**Contains sexual content and adult
language and situations. Intended for mature readers.**
Cally…
A sexy smile. Intense blue eyes. A
goodness that makes him want to save me from these rumors when no one else
would care. I didn't ask for a hero. William Bailey was never supposed to be
anything more than a wish, a dream, an unrequited crush. Not for a girl like
me--a girl whose fractured family has stolen her chance at a decent life.
William…
Since the death of my parents, I've
always done what’s expected of me, what's "best" for me. Until Cally.
The moment her haunted eyes meet mine, the fractured pieces of my heart feel
whole again. I don’t just want to save her. I need her to save me.
Stolen chances. Unbroken wishes. Two
lonely souls grasping for hope in the darkness.
**This novella takes place seven
years before the events in WISH I MAY and shows William and Cally falling in
love for the first time. It can be read before or after WISH I MAY or on its
own.**
STOLEN WISHES is FREE, so grab a copy today and fall in love!
REVIEW
I was super thrilled to get to read this amazing story. I
absolutely LOVED Cally and Will in Wish I
May, so to read their “first” love story was very exciting. It also gave me
the chance to see the events that caused all the heartache and tore apart these
two wonderful people.
Their romance was sweet, and I felt my heart melting with every kiss, every touch, and every intimate moment shared. They were, quite simply, perfect with and for each other. I was so glad that Will had eyes only for Cally, and instead of fueling the rumors about them, he shaped them to prove that Cally wasn't the girl everyone thought she was. Their relationship wasn't rushed either. It blossomed over time and Will was so crazy in love with Cally he was willing to take things slow.
It was unfortunate that outside factors were responsible for destroying something so beautiful. However, I know that true love can be so strong NOTHING can destroy it completely. So if you haven't read Wish I May, I suggest you grab a copy of both books and be swept away into a story of love like you've never seen before.
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Stolen Wishes EXCERPT #1
“Hey,
William,” a girl calls from the kitchen. “Why don’t you come in here and take a
shot?”
I
hardly have a chance to tense before Will pulls me closer. “Can’t do that,
Meredith. My date’s here.”
Lizzy
and Hanna both turn to us at his words, and I feel my own eyes go wide.
“I’d
consider it a personal favor if you could roll with this,” he whispers into my
ear. “Meredith has been trying to get me to do body shots since she got here
two hours ago.”
“You
don’t drink?” I ask, not that it’s my business. I’ve just never been to a party
with alcohol before, and I’m not sure what to expect. From the stories I’ve
heard, I half expected everyone to be wasted by the time we got here.
“It’s
not the drinking that I mind. She’s just not my type.” When I frown at him,
confused, his lips quirk in a half-smile. “You do know what a body shot is,
don’t you?”
I
shake my head.
“Want
to find out?” His fingers trail over the sensitive dip in my spine as he asks,
and I nod. I would probably agree to anything he asked me right now.
He
takes me to the kitchen, his hot hand never leaving the small of my back.
Lizzy
and Hanna step back and study us as he leads me to the island. I’d feel guilty
about abandoning them tonight, but they seem to be having a great time.
“Where’s
the tequila, Max?” Will calls.
Max
hoists a bottle of amber liquid in the air and snags a shot glass off the
counter.
“Do
you know what a snakebite is?” Will asks me quietly. He’s standing close so
only I can hear him when he talks.
I
bite my lip. “I don’t really go to many parties.”
Next
to us, Max fills the shot glass with tequila.
“A
snakebite is a shot of tequila that you take with salt and lime,” Will explains
to me.
“What
makes it a body shot?” I ask.
His
throat moves as he swallows, and his blue eyes go darker somehow, his pupils
getting bigger. His lips part as he studies mine. “It’s a body shot if you take
all the parts of the snakebite off someone else’s body.”
That makes my pulse kick up a notch. I’m
still trying to puzzle out the logistics when Max calls, “No hands, Bailey.”
Will
winks at me. “And I can’t use my hands for anything but putting the salt on
you. Are you still game?”
I nod
wordlessly, and I’m rewarded with one of Will’s full-out grins. I don’t need to
know details to understand his mouth is going to be on me, and I like the idea
of that. A lot.
