Synopsis
There is no sensation, no experience more delicious and tempting to the senses than the taste of forbidden love. The longing… The desire… The unquenched thirst for his touch. He was the man I was never supposed to love. I was supposed to hate him. I suppose part of me did and that is what made the desire so much more intense. He set a fire under my skin that burned white hot with every smoldering glance. He sets my soul ablaze, the slow burn of passion aching in every inch of my body.
Black Horse. The name haunted my dreams… But regardless of family vendettas, old hurts and contemptuous blood shed, the heart wants what it wants… and mine has a mind of its own and my mind is set on Colton McClain.
His family is known by his father’s nickname: Black Horse. Like one of the four horses flying out of the gates of hell, Tom “Black Horse” McClain ripped my world apart fifteen years ago. I was only seven when I found my mother and father dead in their beds, with Tom McClain standing over them with a blood stained butcher knife. He would have come for me, too, had my brothers not saved me. Seth, my older brother, swooped me up before I had the chance to scream and covered my mouth with his hand.
Tom McClain sought out the services of my father in a time of great need. My father, Nathan Ford, was a highly reputable criminal defense attorney, who took on Tom’s case when he was accused of murdering his wife after she was caught in bed with another man. Tom didn’t have the money to pay for my father’s services, so he took on the case pro bono because he believed in Tom’s innocence. I remember my dad meeting with Tom in his study while my mother looked after Colton, my brothers and I in the kitchen. We had become very close. My brothers once considered Colton their best friend. Not anymore.
My father got Tom off on a technicality. The prosecution had no reliable witnesses and they weren’t about to rely on the testimony of a five year old boy; Colton himself. He had witnessed the whole ordeal himself. How does Tom repay my father for his kindess and generosity? He murdered him in his sleep. He killed Daddy first. Momma screamed when she saw a man standing over her bed, and that is what woke me. In just my nightgown and socks, I tip-toed down the hall past Timmy, Randy and Seth’s bedrooms and as I entered the doorway to Momma and Daddy’s room, Tom McClain plunged a knife through my mother’s chest. My blood ran cold. I tried to scream but no sound would come out. The next thing I knew, Seth had his hand over my mouth and we hid in the hall closet. Tears streamed down my face as my arms and legs shook. I could her Tom’s boot echo against the hard wood floor of the hall.
“Sssh… Don’t say a word…” I remember Seth urging.
The air in the closet was stifling; warm and dead like a coffin. I could hear my brothers’ heavy breathing. Our dog Micah’s frantic barking from the back yard. She knew something was horribly wrong. His bootfalls were getting closer… louder… I took a deep breath and didn’t dare exhale in fear that he would hear me. Somehow, I was able to stifle my tears, but something happened that was out of my control. My thought caught from my sobbing. Tom heard it. The foot steps intensified, beating a path to the closet door. Seth, still firmly holding me, swung around so I was facing the inside of the closet. I focused on the faded floral pattern of the shelf lining that was barely visible in the dark lighting of the closet. I focused on anything but the sound of Tom McClain’s approaching footsteps. Then a loud clicking sound made it impossible. The sound of a shot gun barrel banging into place. He didn’t even bother opening the door.
Bang! Bang! Then silence.
Out of instinct I jumped into the shelf before me and cowered behind the extra blankets mother kept neatly stored on the shelf. I was stunned that I was still alive, until reality set in. Seth had slumped down against the door of the closet, unrecognizable and motionless. The shotgun blast had obliterated his once handsome face.
I am supposed to hate Colton McClain, but I can’t. When the police showed up the next day, they found Colton locked in his father’s pick-up a block away, hungry, thirsty and distraught. He was taken away by the state and put in foster care because none of his relatives wanted to have anything to do with the Black Horse name. Black Horse was caught trying to jump the border with my father’s wallet in his pocket and $10,000 in cash in a duffel bag. He traveled alone, having abandoned Colton in his truck back in Oakely. I guess his boy knew too much. When officials apprehended him, they ran my Daddy’s license and discovered that he was found murdered. Tom pleaded insanity, but after a thorough psychiatric evaluation, it was concluded that Tom McClain knew exactly what he was doing. He was sentenced to prison for twenty years, having received a lenient judge; a rarity in the State of Texas.
