A Special Obsession, an all new contemporary romance from A.M. Hargrove, is available now!!
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Title: A Special Obsession
Author: A.M. Hargrove
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 23, 2017
Author: A.M. Hargrove
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 23, 2017
Synopsis
Rule Number One: Never let anyone get too close…
Weston Wyndham has more money on his tattooed wrist than I’ll ever have in my bank account.
Drunk, he was gorgeous, wicked, sexy, an inked god.
Sober, he is the most arrogant man ever.
If he thinks I’m going to let him order me around like one of his servants, he’s wrong. If he wants me to date him after all this, he’s out of his mind. I don’t care how rich he is, or that he drives a Ferrari and a fancy truck. Those walls I put up are there for a reason … and they were built to last.
But he’s relentless, and hot, and it turns out he likes his girls a little fiery. Giving in doesn’t have to mean disaster—unless I break my number one rule.
Special O’Malley is a handful. With a name like that, she ought to be. Sassy as hell, bossing me around, but damn if I don’t deserve it.
I’m used to getting my way, dealing with difficult people, only she’s not buying any of it. Usually my money attracts women. Not Special. She doesn’t give a damn about it … or me.
There’s more than one stubborn player in this game. I have a few tricks up my sleeve and I’m not
planning on giving up any time soon … at least not until I’m between her thighs, making her moan.
And those concrete walls she has … I have news for her. Concrete crumbles if you strike at the right place.
planning on giving up any time soon … at least not until I’m between her thighs, making her moan.
And those concrete walls she has … I have news for her. Concrete crumbles if you strike at the right place.
Free in Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt
“Good morning.”
“Who are you?” he
asks.
“I’m the owner of
the bar you passed out in last night, Mr. Wyndham. You should be more
responsible about how much you drink when you go out.”
His jaws click
together, and he squints. Without saying a word, he flops back down
onto the couch and rolls over like he’s going back to sleep.
“What do you think
you’re doing?”
“Sleeping. Now be a
nice little girl and hush. I’m tired and my head is pounding like a
bass drum.”
Seriously? “What do
you think this is? The Holiday Inn?”
“No. The Holiday Inn
would’ve given me a bed.”
My mouth sags open. Of
all the … “Hey, if it hadn’t been for me and this couch, your
ass would’ve been sleeping on the street.”
“Whatever. Now,
please be quiet.”
“I will not. You need
to leave. I have things to do.”
“Fine.” He slowly
stands, and I look up. He’s tall. Much, much taller than I thought
last night. Probably because he was all slouched over and could
barely walk. As I stare at him, he moves around me and I figure he’s
going to the bathroom. Boy am I wrong. The man barely has his eyes
opens as he walks down the hall, finds my bedroom, takes off his
pants revealing the most perfect naked ass created, and climbs into
my bed. Of all the nerve! Now what the hell am I supposed to do?
This is ridiculous. I
have errands to run, things to do. It’s Sunday—the day I visit my
Mimi. She cooks Sunday dinner, and I spend the afternoon with her
and—shit. Laundry … I need to wash clothes. All my panties are
dirty, and my laundry hamper is in the closet in my bedroom. Fuck it.
I’m going in anyway.
Stomping into my
room—my
room—I
go to the closet and grab my hamper, making sure I’ve collected all
the dirty clothes. Then I drag it out of the room, intentionally
making as much noise as possible.
“Can you please keep
it down? My head is splitting wide the fuck open.”
“So sorry you decided
to drink a truckload of liquor last night. And no, I can’t keep it
down. I have work to do. Go home and sleep it off there if you want
quiet.”
He groans out a
response I can’t understand and don’t bother asking him to
repeat. What kind of person does this sort of thing? After I stuff a
load of darks in, I run down to the bar to check my restaurant
inventory for the food service rep who’ll be stopping by in the
morning. But I do a half-ass job of it because I don’t want to
leave the asshole up there alone, although I don’t know what he’d
steal. A guy with a watch like that and a black American Express
wouldn’t want any of the crap I own.
