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“I fell quickly in love with the words, even with the unlikely characters.”
~ Under the Covers
It is no secret that I love the Hearts series, the whole family it’s been revolving around lately, and Ms. Cosway’s writing. When I saw that Liam was going to get a story but it would be a novella, I was both excited and disappointed. Excited because, yay we get his story. Disappointed, well, because I’m a greedy bitch and a novella is never enough. But then I read CROSS MY HEART and I have to honestly say I feel that Ms. Cosway did us right and delivered a good solid HEA for Liam Cross in such a short amount of pages. Once again, written with the Cosway flair that I know and love. I fell quickly in love with the words, even with the unlikely characters.
Our heroine, Iris, has been homeless and squatting for a long time now. She’s strong and determined to make something or herself and is working at Lee’s restaurant. It’s that determination that made me care for her. The fact that she just needed someone to extend a caring hand and give her the needed boost to get out of the situation she found herself in.
Liam might’ve come on a bit strong for my liking, taking charge of the situation and steering their relationship as well. But he did so with kid gloves. Not pushing when he wouldn’t get away with it. Like the rest of the men in his family, Liam Cross will quickly find a spot in your heart.
Although this is to me the story that feels the youngest of the bunch (the heroine is quite young too), I still enjoyed how sweet it was. And as always, I love being with these characters so I say lets bring on more! I’m not ready for this series to end just yet.
EXCERPT
“So, what do you do when you’re not scrubbing dishes for my brother, Iris?”
The way he said my name made my pores tingle again. It felt luxurious somehow, like a caress. “I talk to my cat. I read. I wander.” Talk to Bowie.
“You wander?”
“Yeah, I like to choose a starting point and let my feet lead the way.”
He looked displeased hearing this. “Only during the day, I hope.”
Huh. Was he worried about me? Nah, he was just being a copper. Nosy. I shrugged.
“Sometimes at night. I’m good at being invisible though, so I rarely run into trouble.”
His displeasure increased. “How often is rarely?”
I tilted my head. “Why do you care?”
His expression turned serious. “A tiny little thing like you wandering around in the dark is a recipe for trouble. Do you realise how easy it’d be for someone to just pluck you up off the street and do whatever they wanted?”
Ha! That was a laugh. The street was my home. I knew how to survive there, and I’d done fine so far. “Just because I’m little doesn’t mean I’m not tough. Let some fucker try to pluck me up. It wouldn’t end well for him.” I stabbed my forked into the empty plate with force to emphasise my point.
For some reason the action made him smile again, but this time there was a spark of calculation behind his eyes. “So, if I were to grab you right now, push you up against that wall,” he paused and gestured to the wall by the door, “you’d be able to fend me off?”
I swallowed. Not surprisingly, that visual wasn’t as scary to me as it should’ve been. Instead my gut twisted with anticipation. Do it.
Do it.
I nodded casually. “Sure.”
“Let’s try it, then.” He moved to get up and suddenly my courage fled.
I forced a laugh. “No, thanks.”
He shot me a wry look. “No?”
“No.”
“So, you’re all talk then.” He folded his arms, pleased with himself, and it made me want to punch him. I’d never been good at backing away from a challenge.
I grit my teeth. “Fine.”
His gaze flicked to my mine, his pupils dilating. I didn’t care to ponder what that meant. Without another word, he advanced on me. My heart hammered and I was too fascinated to react when he lifted me up off my chair, carried me across the room, and slammed my back into the wall. I exhaled choppily when he used one hand to grip my neck and the other to hold me down. My chest rose and fell as I looked up at him, entirely too engrossed.
What was he going to do next? I wriggled my hips, though not to break free. He made a curious noise in the back of his throat. I tilted my head. He looked pissed. Huh.
“Iris,” he practically growled.
“Y-yes?”
“You aren’t doing anything.”
“Should I be?”
His hand on my neck loosened. “I just physically assaulted you and you haven’t lifted a finger to stop me.”
“Sorry.”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t fucking apologise. Fight back.”
Fight back.
Right. It was a little hard to do that when all I wanted was for him to tear off my clothes and do very, very bad things to me. But I had to prove a point. I had to show him I could protect myself. Summoning my resolve, I twisted in his hold and tried to get my leg up so I could knee him in the balls. Unfortunately, his entire body was pressed into mine, preventing all movement.
I continued twisting, testing his strength, but I couldn’t find a single weak spot. In the end, I let out a frustrated sigh and relented.
“Fine. You win. Maybe I won’t go wandering at night anymore.”
“I’m not trying to be a dickhead. I’m just trying to make you more aware of the dangers,” he said, releasing me and taking a step back.
No, don’t go.
I’d been warm with him on me. Warmer than I’d been in a very long time.
I cleared my throat. “Job well done.”
He seemed conflicted, his eyes wandering over me and then to his watch. He swore under his breath. “I have to go.”
“Okay.”
He eyed me seriously. “Think about what I said, yeah? Don’t have me worrying.”
I only nodded and then he left, a question hanging in the air.
He hardly even knew me, so why would he worry?
Get Cross My Heart in the HEARTS Boxed Set, available now!
[new-release title=”The Hearts Series: Books 1 – 4″ author=”L.H. Cosway”]
[about-author author=”L.H. Cosway”]
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Thanks for the review, I’m so behind on this series.
Great excerpt!
Thanks for the review Francesca!