Black by Aria Cole is NOW LIVE!
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A beast, alone with the horrors of his past, the scar on his face a constant reminder of the man he’s become.
A beauty, on the run with her life in a tailspin, finds herself on his doorstep seeking protection.
Deeply misunderstood and dedicated to his life of brooding solitude, Maxwell Black is hesitant to let Elle McKellan into his home where his hideous secrets hide. But he’s unable to resist the allure of this desperate stranger.
Soon the magnetism between them is undeniable, the temptation unbearable. Elle, reluctant to risk losing her heart to this dark and broken man, struggles against the sexual tension, only to surrender to the combustible heat between them.
When Elle’s life catches up to her and threatens to tear them apart, Maxwell will protect the precious love he’s found by any brutal means necessary.
Black is a sexy, modern spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale and is intended for mature audiences.
(BLACK Copyright 2016 by Aria Cole)
“You’re only twenty-one?” I ran a palm through my hair, thinking how I’d already had my dick between her legs, tasted her on my tongue. Jesus, she’s just out of high school. “How can you be so calm? Jesus, I nearly fucked you on my desk. Why didn’t you tell me you were only twenty-one?”
“It won’t make it any less true the more times you say it.” Her eyes flashed. “And we’re not that far apart.” She shrugged, then popped a bite into her mouth.
“Not that far? Ten years seems pretty far to me,” I bit, never feeling so goddamn old as I did sitting next to her in all her pretty, youthful glory. Jesus, she was beautiful. Why was she even here with me? The angry bastard with the nasty scar? I didn’t deserve her.
“Hey, chill out.” She plucked a bite from the plate and held it out for me. I snagged it between my teeth and chewed, never breaking eye contact. Her eyes glistened with amusement as she watched me, her full lips tipped in a Cheshire grin.
“Fine. But maybe don’t tell anyone your age for now,” I ground through my teeth before tightening my palm at her thigh again.
A soft chuckle fell from her lips. “Who would I tell? You’re my only friend.” Her palm covered mine as she threaded her fingers through mine. “What’s with the hands on me all the time thing, anyway?” Elle uttered just as she took another sip of her beer bottle. A girl who drank beer, the walking embodiment of a man’s dream come true. She was so cool, calm, and collected, I could certainly take a play or two from her book.
“Let’s them know you’re mine,” I ground, still uncomfortable with the fact that she was so much younger than me.
“Yours?” She almost spit out her beer with her chuckle. “That’s a little soon, don’t you think?”
“Not when you know,” I answered simply. The silence fell and I knew her mind was probably on fire with thoughts again. “Listen, I don’t want anyone else thinking they have a chance with you. This shows them not to fuck with my property.” I squeezed at her thigh, thinking I’d explained myself sufficiently enough.
“Your property?” Elle hummed as she pushed her half-eaten plate of food away before downing the rest of her bottle. “Your property?”
Oh shit.
“Elle!” I hollered, my thick thighs pushing the table across noisy tile when I stood hastily. “Elle!” I took long strides out the door, feeling at my neck the burn of judgment from everyone in that small place. Fuck this. This was why I didn’t go out in public.
“Goddamn it, slow down!” I boomed down the sidewalk where I saw her clutching her purse and leveling me with a glare. Jesus Christ, this woman was going to be the death of me. “Don’t run from me like that again, hear me?” I cupped her elbow and pressed her body against the cool brick of the building. “You are mine.” I ran my nose up the curve of her neck and nipped at her soft earlobe. “Even if you don’t know it yet, I can feel it,” I grit and thrust my hands into her mass of wild waves, pulling her head to mine and fucking her with my tongue. She returned the gesture, but with more ferocity than she’d ever shown before. I yanked at both of her thighs and pulled her limbs around my waist, angling her against the wall, my cock nestled right between her legs, right where he liked being.
“I’m not yours,” she uttered in protest as she nibbled at my bottom lip.
“The fuck you aren’t.” I gripped at one thigh, my other hand trailing between us to find the slick skin under her skirt and beneath her panties. “And this.” I pulled my thumb through the silky hot flame of her pussy and brought it up to my mouth, letting her arousal glisten across my full lips. “Proves you’re a liar.” I sucked her sweet honeysuckle musk off my thumb, then pulled her lips to mine again, crushing her with bruising force as I tasted her, desperate for more. Always desperate for more when it came to sweet Elle.
Black is a contemporary version of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast.
Maxwell has been living isolated for years after a traumatic event that left him scarred in more ways than one.
His subterfuge is his library, which is open to the public, and books are the only company he thinks he needs, or more so, that he trusts.
Books were the only things that had been with me through it all. I’d never found solace in people; I’d found nothing but pain and betrayal and lies. Books provided shelter and support and encouragement.