My surviving brothers Randy and Tim could never know about Colton and I. They’ve had it out for him for years. Bloodlines run thick around here. The sins of the fathers will forever haunt the sons, and women are to stand back and stay out of the way. Well, I have something to say about that… Fuck that, Colton McClain didn’t murder my family. His father did… and he suffered just as much as we did. Now fifteen years after the crime that screwed both of our lives up royally, Black Horse is getting out of jail. Just four days until his release. Colton wants to hide me. He said we can run… Start over somewhere else. My brothers are armed to the teeth and a war is about to break out. I have no intentions of sitting down or running away like a little girl. We cannot hide from this anymore.
Our past does not own us, and we owe it to our hearts to show the world that love can arise from the darkest of places. We only have to survive to tell the tale.
Now Live!
Book Trailer
Simone's Review
*ARC received in return for an honest review
This is my first book by author Addison Kline, but it is most definitely not my last. She has been added to my author stalking list because, if this book is anything to go by, I definitely do not want to miss out on the next book in the series.
Hold on to the handles real tight for this story, as you are in for one exciting, thrilling, murder mystery ride, with added romance and true love. There where so many twists and turns on this ride that I felt at times I would get whiplash. Addison Kline has a great writing style that keeps you engaged from start to finish desperately wanting more with well-developed characters that you will swoon over and villains that you will love to hate.
I'm a sucker for childhood sweetheart stories but this one has so much of a back story I felt that the author really got into my head and showed me the pain, the loss, the love and the betrayal that each character felt. So having said that, Black Horse took me on a roller coaster of emotions, I was swooning on one page to then be thrown upside down on the other holding my breath and biting my nails on the next.
I always have imagined when people say that they have met their soul mate that, how cool would it be if you met them as a child, all that searching and heart break you go through growing up, trying to find the one!! So this brings me to introduce our main leading HOT, ALPHA MALE COLT!! (he's definitely another BBF to add to my list). I found my mouth hanging open with my tongue on the floor from the first page he was introduced, he just oozes raw sex appeal. He's a man that will fight against anyone or anything to keep his family safe and his protective side over Averi had me all of a fluster, that was a roller coaster all on its own. I found myself swooning then slowly melting into a puddle on the floor when Colt went all sexy and dominant on her.
Averi was my kinda gal!! We all have a favourite type of leading lady, mine is the kick-ass strong type that takes no crap. That is definitely Averi (WOW) she is such a strong character and more, the strength she had to also fight for her family and the man she loved was so overwhelming, at times, I just wanted to climb into the book and hug that girl tight while high-fiving her at the same time. Colt and Averi together were like a force to be reckoned with, their bond unbreakable, their love for each other so strong. I will stop now as I could swoon and gush about this couple all day but I think, for me, they have become one of my best BBC to date, and that takes some doing!!
This is also the first book in the Breaking Black Series and I was pull in from the first page. I found myself still gripping my kindle by the last page so I am now desperately waiting for the next instalment. This just leaves me to say what are you waiting for go make this your next read!!
Simone gives this a rating of...
Addison is SUCH a tease!
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All About Addison
Addison Kline is an Amazon Best Selling Author who published her first book, Down To You in October 2013. Mark My Words followed in February 2014 and Black Horse is slated for release on June 28, 2014. She is a prolific writer and has many more plans in the works. Later this year, she hopes to release book three in the Love on Edge Series, titled Fighting for Chance. In addition she is working on book two of the Breaking Black series which is currently untitled.
Addison loves to read and will read anything as long as it has a solid plot. Romance novels with no plot annoy her, so she tends to steer towards romantic suspense novels the most. Her favorite authors are Nora Roberts, M. Sembera, S. Donahue and Nicholas Sparks. When she is not reading and writing, she is spending time with her family. Addison lives in Philadelphia with her husband and their children. They love to travel, watch movies and chill out at home together.
Music Featured in Black Horse
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Giveaways!
Addison is giving everyone three chances to get their hands on Black Horse and other prizes!
1. Win a Paperback Copy of Black Horse on Goodreads!
2. Attend the Black Horse Release Party on Facebook for your chance to win a set of Kindle books which includes ALL of Addison's books: Black Horse, Down To You and Mark My Words
3. Check out the giveaway listed below! Addison and her author and blogging friends have come together to create one amazing giveaway to celebrate the readers! There are paperbacks, eBooks, giftcards and swag up for grabs! Check it out and share with your friends!
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