She immediately dismissed him by returning to her reading.
“You’re inside a
business. They serve food.”
She didn’t bother
glancing his way as she responded.
“If that bothers
you, I won’t mention the state of my underwear.”
He had to know. “Did
you forget those, as well?”
That got her
attention. A line formed between her eyes as if his question was too stupid for
her to fathom.
“How does someone forget
their underwear?”
“How does a person
forget their shoes?” He shot back.
Tilting her head to
one side, she seemed to think it over for a moment before responding. “Is this
a trick question?”
Kurt scoffed as he
reminded her of the obvious. “You’re not wearing them.”
Her mouth turned up
in one corner in such a way his gaze immediately shot to her lips. “I’m aware.”
Unable to keep the
exasperation from his voice, Kurt sighed. “You said you’d forgotten your shoes.
It stands to reason then, you would know how one goes about it.”
Setting her book
aside, she nodded slowly as if giving his theory due consideration. “Your logic
is sound,” she admitted after a moment. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
She immediately ruined it by adding, “Except, I said no such thing. Therefore,
I cannot help you.”
There was a moment
where he had nothing. He couldn’t recall a single incident where anyone had
caused his mind to go blank. His brain was always on the move, slightly
dissatisfied with his lot. She’d wiped him clean. Her blue eyes focused on him
fully as if awaiting his next move. When he wasn’t quick enough, she released a
heavy sigh.
“If you must know,
when I got here I realized I had on two different colored shoes so I took them
off.”
Without waiting to
see his reaction, she flipped her book up between them, shutting him out. A
part of him wanted to laugh at her confession. He was too fascinated. Not to
mention, with his curiosity assuaged he really wanted to hear more about the
rest.
“What about your
underwear?”
She ignored him. He
bit back a smile. His mind whirled back to life and he searched for a new way
to insert himself into her company. Tilting his head, he read the title
blocking her eyes from his gaze. The Ins and Outs of BDSM. Catchy title.
Switching his gaze to the other items scattered across her table, he took note
of another book on bondage as well as some handwritten notes. As far as he
could tell by what she’d scratched out, she was either intent on rocking some
dude’s world or plotting one hell of a murder.
He braced his elbows
on the table, lowering his voice where only she could hear. “I have handcuffs
back at my place.”
She set the book
aside. Mimicking his pose, her eyes shone with mirth as she pitched her voice
low, as well. “I have a Taser in my handbag.”
Holding back his
laughter, Kurt didn’t miss a beat. “Kinky,” he said, adding a wink. “I like
it.”
Snorting, she
slapped her hand over her mouth and nose as if she couldn’t believe what she’d
done.
“I’m Kurt,” he
offered before she could escape into her mind again.
“McKenna.”
He had handcuffs.
She bet he did. The only statement Kurt had made that McKenna found surprising
was that they were back at his place. The in-your-face piercings, tattoos and
biker boots look had her expecting him to whip them out right then and slam
them down on the table between them. Why did she attract all the weirdoes? She
was the weirdo whisperer. They found her everywhere she went. Of course, she
was the real dumbass in the equation because she’d given him her name.
“Are you studying to
become a Madam?”
“Where are you
from?” It wasn’t an attempt to block on McKenna’s part. She really didn’t want
to talk about her work with a stranger but he had an odd accent. Perhaps it was
more that he didn’t have an accent at all yet he spoke as if English was not
his first language.
“Here and there.”
He was wasting her
time. She didn’t like time stealers.
“I have things to
do.” The words popped out. It happened more often than she liked. Still, she
didn’t know him. Why should she be thrust into polite conversation? Deciding
she shouldn’t, McKenna pulled her notebook closer. She didn’t know where her
pen had gone.
“Are you looking for
this?” A triumphant smile lit his face as she spotted her pen between his
fingers. He turned it over in his hands and peered closer at it. “Hmm, McKenna
Jones, Bestselling Author. Interesting. Am I to assume you are the McKenna
Jones who is referenced on this pen?”
An inner groan
sounded loud inside her head. She wanted to kick her own ass. The pens were
meant for fans but nine times out of ten, she ended up keeping them for
herself. She went through a lot of ink. Of course, it had never occurred to her
they would lead a psycho to her door.
This time she was
blocking. “How am I supposed to be responsible for what you assume? You are a
grown man.”
His eyes hooded at
her words. Damn. Hadn’t being an erotica author taught her anything? It was
hard work weighing her every response to make sure it couldn’t be misconstrued
once it left her mouth.
“You haven’t seen
the whole package…yet. I’m still capable of growing a bit more.”
She could stab him
in the eye. Well, probably she couldn’t but she could make him her bitch in her
next book.
His eyes lit with
challenge. “How do you intend to make me your bitch?”
Oh dear. She really
needed to pay closer to what her mouth was doing while her mind was otherwise
engaged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
His lips parted as
if she’d shocked him speechless with her blatant lie. Lying was her job. Why
were people surprised by it? He made an obvious attempt to recover.
“You just…” he
paused and a new light entered his green eyes. “Oh. I see. You’re crazy.”
Ouch. McKenna
dropped her gaze to the notebook shutting him out. This was why she didn’t like
people. They didn’t understand. A word she’d written earlier caught her
attention. Everything else disappeared. She needed to Google fetishes. These
books weren’t helping. There wasn’t a single reference to any of the unique
fetishes people had. She really wanted Luke to have some freaky thing he
enjoyed doing in the bedroom. Of course, it couldn’t be anything too strange or
she wouldn’t be able to help Lacey fall in love with him. Damn. Sometimes it
was hard making characters do what she wanted. Every time she thought she had
the storyline figured out one of them would end up falling for a side character
instead. This damn deadline was staring her in the face. Everyone wanted the
sexy fireman to end up with Lacey. Neither of her stubborn characters wanted to
listen to her.
McKenna was halfway
through packing up her belongings before she realized Kurt was gone. An
unexpected pang hit her in the chest. It was stupid. Her mind was crowded with
people who wouldn’t quit talking long enough for her to have any peace. Sliding
her notebook closer, she moved to flip it closed but at the last second, she
spotted two words written on the page in someone else’s handwriting.
“I’m sorry.”
The twinge hit her
again. Reaching up she rubbed the spot in her chest that was aching. It was
ridiculous she should be so lonely when she was never alone. The words blurred
and McKenna blinked back tears. The bastard had stolen her pen.
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