JADED HEARTS
Series: Loaded Replay #1
Author: Harper Sloan
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 13th, 2016
Signing with Brighthouse Records was supposed to be everything we ever wanted—our better life. Our chance at everything we never had but always wanted. All our dreams would finally come true and we were on top of the world. It was our chance at the happiness we never had in life.
Our every desire was at our fingertips and the power of that feeling was all consuming. But then it took every dream we thought would come true and it slapped us in the face with the cold hard reality.
Dreams were just that…something that floated on the cusp of untouchable, taunting you with every graze of your fingertips before slipping even further away.
Happiness…that feeling is a joke.
In the end it became painfully obvious that each of us would always have each other, but we would forever be alone.
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Goddamn, that smile is dangerous.
Who am I kidding? He is dangerous.
I do my best to ignore him, but it’s impossible. The steady brush of his arm against where mine is resting on our shared armrest constantly reminds me how much my body wants his touch. The scent of his delicious cologne hits my senses, making me want to climb in his lap and rub my face over his chest to get a potent lungful of it.
I can’t even remember the last time I was this horny, which is pathetically sad, since it was probably around the same time I actually got laid. Years. I think. Close to three. Maybe that’s why I’m a hot mess lately. I turn my head to study the side of his face and wonder if I can use this situation to my advantage. I mean, after all, we are in a ‘relationship’ now.
He turns and gives me a questioning arch of his dark brows, but I brush it off in favor of playing Disney Emoji Blitz on my phone.
By the time we had hit cruising altitude, I could hear the other men around me snoring away but not Chance. He’s fiddling with his phone, completely ignorant of the fact I’m about to start humping his leg.
“Excuse me,” I breathily say, unbuckling my belt and standing to move around him. I stand there, my head bent slightly because of the overhead, and wait. He doesn’t move, though. Instead, he drops his phone to his lap and gives me his complete attention; his eyes even dance a little like he’s finding this whole damn thing funny. “Excuse me,” I repeat, no longer breathy, and seconds away from coming.
No, that’s a lie. I’m still breathy and very much seconds away from soaking my panties even more than they already are.
His large hands grab my hips, and he guides me down on his lap with no resistance from my treacherous body.
“Not what I meant,” I say through clenched teeth, trying to sound harsh and offended, but I just sound dazed and turned on. I wiggle in his hold, trying to get free, but he’s too strong for me.
He leans up in his seat, his chest hitting my back and buries his face in my neck. I’m sure anyone who saw us would see a loving couple who just can’t keep their hands to themselves. He’s playing a dangerous game, though, because the second the solid, hard length of him presses against my backside, I forget this is supposed to be a game and squirm a little more. His teeth nip at my shoulder at the same time his groan hits my ears.
“Stop moving, Wren,” he demands, tightening his fingers on my hips.
“You’re the one who put me on your lap.” I curl my fingers over the empty seat in front of me and squeeze my eyes shut when I feel him growing harder under me.
“Yeah, because the flight attendant who just walked by had her phone out and pointed right at us. She’s doing a shit job of making it look like she’s doing something with her paperwork.” His hand comes off my hip, and he cups my jaw, turning my head to the side just when I was about to look up at where I last saw the attendant, forcing me to shift until all it would take is me throwing one leg over his body to be face-to-face. “Do not look at her,” he stresses; the sudden movement of twisting my body makes me bounce slightly in his lap, rubbing my legging-clad ass against his erection. His eyes drop to my mouth where I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and groan.
“Give me a reason not to look,” I dare him.
“You don’t want to go down that road, Wren. I’ll protect you from the world, but you need to protect yourself from me.”
“No one is asking you to.”
Not even knowing if we’re still being watched, I twist my torso the rest of the way, pulling my legs up until they’re bent at his stomach between us. Now that I’m facing him completely, I bring my hands up to curl them both around his shoulders before dragging them up to wrap around the corded muscles at the sides of his neck. His nostrils flare, but he doesn’t stop me. I give him the chance, but it never comes. Dropping my head, I press my lips to his. I explore his lips with small pecks and little licks of my tongue, learning his mouth before pressing more firmly. He sucks in a breath when I open my mouth and slowly drag the tip of my tongue over his bottom lip.
