Release Blast: Origin by Ana Jolene

One drunken kiss ignites an inferno of burning desire. 

ORIGIN

Glory MC #2

Ana Jolene

Releasing March 14th, 2017

One drunken kiss ignites an inferno of burning desire. Sworn enemies, Lucky Winters and Seven Douglass struggle to forget the kiss that shouldn't have happened. Then Lucky’s past comes back to bite him and he suddenly disappears for months, leaving Seven wondering where they both stand.

When Lucky returns, he is a changed man and his prolonged absence means he must once again prove himself to the club he's sworn his life to. Except Lucky can’t seem to shake off the recent events as much as he wants to.

Seven is no stranger to this feeling. Her own mysterious past threatens to disrupt her future and when neither of them are able to stop the ghosts of their pasts from resurfacing, the only person they can turn to is each other. Suddenly, hatred morphs into love. And where there is fire and ice, there’s bound to be some steam . . .

It must’ve been the shots earlier, but a strange sense came over me. My mouth turned dry. My hands became balmy and my head suddenly wasn’t working right, because any other time, I wouldn’t have ever thought about this.

In this state, with her disheveled hair, her imperfect lips, and her skin flushed with heat, Seven looked sexy. Desirable. Lovable, even. And for the first time ever in my life, I wasn’t sure what to do next.

As if of its own volition, my hand drifted to her thigh, to the exact same place where the dickhead’s hands had been. For some reason, I wanted to erase every trace of his hands on her, replacing it with mine.

I glanced up to gauge Seven’s reaction. Any look of disgust that crossed her face would have me pulling back immediately. But instead, I encountered the opposite. Seven stared back at me as if entranced, her lips parted as she panted shallowly.

I waited for it. For her to say something like, “I’ll give you ’til the count of ten to take your dirty hands off my thigh before I scream.” Or something equally worse. But Seven sat there waiting, anticipation burning in her cerulean eyes. She didn’t actually want me to kiss her, did she?

I winced at the rush of blood that pounded in my temples like a dark beat. Suddenly, I wanted to. In the back of my mind, wicked thoughts swirled as I recalled the image of her wrapping those red lips around that shot glass earlier. It made the red-blooded male in me wonder what other things she could do with that mouth.

For the third time that night, I had to forcefully stop my mind from fantasizing about a certain blonde bombshell.

Yup. There was no doubt about it now. I was drunker than I had let on. I shouldn’t have ever given her a ride home. But it wasn’t the worry of crashing on the side of the road that terrified me. It was this unfamiliar feeling of wanting what you knew you shouldn’t that scared me now.

Yet all that seemed to be forgotten as this indiscernible draw pulled me closer to her. My hand on her thigh grew courageous, exploring more skin. Her eyes drifted shut for a moment, as if she wanted to get lost in this confusing emotion circulating between us as much as I did.

All this time, Seven remained wordless. It wasn’t in her to ask, I realized later. Seven had too much pride for that. But her eyes, the wide oceanic blue, told me all I needed to know.

I was looking into the eyes of a woman who wanted to be kissed.

And fuck me, I wanted to kiss her, too.

I leaned in, running my hand through her already finger-tossed hair. My hand caught in something. Gently, I tugged it free, only realizing later what it was. A hairpin with a golden wing attached to it.

I palmed it and slid it into my back pocket for now, not wanting anything to break this hypnotic moment. My hand immediately returned to her face, running over her cheek, registering the smoothness. All this time, I thought her to be prickly due to her personality. But her skin was baby soft. So different than I made her out to be.

I drew my hand towards the back of her head as the need to kiss her turned ravenous. I should’ve pulled back. Should’ve stopped this madness before it was too late, but fuck it all, her lips could tempt a saint.

The first pass of my lips over hers was electric. As she groaned, I deepened the kiss, luxuriating in her response. I didn’t know what was better —the way she curled her fingers into the back of my neck or how her tongue darted out to lick at the seam of my mouth. How had I never known this fire, this burning desire before?

Seven’s mouth was an aphrodisiac, a forbidden fruit that now that I had a taste of, I wanted more. Women threw themselves at me all the time. But none were as sweet as Seven.

My hands grew rougher as I tugged on her hair, tipping her head back so that I could run my mouth down her throat. I was surprised when she arched her back, further offering her body to me.

Like the greedy bastard I was, I took in my fill. Not just with my eyes, but with my hands too, reaching out to graze over her breasts and thighs. Her skirt slid up higher, bunching at her waist. Within the shaft of moonlight peering into the car, I could see the white scrap of fabric shielding her from my view. Oh my God—

Thought barely registered before Seven pushed me away. “Wait!”

