Colors
of Us
McAvery
Brothers
Book
One
Sandra
Bunino
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New
Adult
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Number of pages: 240
Word Count: 62,000
ISBN: 9781771309783
ASIN: B00MwFP98E
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Book Description:
Everything she knew to be true
fell apart. Then fell apart again…
Michelle Willis is running from
her past. What better place to hide than in the anonymity of New York City.
Finding refuge in a tiny SoHo art gallery, she rebuilds her life one painting
at a time.
A wrong turn sends Hunter McAvery
on a crash course with disaster. He fights his own demons by following his big
brother’s lead - drinking and bed-hopping his way through Manhattan.
A glance at Michelle’s
self-portrait triggers emotions Hunter can’t tamp down. Driven to meet the
artist, he discovers a fiery chemistry as their lives collide. But when their
past threatens to tear them apart, can their love survive?
Excerpt:
“I think pink is
your color. It looks great against your dark hair.” Reaching past her shoulder,
he curled a strand of her hair between his fingers and tugged gently before
letting it fall onto her shoulder.
Meeting his
gaze, she smiled. “Thanks.” Michelle wasn’t used to compliments. It’d been her
goal to fade into the crowd and not to call attention to herself. But her
self-imposed rules seemed to float away around Hunter McAvery.
Returning her
smile, he continued the lesson. “After you slide your hands into the opening,
you’ll wind the long strap around your fingers and wrist like this.” Holding
her fingers in his hand, he wound the dangling strap around her palm and over
her knuckles. “You want to protect the part of your hand that meets the bag.”
He stepped
closer as he slipped the strap around the base of her thumb. When he brushed
his fingertips against the sensitive area just below the fleshy part of her
palm, a shiver shot up her arm and traveled to her belly. His warm breath
ghosted her face as he circled the end of the strap around her wrist and
secured the Velcro tab. Before she knew it, strong fingers captured her left
hand and guided her arm to the warmth between their bodies. She itched to graze
her fingers along his muscled chest, capturing his heat with her palm. Her gaze
bounced to his neck and stubbled jaw, which clenched as he slid the other wrap
over her hand. Slowly wrapping her other wrist, he secured the strap and held
both of her gloved hands in his. “Make a fist,” he said huskily.
Tightening her
hands into a ball, she tucked her thumb around the outside of her fingers like
he showed her at the gym.
He squeezed her
fists. “They look good. You’re a badass.”
Michelle
snorted. “A badass in pink.”
“Let’s see what
you got. Show me some upper cuts. Right here.” He tapped his abs.
“You want me to
hit you?” She giggled.
“Sure. I can
take it.”
Turning her
palms up, she made a fist and alternated soft punches to his belly. His
rock-hard belly. Each strike made her aware of how alive he made her feel. The
force of impact sent ripples up his tight shirt, awakening the planes of his
muscular form. She gulped back the desire to open her fists and run her
fingertips along the line of each thick muscle.
His hands came
to rest on her forearms, halting her movement. The pads of his thumbs stroked
the sensitive skin near the inside of her elbow causing a delicious shiver up
her arm. Michelle’s eyes met his. The fire brewing in his darkened gaze drew
her in. Hunter stepped between her legs, nudging her back against the wall next
to the mural. She closed her eyes and choked back a groan, wanting—no,
needing—to grind her heat on his leg. Raising her arms above her, he pinned
them against the wall on either side of her head. His scent flooded her senses
as she lifted her chin to close the gap between them.
“I’m trying like
hell not to kiss you.” Hunter straightened his back but didn’t loosen his grip
on her arms.
Her skin
prickled from the nearness of his body. She let her gaze drift to his lips.
“Why?” she whispered.
He blew a slow
breath between his teeth. “Nothing good would come of it. I’m not capable of
giving or feeling… or offering anything much to you.” He shook his head but he
didn’t move from her body.
“I don’t believe
that.” Michelle wriggled her arms from his grasp. Her fingertips lingered on
his corded forearms, which flexed under her touch. Easing a trail toward his
shoulders, her fingers reminded her of a paintbrush’s first dab of color on a
fresh canvas. She’d always believed each canvas had a personality of its own,
and it was the symphony of the brush, artist, and canvas that created the work
of art. She wanted to explore the blank canvas of Hunter McAvery.
She studied his
arms, still caging her in. Protecting her. Wanting her. Her eyes met his gaze.
He stared at her, unmoving, but a spark burned in his eyes. She held her
breath, afraid to break his trance. Her palms smoothed over his shoulders and
down his chest, stopping at the center of his ribs. Pushing into the muscles of
his chest, she felt the strong beat of his heart on her fingers. “Kiss me,
Hunter.” Raising her eyebrows, she dared to look him in the eyes, almost afraid
of what she’d see.
“You don’t
understand. You’re too… good.” He averted his gaze.
“Maybe you
should let me decide what’s good for me.” She moved closer, his breath burned
hot on her face, and he squeezed his eyes closed.
“Michelle….”
Her hands
traveled up his chest and rested on the bulk of his strong shoulders. Pulling
him in, her breasts molded into his chest and, finally, he crashed his lips
down on hers. She met every stroke of his tongue as her fingers raked through
the ends of his hair. Moaning into his mouth, she straddled his muscular thigh
as warmth flooded her sex. She’d never felt more alive.
His hand grazed
her cheek before taking her chin between his thumb and index finger and pulling
away from their kiss. He tipped his forehead to hers, his raspy breath hot on
her mouth. “Shit.”
Michelle widened
her eyes. “What?” she whispered.
“You. Me. This
just can’t happen. Not now. Not like this.”
My Review of Colors of Us:
I want to first thank Ms. Bunino for sending me a review copy of her book. Let's just say that she has gained another loyal fan! This is one of those books that you can't get enough of. I want more Hunter McAvery! I want to move to SoHo and work in an art gallery even though I can't do paint by numbers! Have you ever read that kind of story?
Michelle and Hunter are both lost in their own way. She's running from her past and he's running from his guilt. I loved the chemistry between these two and how they seemed to need each other. They just didn't know it. Michelle has this strength about her that takes a little time to see but you can tell she wants to build on that strength. So when Hunter starts training with her at the gym I was really hoping it would start bringing her out of her shell.
Hunter believes that he has nothing to offer Michelle......that she deserves more. That she's too good of a person. He was set on a path to destruction but was able to pull himself together. This is not one of those books that you can predict what is going to happen. It makes you stop and think. I think it was very well written and Ms. Bunino has this way of writing that allows you to see scenes in your mind. I look forward to all of her future writings!
About
the Author:
Sandra Bunino is a romance author
of several novellas including The Satin Rose Experience series. Her first
full-length novel, Colors of Us from the McAvery Brothers series, released in
August. She makes her parents proud by putting her MBA degree to good use
dreaming up heroes who resemble David Gandy whenever possible. When not staying
up past her bedtime torturing her oh-so-sexy heroes, she can be found shopping
for shoes or saving turtles.
As a social media junkie in need
of a ten-step program, you can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and her
new addiction, Pinterest. Sandra loves to read and chat with other readers, so
she formed the Bunino’s Bookalicious Babes group on Facebook where they
currently share their love of Jamie Fraser from Outlanders…and David Gandy, of
course.
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