UNDERNEATH IT ALL
A senior at Gates University, Agata Ferrero knows without a doubt that Reeve Gates is off limits…
Students can’t date faculty, and Reeve has been appointed by his father as the new Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. But when a near accident with the front end of Reeve’s sleek sports car brings her in close contact with him, Agata can’t deny the flash of desire that consumes her.
Reeve Gates is a man hell-bent on revenge…
Abandoned in the care of his step-mother as a child, Reeve accepts the position at Gates University for the sole purpose of ruining his father’s career. What he didn’t expect was to be sidetracked by the sultry eyes of a student.
Resisting temptation is even harder than it looks…
When a sorority pledging incident leaves Agata stranded on campus in the middle of a treacherous storm, her better judgment falters and she accepts help from the young Dean she can’t get out of her head. Certain there is a beating heart underneath his stone-cold exterior, she escapes with Reeve on a romantic retreat away from prying eyes.
Blinded by retaliation…
Reeve manipulates his dying father into handing over control of the university—and immediately threatens to shut down the school as a form of cruel payback. His scheme sparks a campus-wide protest that leaves one of Agata’s professors dead and her future hanging in the balance.
Agata must fight to convince Reeve he is capable of forgiveness, and their taboo love is worth more than revenge.
But is there really a bright future awaiting…
Underneath It All
EXCERPT #1:
That night I was left alone in our dorm. The three of
them were off to the Pre-Thanksgiving party thrown by the student faculty.
They prohibited me from going and suggested I stay and
just rest for the night.
I stripped down to my panties; threw a shirt on over
my head and climbed into bed.
My phone rang, displaying an unknown number.
“Hello? Who’s this?”
“Agata.” The voice on the other end answered. My
stomach plummeted at the unmistakably deep resonance from Reeve’s voice.
“Hi,” I took an audible deep breath. “Where did you
get my number?”
“I’m your dean, Agata, I know everything about you.”
“I thought so.” I immediately caught myself smiling at
the sound of his voice.
“Did you attend the Pre-Thanksgiving party?”
“Nope. I just stayed in bed.”
He went quiet for a second. “What are you doing,
Agata?”
“Uhm, just…lying in bed,” I stated the fact,
unknowingly allowing him an opportunity to explore dangerous territories.
“What are you wearing?”
“Seriously?” I giggled at his question and the playful
tone of his voice.
“Yes, seriously. Tell me what you are wearing.”
Well, this could be interesting.
“I’m wearing one of my t-shirts and panties.”
“I wish I was beside you.” With those words, I tensed.
“Don’t tense, just listen.” As if he was seeing me through the phone. “I want
to kiss you just like I did in my room last night. You have no idea how much I
wish I could take your shirt and panties off and lick your whole body, paying
attention to specific areas.”
“Reeve. No.” A breathy voice left me.
“Shh. Just listen, baby.” He gave me a second to
decide whether to hang up or keep listening. “Have you touched yourself
before?”
“No.” I bit my lower lip.
“Will you touch
yourself for me?”
I was frozen for a second, the sound of my breathing
growing rapid. My fingers inched under my panties and I touched myself, rubbing
gently as I listened to his voice.
I knew he could tell I obeyed by the change in my
breathing pattern.
“Close your eyes. Imagine my lips on your neck kissing
you the way I did before.” Heat flooded my body as I recalled it so vividly.
“My tongue moves farther down your neck and to your chest, where I take your
nipple into my mouth and suck gently.”
My fingers moved faster as the vision of being at
Reeve’s mercy sent crippling waves of pleasure through me.
“It feels so good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes,” I whispered letting him take every ounce of
doubt I felt about doing it because I could hear the ecstasy in his voice and I
knew he was touching himself too.
“I am stroking faster as I listen to your small moans,
Agata.”
My eyelids shut even tighter as I tried desperately to
feel him somewhere amidst what I was doing.
“I suck harder and nip at your breast. Do you enjoy
that?”
“Very much.” Small moans emanated from my throat as I
became lost in the sensations. The pleasure became addicting and the excitement
of it all heightened every sense I had.
“I drag my tongue lower, lingering at your belly
button, then continuing down until I reach your thighs. My lips and tongue kiss
inside your thighs before I replace your fingers with my mouth.”
I was breathless now and whimpering for him, making me
stroke myself even faster. I could hear him breathing hard now and I knew he
was ready to come.
“You taste so good, Agata. Feel my tongue and my warm
breath on you, licking faster.”
I could tell I was close by the way my breathing
rapidly increased. His breathing responded the same way.
“Reeve…” I panted, the sounds became muffled as I
buried my head into my pillow.
“That’s it, baby.” Reeve growled into the phone and I
knew he came too.
“That was good,” I uttered breathlessly, my eyes shut
to withstand the first orgasm I ever had.
“Never in a million years did I think I would be
having phone sex with someone I hadn’t fucked yet,” he voiced quietly. “Sleep
now, Agata. I’ll see you in my dreams.”
He hung up before
I could respond. I closed my eyes knowing tomorrow I would be a different
Agata, but tonight I would allow what happened to soothe me.
EXCERPT #2:
EXCERPT 2:
He walked up to the counter and prepared a glass of
orange juice. He grabbed a bowl and poured butternut squash soup into it. He
prepared a cup of coffee and reheated a box of pizza and a bowl of spaghetti.
“Let’s eat.” He ordered and sat across from me. He
stirred his coffee without taking his eyes off me.
“Thank you. It smells really good.” I gave him a
grateful smile. Knowing he cooked for me, intentionally, on a day that meant
nothing to the rest of the world, meant everything to me.