What the hell? I backed off immediately, the bubble of passion popping like a balloon. It was akin to being yanked out of a dream. My mind felt muddled and disoriented like I had an out of body experience and was just coming back into myself.

“Shit.” In a flood, rational thought returned to me. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She was drunk and I had taken advantage of her. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand as if I could remove every trace of what had just happened. But holy hell, I was harder than a rock!

Seven’s eyes had changed. They were no longer hazy. Gone was the willing, plaint woman of just moments ago; I was with the other Seven again. The one who despised me.

Had it really been different between us for a while there? One minute she was hot as fire in my hands and then, a second later, she was frigid again.

“I’m sorry but I can’t do this,” she whispered.

“Right.” I had no idea what the fuck had come over me, but this was crazy.

“You and I,” she said, indicating us with her hand. “We’re fire and ice. We don’t go well together.”

I swiped a hand over my hair, feeling more than just my dick deflating. “Thanks for reminding me.”

Her eyes turned sharp with my bitter tone. “I didn’t want to do something we’d both regret. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Yeah, I got it, sweetheart. You realized who you were tangling tongues with and it turned you off.”

“Lucky, I didn’t mean that. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

Shrugging, I returned to my full height. Shoving my hands into my front pockets, I stepped back, giving her space to get out of her car. “Go inside,” I said quietly. “Get some sleep.”

“Lucky,” she whispered.

I stared at her.

She stared back.

When Seven finally realized I wouldn’t say more on the topic, she huffed her frustration and slipped out of the car, adjusting her skirt from where my hand had pushed it up high on her hips. It only reminded me of the feeling of her soft skin beneath my palms. I clamped my mouth down tight as she walked past me.

“I’ll see you around then.”

“Yeah,” I replied dumbly as I walked towards the debris-laden road. “I’ll see you around.”

When I heard her go in and put the locks in place, I allowed myself to think about what I let happened.

So much for resistance. I had told myself that I wasn’t like the other fools. But not only had I fallen prey to the siren’s call that beckoned me, I’d fallen way further into the icy depths of hell. Never again, Dylan, I promised myself.

I’d been through hell once already and the whiskey there was shit. I wasn’t willing to go back a second time.

Not for any girl.

Origin is book two in the series, and to me, it read just fine as a stand-alone but for the world building, I probably should have read book one first. 

The general set up of this series, and therefore this story, is that it occurs in a world different from our own, a world with little regulation after solar flares. The world is now a division of different wards, and our particular story takes place in Ward four which is run by the Motorcycle Club.  

Lucky and Seven were always at odds, they bickered with each other, tossing insults around between them, and had a gneral dislike of each other until one moment something changed and they kissed.  But that kiss sort of shakes them both up in another way but they don't get a chance to discuss it because Lucky leaves. 

When he returns months later, he isn't sure what to expect from his brothers at the MC or from Seven, but he sure doesn't expect them to have believed him dead or to be moving in with Seven.  Niether Seven or Lucky are very happy with the arrangement at first, but as the two spend more time together their animosity fades and they see more in each other than before.  They learn that they have more in common than they ever expected and they both have something in the past that haunts them, someone who wants to destroy them.  

Though the book builds up more of the post-flare world of the series, the main focus is on Seven and Lucky and their growing relationship.  There is a lot to them both, from their pasts to their present and the growing feelings between them.  

Origin has a few twists and turns, making me curious to flip the page because I wasn't sure what to expect next.  I enjoyed the banter and bickering between these two at the start and how it grew to be more once they were sort of stuck in tight quarters and had to actually get to know each other.  The gradual changes in their feelings really brought realism to their relationship and I enjoyed watching as they found their way together.  

Don't miss the first Glory MC Title

Ana Jolene is the author of the Glory MC series and the Contemporary Romance series, Moonrise Beach.

Growing up as a rebellious kid didn’t allow for much reading time. It wasn’t until she was in university that she found her passion for books and has since then devoured every book placed before her. Ana holds a B.A. in Psychology and has worked in both IT and Administration. But she’s had the most fun in the bookish world, working as a reviewer, columnist and assistant to multiple sites and authors.

Ana currently lives in Toronto with her family and an extremely lazy Shih Tzu whom she adores. To learn more about Ana and her books, subscribe to the newsletter to be notified of the hottest new releases and giveaways!

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