When I get back home,
the washer is finished, so I move that load into the dryer and start
the next. Then I get everything out for breakfast. Before turning on
the stove, I pull out my beat-up laptop and check out that watch of
his. When I try to price it, I only find pre-owned ones and they go
for up to fifty grand. What the hell does this dude do for a living?
Rob banks? Who spends fifty grand on a fucking watch when you can get
a Timex for fifty bucks? And that wasn’t even a brand new one.
Maybe he stole it. Maybe he’s a professional high-end thief. Or one
of those art thieves, like in that movie where the guy steals all the
original pieces and replaces them with fakes. What if he killed
someone and stole it off him?
Calm down, Spesh.
You’re just acting crazy now. He can’t have a black AMEX if he’s
not a bona fide rich dude.
After a few deep, calming breaths, I start to feel a bit better. Time
to cook some eggs.
Everything’s ready to
go—butter sizzling in the pan and eggs whipped—when my guest
walks into the kitchen.
“Oh, good, you’re
making breakfast. I’m starving.” He stretches his arms in the air
and then rubs his stomach like a little kid. I’m happy to note he’s
wearing his pants again.
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah. Three eggs,
toast with butter, no jelly, and I’ll have some sausage. No links,
only patties. And grits. With butter and salt. No pepper.” He plops
down into a chair at my tiny bistro table for two. “Hey, can you
bring me a cup of coffee?” He points to the coffeepot on the
counter. “And some ice water. I’m dying of thirst. You wouldn’t
by any chance have any Gatorade, would you?”
No please,
thank
you,
kiss
my ass,
nothing.
Holding the whisk in my
hand, I think about throwing it at him instead of the sink where I’m
placing it. I walk back to the stove, pick up the spatula, take a
deep breath, and say, “I’m sorry. This is not a restaurant, and
I’m not your waitress nor am I your maid. If you want coffee or
water, get up off your ass and get it yourself. Oh, and FYI, no
Gatorade.”
The man looks appalled.
“I just thought since—”
“I know what you
thought.”
“What am I supposed
to eat?”
Slanting my head, I
point the spatula at him. “Cook the eggs, sausage patties,
toast with butter, and grits your own damn self. Look, mister,
there’s something you keep forgetting. You passed out in my
bar. We carried you to my
apartment. You slept on my
couch. But by damn, I will not be following your
orders. I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but I believe
it’s time you leave.”
He stares and says
nothing for a long moment. Then he extends his hand. “I’m Weston,
and you are?”
Oh brother, here we go.
Get ready for the name game. I can’t believe I’m going to do
this. Holding out my hand, I say, “I’m Special.”
There go the brows,
straight on up to the hairline, and then he lets out a raspy chuckle.
“Well, I like an honest woman. You sure have a high opinion of
yourself.”
I should’ve expected
this. “Not exactly. Special is my name.”
“Is that so? And what
precisely is your game?” He winks.
I huff out a lung full
of exasperation. “No, you don’t get it. That is the legal name I
was given at birth.”
With brows drawn
together, he asks, “Who the hell names their kid Special?”
“A seventeen-year-old
girl who had no business having a kid in the first place. That’s
who.”
He clamps his mouth
shut, and I can see his tongue poking the inside of his cheek.
“Hmm. Okay, Special.
Do you have a last name?”
“O'Malley.”
“Special O'Malley,”
he repeats my name, and for some reason, I like the way it sounds
rolling off his tongue. That’s a first. High school was a bitch
having a name like Special. The girls were nasty and didn’t bother
with snide comments behind my back. They did it straight up to my
face. The guys, on the other hand, were a little less obvious, but
only because they wanted something from me. Dumbass me didn’t
figure that out until it was too late.
“That’s right.”
My hands rest on my hips, a non-verbal challenge for him to make some
smart-ass comment. He doesn’t. He tilts his head and stares. I’m
not sure what’s going through that wealthy mind of his, but he’s
making me damned uncomfortable. I stare back at him. His hair is
straightened. More to the point, he’s pulled the top part into a
ponytail, so the one side, which is cut super short, can be seen.
