Craves The Angst: COVER REVEAL w/PROLOGUE and GIVEAWAY

TITLE: The Exception

AUTHOR: Adriana Locke

AGE GROUP: Adult

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

RELEASE DATE: September 18, 2014

COVER RELEASE COORDINATED BY:

Truly Schmexy PR

BOOK BLURB:

They say there is an exception to every rule...

Jada Stanley is starting over, refusing to repeat her past mistakes. Everything is going great until she meets Cane Alexander. He is gorgeous, cocky, and everything she needs to avoid.

Cane lives within a set of carefully constructed guidelines to ensure his life remains uncomplicated. When he sets his eyes on Jada, all of his rules are called into question.

As their worlds become intertwined, they find it impossible to stay away from each other. Will they be able to maintain the rules they've created to protect their hearts? Or will they make an exception?

Prologue

CANE
If I close my eyes, maybe she’ll disappear.
“That was amazing. So good, Cane.”
Maybe not.
The woman nestled against me, her hand draping across my body. She stroked my skin, the intimacy of the action curling my stomach.
I switched on the bedside lamp, letting my eyes adjust to the bright light. Glancing at the clock, I pushed her hand away.
It’s not too late. She can still go home.
Sitting up, I swung my legs over the side of the bed; my body groaned in response. I stretched my arms overhead in an attempt to work some life back into my exhausted muscles.
This girl was a decent choice for a last minute decision. Memories of her contorted in a variety of wicked ways, screaming my name, made my dick harden again.
“Do you want me to get us something to eat?” she asked.
Her nails grazed down my back and I moved out of her reach. Her touch, like her voice, was more annoying than I remembered it being a few hours earlier.
That’s because you just dumped a load.
I twisted around. Her blonde hair was spread across my pillows, black makeup smeared across her face. A part of me wanted to tell her she looked like hell, but a bigger part of me didn’t care enough to point it out. I just needed her gone.
She rolled onto her back, cheap perfume wafting through the air. She pulled the sheets tight around her body.
I’m going to have to do laundry. Hell, I’ll probably just have to burn the sheets to get rid of that smell.
“I was thinking I would grab us some hamburgers. I could pick up some things for breakfast while I’m out.”
I cringed at the implications saturating her voice. “You’re going to need to tone that shit down.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, I have things to do tonight.” Her face was familiar but her name—not so much.
“Oh, that’s fine. I can just wait here while you do what you need to do.” She flashed me her biggest smile and settled back into the sheets, looking way too comfortable in my bed.
“No. You’re going to need to get up, get dressed, and go home.” I massaged my temples with my fingertips, a migraine inching its way into my skull.
For fuck’s sake! Why isn’t this ever as easy as they make it out to be? Maybe I should get them to sign some shit, a ‘This is a Fuck and Only a Fuck’ disclaimer or something.
“I really have no plans for tomorrow, Cane.” She licked her lips, still swollen from moments before.
“We discussed this. We fuck. You leave. You know this.”
She had the nerve to look hurt.
“I didn’t think you were going to say that once we were done.”
“It was amazing. It is always amazing with me.” I flashed her a grin and literally watched her swoon.
That never gets old.
“Look, I don’t do this ‘sex and a sandwich’ thing, but that is not a newsflash.”
“But …”
“Why does it feel like we’ve been here before?” Frustration took over and I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself calm. All I needed was a hot little body to dump my stress into for a little while and I had made no illusions otherwise. She agreed to this before she followed me home.
Why does it have to be complicated now? I ran my fingers through my short blond hair, scrubbing my scalp in annoyance.
“When I was here a few months ago, we had lunch, too. Remember? We sat out on the patio.”
Remember her face. Do not triple dip this one.
“You don’t understand how this works.” I glanced at her reclining against my pillows and fought hard to not sound as brusque as I felt. “I have a bunch of shit to do. You really need to go.”
She sighed dramatically as she got up and found her jeans on the floor. I watched her ass jiggle as she pulled them on slowly, undoubtedly for my benefit.
It worked.
I had to restrain myself from grabbing her and fucking her one more time, just for good measure.
That is only going to make getting her out of here even harder and she simply isn’t good enough to waste any more time on.
Instead, I sat and enjoyed the show. She turned to face me as she pulled her shirt over her head, her eyes never leaving mine. She tucked her bra in her purse.
With a final glance over her shoulder, presumably to give me time to change my mind, she was gone.
And I was alone again—just the way I liked it.

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About the Author...

Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own. The Exception is Adriana’s debut novel and will be released on September 18th.

Adriana lives in the Midwest with her family. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. Her favorite things include sunshine, candy, and random quotes. Please contact Adriana at www.adrianalocke.com. She loves to hear from readers.

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