Book Highlight

Title: Unfiltered & Unlawful
Author: Payge Galvin & Ronnie Douglas
Series: Unfiltered #1
Genre: Adult Romance
Expected Publication: January 15, 2013
After a night-shift shooting of a drug dealer in The Coffee Cave, thirteen strangers each walk out with more than $100,000 in dirty money, a pact never to meet again, and the chance to start over …Until that night, Sasha "Sugar" Kovac spent her days selling coffee to the co-eds at ASU Rio Verde and her nights trying not to run back to her ex…or join the throngs of girls lusting after her friend, Adam.But why should Sugar give in to the Harley-riding tattoo artist when his longest relationships haven't lasted more than a weekend?Sugar's life takes a turn for the dangerous when someone comes looking for the people connected to the Cave shooting and the cash they split. To protect herself and those she cares about, Sugar has to get out of town --and fast. When Adam insists on coming with her, Sugar finds herself holed up in a tiny house with a hot man, a stash of cash, and a lot of secrets.Can Sugar protect both her life and her heart when temptation is so close? Or is the past she's fled going to catch up with her?
"A full-throttle read that's dangerously sexy and exciting. I can't wait to see what happens next!" -- Jeaniene Frost, NY Times bestselling author of the Night Huntress Series
First
there was sex, and then came death. I just had no idea that the two were
so tangled together until everything fell apart so spectacularly. I
was at work at The Coffee Cave on Saturday night trying to ignore thoughts
of the sex I couldn't have—and consequently craved even more
than the drugs that I used to need more than my next gasp of air.
I’d
been off the poison for going on five months and away from my ex, Tommy,
for the same time. The difference was that I still slipped up on the sex
with-Tommy front. It was stupid, but I wasn't ready to let go of
the way we were without words or clothes between us. Neither
was Tommy. If we had let go of the lingering threads of
our two-year relationship, I’d be all over the beautiful tattoo artist who
was smiling at me as I started a fresh pot of his favorite coffee.
Adam
was the fantasy, the man I pictured when I allowed myself to dream of the
happily ever after I’d never get. I settled for calling him my
friend, and being the eager recipient of his smiles and confidences.
“You
know I’ll drink whatever you have brewed,” Adam said, his deep blue eyes
crinkling at the corners .
“And
you know you’re happy that I make the coffee you actually prefer.” I
grinned at him.
I
wasn’t flirting. I tried my damnedest not to do that with him. I was
pretty sure that I was the only woman in Rio Verde who
tried not to flirt with him. Adam Bradbery was six
feet of taut muscle and gorgeous ink. With his smoothly-shaved head
and five o’clock shadow, he was the kind of guy who had nothing but bad
habits, but he was actually a bit of a food purist. He made me want to
give up more of my lingering bad habits. I’d already given up cocaine
because of the conversations we’d had.
Adam
flashed me another perfect smile and said, “Thanks. I do prefer the
organic Kona. Shade grown, toxin free. It’s better for you.” “Uh
huh. I've heard the speeches a few times already, Adam. Toxins are
bad; organic is good.” I smiled at him though. I didn't mind
his speeches even a little. I didn't mind anything about Adam.
He was my ideal for what I wanted if I ever had a normal relationship: strong,
smart, healthy, and sexy.
His
was the kind of build that made women sigh and men pause. Adam looked
intimidating even in his most gentle moods. He had the sheer size that
often meant that he didn't need to raise a fist to stop a
fight. He had no fat anywhere on him. Adam was
all muscle, and his spa-perfect skin was liberally decorated with
tattoos. Even out in the desert sun, his art still looked crisp. The
man knew how to take care of his body, and it showed. He was a bit
intense about his health. No drugs. No cigarettes. He lived on an organic
diet. He was also committed to meditation and a rigorous
work-out schedule of boxing, weightlifting, and running.
Somehow,
Adam managed to be bad-ass and supremely healthy all at once. He
drank a little, but his only true vice was indulging in naked
relationships with far too many of the ink bunnies who loitered in his
path. Sex was Adam’s one big weakness. It was easy to see
why. Looking at him for longer than a minute was enough to make
me consider taking a turn in his line of all-too-willing partners.