Unfortunately, I am very attracted to this man. And why does he have
to be so damn hot? He is a contradiction to what I’ve always
assumed the rich to appear. He doesn’t have that stodgy, starchy
look. In fact, he looks to be quite the opposite, almost rebellious,
which draws me in. I’ve always identified with that, never
conforming or fitting into mainstream. Parts of him scream wealth,
but other parts are rough and defiant. It’s the sort of look I’m
attracted to. He finally dips his head in a single nod, and the
corners of his mouth turn up. Fuck. Me. That should not be allowed.
My knees want to buckle from the sheer beauty of it, but I stand
strong.
“So, Special
O'Malley, how about we make a deal? I will pay you if you fix me
breakfast. I’m not picky. Just starving and extremely thirsty.”
“It won’t be
cheap.”
He still smiles and
says, “I’m pretty sure I can afford it.”
“Okay, but just so
you know, I don’t have sausage patties.
Only bacon.”
“I love bacon.”
“All right, then,”
I say, and turn back to my chore of cooking.
Once I get everything
going, I tell him he should shower.
“You think I need
one?” he asks.
“You smell like you
swam in a barrel of Jack.”
He lifts his arm and
takes a whiff. “I’ll be back.”
“Towels are under the
sink,” I holler to his retreating form.
Jesus, that guy. I
should be heading to Mimi’s any minute instead of cooking him
breakfast. How did I get hooked into doing this? Because I’m an
idiot, who’s drooling over him, that’s how. The food is almost
ready by the time he emerges from his shower. He’s fresh smelling,
wearing his black jeans, and holy shit, shirtless. Not only does he
have the one tat I spied earlier, but multiple pieces of art etched
into his tawny skin. Saliva nearly runs down my chin, but I wipe my
mouth with the back of my hand before it has a chance.
“I borrowed your
toothbrush.”
He says it so
nonchalantly, like it’s something he does every day. My spatula
stops in midair.
“You what?”
“I needed to brush my
teeth, so I figured, yeah. You know—good dental hygiene and all.
Besides, you said I smelled bad.”
My hand flies up in the
air, nearly knocking the pan off the burner. “Are you crazy? That’s
my toothbrush!”
“Calm down there,
Spike. It’s only what, three bucks’ worth of plastic? I’ll
leave you much more than that in a tip, if you’re extra nice to
me.” He grins at me. If I weren’t so pissed, I would’ve spent
more time looking at how perfect his teeth are.
Spike?
“That’s not the
point. You should’ve asked first.”
He casts a sour look in
my direction. “Right. I’m glad I didn’t. Because it’s not
like you would’ve said it was okay. Besides, I needed to brush my
teeth.”
“So, what am I
gonna use?”
“Hey, it’s not like
I have any contagious diseases or anything. I’m not a walker.”
Then he starts acting like a zombie.
“Stop it. Are you
always this annoying?”
He stops and thinks
about it for a moment. “No, I’m worse. Or my parents seem to
think so.”
“Can’t say that I
blame them. I can’t believe you used my toothbrush.”
“Christ, if you don’t
shut up about it already, I’ll really regret it.”
“You should. That’s
just gross.”
“Why? It’s no
different than if we kiss.”
“But we haven’t
kissed and won’t be anytime in the next century.”
“You sure about
that?”
Suddenly, his arm whips
around my waist, he spins me, and I’m staring into smoky gray eyes,
only inches from mine. Before I can push him off me, his delicious
lips find my own, and he kisses me. His tongue pushes through the O
of my lips, and he does a lazy exploration of all the secret places
inside. He knows his way around a girl’s mouth. This is no sloppy
kiss. When he releases me, I’m gasping for air as I smell the
beginnings of breakfast burning.
“That wasn’t so
bad, was it?” he asks.