And then his control snaps.
His hands—still at my hips—lift me effortlessly until my legs are no longer folded between us, but now digging into the hard armrests with my knees pushing into his thighs, my back hitting the seat in front of me. His mouth opens, and his tongue meets mine, no hesitation whatsoever, as he deepens the kiss.
Our breathing echoes around us, making it sound like everyone on this plane could hear us, but I know it’s just because our faces are so close. I let out a moan, one that he swallows, that turns into a whine when he pulls back.
“That can’t happen again,” he softly scolds, just as breathless as I am.
What the hell? I might not have been into this whole fake-boyfriend-slash-bodyguard thing before, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to take advantage of the situation. Especially now that I know how alive he makes me feel. Three years since I had pleasure from anything other than my own hand, and if that kiss is anything to go by, what Chance could make me feel is ten times more powerful than anything I’ve ever felt in my whole life.
I’m not passing that up.
Nope.
No fucking way.
“We’ll see about that.”
Oh. My. God!!!
What an EPIC beginning Harper Sloan has created for her new series, Loaded Replay!
Before I go in and tell you how amazing this book was, I have to say this one is doing to be hard one to beat! I really seemed written with everything I look forward in my Romance reads! Simply amazing!
For those of you who like me read all of Harper’s work, these two are no strangers. We could see upon reading the Hope Town series that when Chance set his eyes on Wren for the very first time at one of their concerts that something extraordinary would come from these two. And come it did!!! LOL
Wrenlee Davenport has been living a life of fame and success for five years now, but what only her closest family – her brother and bandmates – can see is that she is fast approaching her breaking point. For years she has wanted, craved even, something more. Or better yet someone… Someone who will see behind the well constructed facade of the sex symbol lead singer of one the world’s most famous rock band and want her for who she truly is, for everything she is deep down…
This is our future’s promise of a better life, and even if it’s starting to look like more of a curse than a promise to me, we will die before we give it up.
But for me—I’m probably always going to be that stupid little girl who believes my prince charming will come riding in on his black horse—because really, black horses are so much more badass than white ones—and prove to me that every little jaded piece of my heart is worth loving.
And he will love me for me.
For Wren.
And here enters our dark and handsome hero, Chance. I was already completely hooked on him while reading Unexpected Fate, but now, I’m just as dumbstruck as Wren was! Talk about swoon worthy!!!
From the very first moment he crosses the threshold of the hotel suite, and their eyes connect, any feared and caution about both their pasts is doomed. Their magnetism and attraction is almost palpable and without a doubt reciprocated. 😉
Jesus, when he focuses completely on me, it feels like I’m the only woman left in the world and he’s gone without sex for decades.
Aroused.
I was completely, purely, and deliciously aroused.
To the point a feather could touch my overheated skin and I would probably have an orgasm on the spot. Well, maybe not that bad, but I was close.
Goddamn, that smile is dangerous.
Who am I kidding? He is dangerous.
Truthfully he was just missing the black horse, because he came in guns blazing and immediately took on the role of the protector. A role he seemed born to fill.
Even in his resistance to their obvious attraction (due to the ghosts of his past), he never falter in his role, because she truly became the center of his world. The only thing that mattered.
“You don’t want to go down that road, Wren. I’ll protect you from the world, but you need to protect yourself from me.”
She has fears of her own, of course, but when it comes to Chance, she has no doubt that they are mean to be. She just has to make in realize that, and for that he just needs to open himself up, like she’s doing. After years of closing herself of from relationships (after so many of those having used her for their personal gain), I was happily surprise with the apparent easiness of her acceptance of felling for Chance. I loved her attitude, her sassiness and her faith – although she had her own doubts at times. But teasing him was half the fun!
“You might think you will, but mark my words, I will have you, and you’re going to love it. Every. Single. Second. If I can put my fears aside to just take this chance and open myself up to your rejection time and time again, then you can do the same and stop letting whatever hurt you before stand in the way of your life.”
