Title: When
You Are Mine (The Bennetts #1)
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Age Group: NA
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Forever Yours (June 17, 2014)
~Praise for When You Are Mine~
“Ryan's debut is rife with
sexual tension, while her easy style and likable characters bring this
unpredictable love triangle to life.” --Karina Halle, USA Today Bestselling Author of The Artists Trilogy
“When You Are Mine is
exactly what I look for in a romance! Achingly beautiful with palpable, real
characters, you cannot help but completely fall in love with. I cannot wait for
more!” --A.L. Jackson, New York Times
and USA Today Bestselling Author of Take This Regret and Lost to You.
Forever is a heartbeat away . . .
Kerris Moreton knows how to
make things work. Bounced from foster home to foster home as a kid, she
adapted; when opportunity arose, she thrived. Now, about to open her own
business and accept a marriage proposal, Kerris is ready to build the life
she's always wanted. The only thing missing? A passionate connection with her
would-be fiancé, Cam. Kerris wants to believe that sparks are overrated-until
Walsh Bennett lights her up like the Fourth of July.
. . . but what about love?
As one of the East Coast's
most eligible bachelors, Walsh enjoys financial independence, fulfilling work
with his family's nonprofit, and plenty of female attention. But lately he's
been distracted by the one woman he can't have. Lovely to look at and even
sweeter to know, Kerris is the soul mate Walsh never thought he would find. The
problem is, his best friend found her first . . .
He was a mountain. Insurmountable. Stark against the backdrop of
the glittering ballroom like peaks against a feather-clouded sky. His
unwavering stare scrambled her thoughts.
Kerris knew she should be used to the stares by now. People could
never label her ethnicity. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. She’d
never know what genetic cocktail had been shaken or stirred to get this face
that made people take a second look, trying to place her. She’d always
struggled to find her place. Hard to do when you were practically born on a
doorstep and passed around like an old library book everyone keeps returning.
She got the impression this man wasn’t used to waiting for people
and things, but he didn’t seem impatient. If anything, he was completely still.
He seemed to be waiting for her.
After the awards had been given out, Kerris tried to focus on
several well-wishers offering congratulations.
With her undignified sprint to
the stage, she was just glad to have made it. Old ladies and kids. She could
never say no.
Kerris managed to nod and smile at Jenni, the Walsh Foundation’s
program coordinator, but she really just wanted to drag her weary bones home,
wrap up in her thrift store kimono, and sip her Earl Grey.
“Excuse me, Jenni.” His voice was dark and rich and strong like a
shot of espresso.
“We didn’t know you were coming tonight.” Jenni’s back straightened
and her hand flitted to adjust an already-perfectly-straight collar.
“Surprise.” He smiled, and Jenni couldn’t seem to look away.
Neither could Kerris. “I wanted to congratulate Miss Moreton personally. Would
you excuse us?”
Jenni scurried off without a word. Had he been rude? Kerris
couldn’t tell. She wondered if charm like that wrapped around such a steely
will left people feeling they should thank him when he stepped on their feet.
He watched her with the focus of a jaguar considering a
particularly scrumptious prey. That look should have frightened her, but it
wasn’t fear unfurling inside. She didn’t know this feeling, but she was certain
she had never felt it before.
“Congratulations.” He slid his hands into his pockets and cocked
his head to one side, his casual stance belying the barely checked energy of a
hunter. “I don’t know which was more impressive. The award, or your good deed earlier
taking the old lady home.”
Kerris’s jaw nearly gave in to gravity and dropped.
“How did you…when did you…huh?”
Wow. Stellar articulation. She gave her mental processes a second
to catch up. Let’s try this again.
“How did you know about the lady?”
“I was in the parking lot across from the hotel, running late for
the awards ceremony, and overheard.”
The room narrowed to the width of his smile, and Kerris felt
herself leaning toward him, on the verge of toppling.
“Most people wouldn’t have helped her out.”
“She was a sweetheart. It was nothing.”
One hand went to her throat. The other touched the silk orchid
nested behind her ear. A succession of twitches she couldn’t control. Butterfly
wings brushed the lining of her belly. She willed the triple time tempo of her
heart to slow, but he inundated her senses, and they would not be soothed.
Kerris watched him catalog every detail about her, his eyes
surveying each limb and curve. Her fingers plucked at her thrift shop dress, a
scarlet tunic with gold embroidery edging the sleeves and collar, stopping just
above her knees. Under his scrutiny, her toes curled in the scarlet leather
mules. She shifted her weight from one tanned leg to the other. And then back
again, like an uneven scale, grappling for balance.
She returned his inspection, noting the dark green eyes under
thick, well-shaped brows. The sculpted blade of a nose. The high cheekbones
jutting to create hollows above his jaw. His tanned skin stretched taut over
the regal bones of his face. He wore jeans, a green polo shirt, and leather
moccasins, but he carried an air of careless glamour only money could achieve.
He was a slumming prince, and the strong male beauty of him snagged the breath
in her throat. The rest of the room dissolved into a peripheral blur.
She wasn’t sure if she was supposed to speak, or if it was his
turn. She wanted to speak, make small talk, but speech and sense had fled. She
was naturally reticent. Slow to share much about herself. Some might even call
her shy. But somehow she knew this man could trample her defenses and dismantle
her like a ticking bomb.
Author Bio:
Kennedy Ryan grew up in North Carolina, but loves living in
Atlanta with her husband (tall – check, dark – check – handsome – check), and
her handful of a son. Though she knew, like writers often do, that she was
supposed to tell stories, the road to fulfillment has been paved with “some of
everything” jobs that kept her family eating and living indoors. With her
degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go
Tar Heels!), she has focused on writing for non-profit organizations and even
doing some non-fiction ghost writing. Only in the last few years did she start
telling stories again.
In addition to being a devoted wife and mom, she’s also a passionate advocate
for families living with Autism. Her son was diagnosed at the age of two, and
she has made it her mission to help as many families as possible find the
resources and services they need. 25% of her royalties will go toward her
national charitable partner Talk About Curing Autism and Myles-A-Part, her foundation serving Georgia families.
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