Unfortunately, Adam
was also Tommy’s cousin, so Adam and I were firmly in the
friend zone. There were perks to being his friend, of course.
We had conversations, lunches, shared a drink after work most weeks. Being
the only girl in his life that was around for more than a night was the
biggest perk. I knew that the rest of the girls were fleeting, but I was a
part of his life—and it would stay that way as long as we didn't fall
into bed.
I
still looked. A lot. Whenever I had an excuse, like right now, I let
my gaze roam where my hands and lips couldn’t. I dreamed of him, and I
fantasized about what life would be like if I wasn’t such a mess and he
was willing to do commitments.
That
was all it could be: dreams and fantasies. As I tried to
keep my thoughts from my expression, Adam repeated his regular question of
late: “When are you coming by Sinners to finish the piece?”
I
shrugged as I stacked clean mugs on the counter. I
glanced
around the shop at the two drunk girls who seemed to be having a heated conversation
in a low voice, the customers studying or staring at their laptops, and my
co-worker Cass who was staring at Dillon, the hot musician singing to the
motley crowd. There were no distractions to save me from the
conversation.
It
wasn’t that I didn't want to get my tattoo done, but I had
my reasons for putting it off. “Not sure,” I muttered.
“I’ll
be at The Tiger tonight if you want to look at your schedule with me,” he
offered. I nodded, glancing again
at one of the drunk girls who looked like she was going to spew at any minute.
Cass was glaring at the girls as if willpower alone would prevent vomit.
The
only thing keeping her from getting rude was the way Dillon’s voice kept
distracting her. He was like that: the voice of either an angel or
a devil.
“I
don’t know,” I told Adam, who was standing with his hands on the counter
and his gaze on me.
The
truth was that I wasn't sure I could handle seeing him tonight,
especially at the local dive bar. He never picked up his fling of the
moment in front of me anymore, but sometimes I thought that only made it
harder to remind myself that he was off limits. My eyes traced over
the light gleam of sweat of his tattooed biceps and the way the torn black
t-shirt clung to his chest and abs. Every inch of his body was so lick-ably gorgeous
that it was hard not to sigh. Adam was built to be sighed over.
The
shaved head, bright blue eyes, and sculpted muscles combined to make him
damn near irresistible. I had resisted though. Even though I
was single again, I resisted. He was a friend when I’d been in desperate
need of a shoulder, even bringing me soup when I was sick and alone one
weekend. Despite his revolving bedroom door, Adam was definitely
one of the good guys.
That didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.
I’d seen him throw down in more than a couple fights. Being a
tattooist sometimes meant dealing with an unsavory crowd. Being
Tommy’s cousin often meant dealing with a bad element. Adam
handled the worst of them like an off-duty MMA fighter . . . which made
him risky in a whole different way for me. I liked men who could handle themselves in a brawl.
Hell,
I liked everything about him.
I
quickly looked down at a burn mark on the counter before my staring was
too obvious. I wished my hair wasn't all pulled back in a
braid. It was harder to hide my face without my hair to use as a
shield. I wasn't going to ruin our friendship—or Adam’s relationship
with Tommy—by thinking about Adam’s perfect mouth or his obscenely
muscular body. Okay, I wasn’t going to ruin it by letting
him know I thought about it. I couldn’t
really stop thinking about him, not entirely. I’d tried.
“As
soon as I can,” I said. “I promise. I want to get my tattoo finished. I
just can’t right now.”
I didn't tell
him why. I knew he thought it was about money, and I let him think
that. It wasn’t like I had much money to spare. I would for
this, but that wasn’t the real problem. The tattoo I’d started in
January—a series of cherry blossoms and branches that spanned my right
side and would eventually stretch under my right breast and ease along my
hip—was something I’d wanted for years, but we’d reached the part of the
piece that was on my chest, and I couldn’t handle being stretched out
topless on Adam’s table while his beautiful hands held me in place.
It was difficult enough when he was
working on my side and back. The one session we’d had where he’d
started the outline on my chest had sent me running out the door.
Friends.