I shove him off me,
saying, “It was awful. Absolutely the worst.” I focus on the
bacon, eggs, and grits so he doesn’t see the flush that’s heated
my neck and cheeks. “Just so you know, that toothbrush you used? It
isn’t my regular toothbrush. I keep that one in the medicine
cabinet. The one you used I scrub the shower tiles with.”
My Review
*ARC received in return for an honest review
A.M. Hargrove has done it again, another MUST read.
I have never wanted to hug a book like I have this one!!
I just need to look at the cover (which is just PERFECT and fitting) and I sigh. A Special Obsession left me feeling so warm and fuzzy and very protective over it. I know this probably doesn't make sense but that's how it made me feel.
The prologue began with a bit of suspense and I was hooked, I couldn't put it down. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the way love grew gradually between the main characters, Special and Weston - a slow burner which was a refreshing change from all of the insta-love/lust books I've read lately.
A.M. Hargrove has a way of bringing out my bad side with the wonderfully vile supporting characters she creates. I was so angry at the way Weston's family treat him, I wanted to do serious harm to them all! 😡 However, she injects healthy doses of humour, passion and tension filled drama into her plots to balance it out, keeping you hooked from beginning to end.
I loved the strength and feistiness of Special, how she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted in life but, in love she was so sceptical that anyone could find her attractive, let alone someone like Weston who seemed to have everything.
Weston was all kinds of hot with his sexy looks, his tattoos and his dirty mouth. He may have been a bit of a spoilt rich boy but he melted me with his sweet and caring nature, and when he went up against his family my arms just ached to hug him...tight. Oh, I want a Weston in my life *sighs*.
This is the second book from this author where the youngster in the story stole my heart. Cody is just too adorable, I would get a huge grin on my face with the things he would say or do.
We get a sneak peek at Weston's best friends from school and I can't wait to read their stories!
I have laughed, shouted out loud and gasped my way through A Special Obsession and loved every minute of it, I can't recommend it enough.
A.M. Hargrove has done it again, another MUST read.
I have never wanted to hug a book like I have this one!!
I just need to look at the cover (which is just PERFECT and fitting) and I sigh. A Special Obsession left me feeling so warm and fuzzy and very protective over it. I know this probably doesn't make sense but that's how it made me feel.
The prologue began with a bit of suspense and I was hooked, I couldn't put it down. One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was the way love grew gradually between the main characters, Special and Weston - a slow burner which was a refreshing change from all of the insta-love/lust books I've read lately.
A.M. Hargrove has a way of bringing out my bad side with the wonderfully vile supporting characters she creates. I was so angry at the way Weston's family treat him, I wanted to do serious harm to them all! 😡 However, she injects healthy doses of humour, passion and tension filled drama into her plots to balance it out, keeping you hooked from beginning to end.
I loved the strength and feistiness of Special, how she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted in life but, in love she was so sceptical that anyone could find her attractive, let alone someone like Weston who seemed to have everything.
Weston was all kinds of hot with his sexy looks, his tattoos and his dirty mouth. He may have been a bit of a spoilt rich boy but he melted me with his sweet and caring nature, and when he went up against his family my arms just ached to hug him...tight. Oh, I want a Weston in my life *sighs*.
This is the second book from this author where the youngster in the story stole my heart. Cody is just too adorable, I would get a huge grin on my face with the things he would say or do.
We get a sneak peek at Weston's best friends from school and I can't wait to read their stories!
I have laughed, shouted out loud and gasped my way through A Special Obsession and loved every minute of it, I can't recommend it enough.
I give this a rating of...
About the Author
One day on her way home from work as a sales manager, USA Today bestselling author, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast-forward. If she didn't do something soon, it would be too late to write that novel she had dreamt of her whole life. She slammed on the brakes, made a crazy decision, and quit her job. Then she reinvented herself as a Naughty and Nice Romance Author. She fancies herself all of the following: Reader, Writer, Dark Chocolate Lover, Ice Cream Worshipper, Coffee Drinker, Grey Goose Aficionado, and #WalterThePuppy Lover. If you’re around her for more than five minutes, you’ll soon notice she has a tendency to talk you ear off.