“Are you feeling better now?” he asked and shoved a
spoonful of spaghetti in his mouth.
“Yeah, thank you.”
“If you were wondering if I was the one who changed
your clothes, no. It wasn’t me, Tatiana did that; she was here earlier.”
“Oh, I see.” I nodded and began to sip my soup. I felt
the liquid pour down my throat. The warmth of the soup enveloped my lungs and
felt so good. “You shouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of bringing me
here. You could have dropped me off at my dorm and left me there.”
“If I want to fucking spend time with you, I will,
okay? I wanted to make sure you’re fine.”
There he went again changing moods. I swear there had
to be something mentally wrong with this guy. No other person in my life
frustrated me as much as he.
“Well, aren’t you sweet?” I smirked.
“So you want to tell me what happened this afternoon?
What were you doing out in the storm, Agata? Are you trying to kill yourself?”
One quick bite then he got down to business.
My breath caught in my throat. I really didn’t want to
tell him.
“I was…” I paused and bit my lip. I wasn’t sure how to
phrase it, “…finishing a task.”
Reeve paused with a fork halfway to his mouth. “Task?”
he asked with a raised eyebrow. I didn’t answer. “Sorority task?”
I mentally face palmed and nodded in confirmation.
“How long did I stay out there? You think I lasted thirty minutes out there?”
“I knew it,” he stated, shaking his head. “Agata, I
don’t give a damn if you finished that fucking task or not. You scared the shit
out of me; don’t you know that? You’re not joining the sorority.”
“I have the right reasons for joining.” I bit my lip.
“Reasons?” He gave me a confused look.
“The sisterhood is important to me.” I thought of
giving him some lame excuse.
The room grew still. He stared at me, his face blank,
and I couldn’t move.
“Are you kidding me?” His gaze was unyielding. “You
think the sorority will save you from dying out there? They don’t give a damn,
Agata!”
“It’s part of the process,” I reasoned out.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“You should have known it. You’re part of the
organization.”
“That’s why I
don’t want you in!” He threw his napkin on his plate and shot up to his feet. I
remained silent and gazed at my food. “Agata, what’s gotten into you?” His
words almost forced me to look at him.
“I’m leaving.” I stood from my chair but he grabbed my
hand and pinned me to the wall. “For once, I wanted to do something for myself
without thinking of whatever people might say,” I spat.
He released a heavy sigh and ran his fingers through
his hair. “Agata, after three and a half years you thought of joining a
sorority? For what?”
My chest rose and fell erratically as I met his eyes.
“Once I finish my task and pass the initiation, I’ll be one of them. By that
time, I can tell if this guy who keeps giving me mixed signals really feels
something for me. They say he only
dates
sorority girls. If he will not date me, then it’s confirmed—he’s only messing
around with me.”
I didn’t move a muscle as his eyes burned back into
mine. A shaky gasp escaped from my lips and I flinched as he reached for my
face. After pausing momentarily to observe my reaction, he went on to gingerly
brush my tangled hair from my face.
“Agata, you’re not the type I want to date.”
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.
His words grated against my ears and it hurt like a bitch.
“You’re not someone I want to take out for dinner,
walk home, kiss goodnight, nor say goodbye.”
He didn’t stop tearing with the knife, and pierced
through the walls of my heart.
“Because you know what, Agata? I don’t want to just
date you and walk you home. You’re someone I want to come home to, someone I
want to cook dinner with, to sleep with, to kiss hard, and fuck harder.”
The words snapped out of his mouth quick enough to
petrify me. I looked up at him; his plump lips were pursed into a stern frown.
His eyes were darkened, no time for bullshit. I bit my lip, and with every
second that I didn’t reply his face grew more and more serious.
A small smile crept upon my lips and I looked away to
hide my flushed cheeks. I couldn’t contain my happiness. I wondered how my mood
had changed so drastically in this conversation.
He smiled, bringing his thumb up to graze my cheek.
“You’re blushing.”
I reached up and quickly wiped my cheeks.
“Now, are you still joining the sorority?”
He came closer.
Our noses were almost touching, his eyes never leaving mine. I held my breath.
I closed my eyes. He was going to kiss me. I could almost feel the touch of his
lips on mine, his breath in my lungs. He leaned down, then I heard my stomach
growl in hunger, which caused Reeve to chuckle.
“Hungry? Come on,
let’s continue to eat.”
Forever Night Stand: https://amzn.com/B019NK762C
Snippets of Memories: A Forever Night Stand Bonus Book (99 CENTS) https://amzn.com/B01ASFS4Q8
Ysa
Arcangel is a Filipino author based in Manila. She works as a Spanish-English
GDS Helpdesk by day and a writer by night. She is a loving partner to a chef
and a mom to three amazing kids.
She
enjoys creative writing and uses her obsessive nature by writing contemporary
paranormal and romance fiction with lots of laughs, tears and sighs showcasing
sweet, funny and badass female leads with raunchy and hot male love interests
whether human or supernatural.
She’s a
lover of coffee, tattoos, and giant dogs. She is also an extreme sports
enthusiast. When she’s not writing, you can see her spending time with her
family, reading, or having TV series marathons.
–– FOLLOW YSA ––
My best friend’s little sister. That’s all Emma Briggs is to me.
Jade Sinner is two friends, two New York Times bestselling authors, and two chicks with a secret. We like to write sexy, dirty books—the kind of books that would make both of our mothers blush. Since we don’t want to see that across the Thanksgiving dinner table, we came together and created Jade.
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