Friends was good. Friends meant
I
couldn’t allow myself the tremors I felt when his eyes and hands were all about
me.
A
banging noise in the back drew my attention. I didn't even want
to ask who was having sex in the bathroom again. I knew we were a bit of a
dive, but really? Sex in the coffee shop bathroom? It was vulgar.
“We
can work something out, Sasha,” Adam suggested, once more pulling my
attention to him.
“Not
right now.”
I loved
the way he said my real name. No one else used it. Everyone had started
calling me Sugar since I took up with Tommy a couple years ago. He had
introduced me as Sugar Sweet when I met people, and they mostly figured it
was what I wanted to be called. So, Sugar became my name. It was even what
I called myself. Adam refused to use it. To him, and him alone, I
was still Sasha.
He
gave me a strange look that I couldn’t read. On someone else, I’d have
said it was jealousy, but Adam and I weren't like that. We
were friends.
“Are
you back with Tommy?” he asked.
I
shook my head. My New Year’s Resolution this year
was
to get my shit together. Tommy wasn’t willing to do the same, so we
split up. Most of the time we even stayed
split
up. Not all the time though. Staying clear of drugs was easier than
staying away from Tommy.
“I’m
not with anyone,” I told Adam. I met his eyes as I added, “I’m not back on
the shit either. Five months.”
Adam
nodded. “Just asking. I know it’s hard, and you, you've been
doing great.”
He
paused and gave me a proud look.
“You’re
strong enough to do anything you want, Sash. Tommy’s good people, but you
don’t need mixed up in the shit he sells.”
I
caught Cass watching us then. She was always quick
to
suggest I should work out my issues with Tommy by overdosing on
the lusciousness that was Adam. She didn't
understand
that I didn't want to throw Adam’s friendship away over a few
days of sex, and even if I did want to, I couldn’t see Adam doing that to
Tommy.
Seeing
Cass made all of my arguments to her rise up in my mind. It helped.
“I’ll
call you soon. Promise,” I told Adam.
He
paid for his coffee—black, no sugar or cream, nothing fancy other than the
beans themselves—and then dropped a ten-dollar bill onto the
counter. Before he turned away he added, “You don’t have to avoid me
because you’re too stubborn to let me do your art on credit, you know?”
“Sinners
Ink doesn't accept credit,” I reminded him.
“The shop doesn't,
but I would for you, Sasha.”
He
looked at me with the same smoldering gaze that made all the ink bunnies
drop to their knees if he gave them half a chance. “I don’t need credit.”
“The
option’s on the table if you change your mind. If you aren't coming
by for art, we can still grab a drink or whatever.”
“I’m
sure you've been busy, and I don’t want to get in the way of your
social life,” I said.
He
was a great friend, and I didn't want to screw it up by hanging
around all the time like I was one of the ink groupies or the girl who
chases away all his hook-ups.
“You’re
never in the way,” he said.
He
shook his head, turned, and left. I watched him go,
wishing
things were different. He was beautiful, sweet, and covered with the kind
of tattoos that made clothing seem like a crime. For as long as I’d known him,
he was also with a different girl every week, and he wouldn't poach Tommy’s
territory even if I ever admitted that I wanted poached. There was no
way anything could happen with Adam.
Not
now. Not ever. Neither of us was looking for a relationship. He screwed
ink bunnies, and I still made latenight
visits to Tommy more often than I should. I just needed to keep some
space while I got my head around the fact that he was off limits.
Our
last few tattoo sessions had made that detail absurdly hard to remember.
The man was gifted with his hands even when he was just doing
his job. It was embarrassing how close I’d come to whimpering
simply by being tattooed by him.


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VERONICA DOUGLAS has a weakness for trying new things.Some of those have been rather unwise (going for a Harley ride in the rain while wearing nothing but a bikini and boots) and some have been much wiser (writing a book series with thirteen friends).But it’s all been a lot of fun.
PAYGE GALVIN has always wanted to be a writer.She also loves spending time with her friends, so after a few cosmos at the pool with her friends, the idea for UNFILTERED was born.Together the group wrote thirteen books about thirteen strangers who share a dark secret…and who all want to find love (because, really, who doesn't?).
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