But deep down in his lonely existence, he wishes, longs for something more, or better yet, someone…
But sometimes, on the nights that my thoughts overtook me, I dared to hope for someone to share my life with. I dreamed of a girl with eyes that sparkled, a laugh that made me weak in the knees, and a heart so big she could fit mine in it. Someone who could see past the moody, abrasive demeanor, and the thousand quirks that made me a man unlike any other.
Someone who could see past the scar and into my soul.
A revelation sliced through my heart. For the first time ever, I wanted to feel love.
I’d just never found a woman brave enough to love a man like me.
But he could barely dare to dream for that. In reality, he had no hope that this woman existed, much less that she would ever cross paths with him.
But the proof that dreams do could true appears right at his doorstep…
Elle is on the run, lost and alone, she doesn’t realize she’s searching for something, or someone, to give her life a new meaning, a new direction, something to hold on too. And this brings her right to Maxwell’s library, looking for a job, but finding herself with a new task, breaking down the walls he, due to his dark past, has built around himself.
Elle knows all too well about painful pasts. If there is one person that can understand him, and see beyond his scarred, rough persona, it’s her.
I knew all too well about scars. How they were ugly and deformed from the outside in. Daunting slashes scraped across layers of delicate flesh. Maxwell wore his scar on his face, I wore mine on the inside. Mine festered and did not heal. My scars destroyed me and made me run; his seemed to have destroyed him and made him hide.
But healing a soul isn’t the easiest of journeys and it’s proven by the rough path they had ahead of them.
With so many mental roadblocks, even their strong instant pull is not enough, and with the secrets they both keep, Trust proves to be their biggest challenge.
Elle was such a sweet and loving character, a real mirror of the Beauty in the classic tale. Even with her sad past, she has an incredible amount of hope, and when she meets Maxwell, see can see right through his facade, that reflects a loneliness much like her own. With him, the first time in her life, she feels safe.
Their attraction was immediate, and shocking for both of them, but Maxwell is the one who truly struggles to give in. After so many years of isolation, and the nature of the tragic event from his past, it’s very hard for him to give trust to someone else, specially someone that, for him, seems to good to be true, and appear at a too perfect timing.
He hadn’t counted and didn’t believe in what Fate had reserved for him…
Even with all the drawbacks the couple had and the secrets they keep, which translate into a slow building relationship, something the had no change to fight was their physical pull, the insta-lust was immediate, and it wasn’t long before we got some sizzling hot, sexually charged scenes. Beware: a cold shower or a industrial sized fan may be needed! 😉
“So fucking sexy bent over, your pussy bared for me. You’re so fucking wet, sweetheart. Love seeing you so wet for my cock.”
They literally couldn’t keep they hands of each other, which is awesome and gives us a true erotic romance. And his beastly character sure did transport to those scenes scenes, in a very deliciously dominant way. And boy, did the man have a dirty mouth on him (and I freaking loved every word out of it)!
Contemporary fairy tale is one of my favorite genres, and I have to say I loved this approach. For a debut novel, it’s amazing the quality of the writing and character development. The story captivates from beginning to end, transporting us to that small town and that very special library, where most of the book develops.
Both characters were amazing, the storyline completely focuses on them, with almost no interaction with other people, and given it’s a short story, I think it was a smart decision. I just wished that it hadn’t taken that long for Maxwell to come to terms with his feelings and his error of judgment of Elle’s intentions (which caused me to hurt along with her for too long). I understand these distrust and roughness were made to go along with his Beast similarity, but by extending his reactions and sometimes far too callous behavior towards her in such a short story, caused, in my opinion, the shift of attitude towards the end to be less credible and too sudden. And don’t get me wrong he also had some sweet and tender moments.
“You’re the only thing that matters to me; protecting you, keeping you, being with you.”
But his suspicious mind and dark side were constantly fighting to take over. That idea would have worked perfectly in a longer story or for a shorter period, but here it became to forced. And don’t get me wrong, I love this type of read-in-one-sitting type of story and would not change that! Besides that minor lack of character development / too sudden personality shift, I adored and enjoyed the hell out of it!
Black was the perfect story to indulge in some erotic romance, and contains all the elements I look for in this type of book: insta-love / lust, an OTT alpha Hero, possessive and protective and some off the charts HOT sex scenes. It has all this, and so much more! Aria Cole delivered a fantastic debut book, and I can’t praise and recommend it enough, so much so, that I became an instant fan and my stalking following was guaranteed! I can’t wait to put my grabby hands on White!!!
My beauty.
My love.
My Elle.
ARC kindly provided by the author via TRSoR Promotions
in exchange for an honest review
Cole is a thirty-something housewife who once felt bad for reading dirty books late at night, until she decided to write her own. Possessive alpha men and the sassy heroines who love them are common, along with a healthy dose of irresistible insta-love and happily ever afters so sweet your teeth may ache.
Aria’s new release BLACK is the first in her modern fairy tale series. For a safe, off-the-charts HOT, and always HEA story that doesn’t take a lifetime to read, get lost in an Aria Cole book!
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