I avoided you because I’m absolutely scared out of my mind of the way you make me feel. It’s insane. I haven’t known you long enough to feel this strongly about you. I know next to nothing about you personally, but it doesn’t matter. I feel my body being pulled to yours, and it scares the shit out of me.”
Their hesitation doesn’t last long, and once they give in, it’s full steam ahead!
I absolutely adored how open and sure they were from that point forward. They opened to one another like they never did to another being, and it was a beautiful thing to read. Their fears became just memories, and they started their process of mutually healing one another…
“You’re going to destroy me,” I tell her, trying to reason with her by giving her the truth of my fears.
“We’re going to destroy each other and then put the pieces back together, so there aren’t any more cracks.”
Healing, caring, and a LOT of loving!!! Because with that explosive chemistry, and an alpha male like Chance, how could their sex scenes not be their own level of scorchingness??? And Chance… Holy mother of filthy talkers!!!
“The second I feel your body ripple against my cock, you will be mine, Wrenlee. Even if you ever decide you don’t want me, I’m not sure I’ll grant you that. Especially not after I feel you hug me tight inside your body, sucking my come from my cock. If we’re taking a gamble together, it’s all in, or we fold before the call.”
We get PLENTY of steaminess to go around, that’s for sure! And this pervy reader LOVED every second of it!!!
Another standout is the incredible relationship that Wren has with the rest of the guys, – her brother and friends – but specially her bound with her twin brother, Weston. It’s amazing to see their love and support, and he hinted to what an amazing character I’m sure he’ll be. Her rock, her anchor, even if she doesn’t need him as much as she always did. An immeasurable brotherly love…
“And if I fall for this man, the allure of a reward, only to find him not there to catch me?”
My brother’s arm tightens around me. “Then you still won’t hit the ground, little sister, because I will always be here to make sure you never fall far.”
And I can’t not mention the rest of the bandmates, Luke and Jamison, specially the former, because, OMG, was that guy a hoot!!!! Really, what an awesome character! He sure gave us some ROFL moments here!
“We can talk tonight,” I concede.
“Do you mean talk to him with your south mouth?” Jamison butts in.
JADED HEARTS really was a spectacular beginning for the series, and these characters were splendidly thought out and realistically portrayed – you can see by the incredible (and numerous, even if reduced multiple times, lol) quotes I posted. So amazing, it was hard to choose from! The storyline itself couldn’t have been more well constructed. Naturally, emotionally and fluidly, the events develop in a way that you feel that you are living them with the characters, and that for me is perfect writing perfection on Harper’s part. It’s exactly what I hope to find in each story I dive in, and here it surpassed expectation. The only thing I missed, being the total ‘epilogue – whore’ that I am, was a more extended epilogue with a deeper look into their future. I know we’ll get that for sure in the upcoming books, but I’m a greedy reader, so I wanted it now! Can’t wait to see what Harper Sloan brings us next with that special and quirky character of Jamison! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
We’re cut from the same cloth, honey. Both of us wear the scars of our jaded past, but if you feel even a little bit like I do for you, then you’ve felt the healing touch of them disappearing since the moment our bodies first touched. I need what you give me more than my next breath. That isn’t something anyone would be able to give up. People fight a lifetime to find this, and I had almost lost faith that I would ever have this.”
I feel like my heart—the one thing that keeps me alive—doesn’t even beat inside my own chest anymore, not when Wren has taken its place as my most vital organ.
My knight in tarnished armor had finally found his broken princess, high in her jaded tour—changing both of our lives for eternity.
This is the evolution of two jaded hearts seeing the beauty of life again.
This is the creation of two broken souls, healing solidly, connected as one.
This is the foundation of an unbreakable love.
This is the clarity of our forever love.
ARC kindly provided by the author via InkSlinger PR
in exchange for an honest review
Harper is a NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL and USA TODAY bestselling author residing in Georgia with her husband and three daughters. She has a borderline unhealthy obsession with books, hibachi, tattoos and Game of Thrones. When she isn’t writing you can almost always find her with a book in hand.
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