Will’s
hands slide to my waist and tighten, and before I realize what he’s doing, he’s
hoisting me up on the counter. I squeak, and the girls cheer. All of them
except Kristen and Meredith, that is. They’re leaning against the fridge,
scowling at me like I killed their puppy.
Max
hands me the shot glass and looks at me expectantly.
“Do I
hold it?” I whisper.
“If
you want,” Max says. “But I think you shouldn’t make it so easy on my boy
here.”
Will
shakes his head. “Whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Lizzy
rushes over and cups her hand around my ear. “Slide it between your breasts.
Trust me.”
I
gape at her, and she shrugs innocently before joining Hanna at the edge of the
kitchen.
I may
be inexperienced, but I’m not naïve and I get what this game is about. My
cheeks heat as I slide the glass into my cleavage. It’s cool against my hot
skin, and Will’s eyes burn into me as he watches me position it.
Max
offers me a lime wedge.
“Do
you need your friend to tell you what to do with that too?” Kristen calls.
“Shut
up, Kristen,” Will says. “You didn’t know what you were doing your first time
either.”
But
she’s right. Lizzy shouldn’t have to tell me what to do. I take the lime and
put it between my teeth, facing out. The citrusy pulp presses against my lips,
making them tingle. Or maybe the tingle is from the idea of William’s lips
close to mine.
Will
grins and brushes my hair off my neck. “Ready or not.”
Stolen Wishes EXCERPT #2
“Thank
you for tonight,” she says. “Most guys wouldn’t have gone to such lengths
because of a stupid rumor.”
“You
think I wanted to date you to satisfy the rumor mill?”
She
focuses on the pavement in front of us, avoiding my gaze. “Didn’t you?”
“You’re
not that naïve, are you?” That gets her to look at me. Her eyes are narrow and
frustrated. “Cally, I took you to dinner tonight because I wanted to. I don’t
like what they’re saying about you, but my reasons for asking you out were more
selfish than they were noble.”
She
stops and leans one shoulder against the trunk of a thick maple as she studies
me. “How were they selfish?”
“I
wanted a chance to have some time alone with a pretty girl.”
She
stares at me for two heartbeats. “I really like you, William Bailey.”
I
tuck a lock of hair behind her ear then shove my hands in my pockets to keep
myself from touching her more. “I like you too, Cally Fisher.”
Her teeth sink down into her bottom lip and her eyes drop to my mouth.
I fist my hands in my pockets and exhale slowly. “I really want to kiss you right now.”
“I
really want you to,” she whispers, flicking her eyes to mine.
I
take a cautious step forward and press my hands against the tree trunk on
either side of her head, then slowly lower my mouth until it’s a breath above
hers. “Has anyone ever kissed you before?”
“Yes.”
Jealousy
burns in my gut. It’s silly, but it’s there at the thought of another guy
touching his lips to hers. “Who?”
“Davey Mills kissed me on the lips behind the school in second grade.” Her eyes flash with mischief and she bites back her smile.
“Lucky Davey,” I grumble.
Excerpts © Lexi Ryan, 2013
See what happens seven years later!
WISH I MAY by Lexi Ryan
October 2013
I grew up wishing on stars.
My father taught me to believe…in destiny, in magic, in happily ever after. Dreams were my scripture and the starry night sky was my temple. Then Mom stopped believing, left him, and took us with her. At the age of sixteen, I cashed in my dreams to pay the rent, pawned my destiny to keep my sisters together.
Now, seven years later, I’m returning home, grieving the death of my mother, and settling my sisters back into the life Mom threw away. I never intended to stay. I don’t want to deal with my father, who is so invested in the spiritual world he forgets the physical. I don’t want to face William Bailey, whose eyes remind me of the girl I was, the things I’ve done, and the future I lost.
This would all be easier if Will hated me. As it is, I have to hold my secrets close so they won’t hurt him more than they’ve already hurt me. But he wants to be in my life. He wants what I can’t bring myself to confess I sold. He wants me.
I find myself looking to my stars again...wondering if I dare one more wish.
Here's my REVIEW of WISH I MAY!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author, Lexi Ryan considers herself the luckiest chick she knows. Her books have been described as intense, emotional, and wickedly sexy. Lexi herself has only been described using two of those adjectives (feel free to guess but she’s not telling). When not writing, she enjoys watching football, perfecting her chocolate martini, and reading her way to the title of Biggest Romance Fangirl Evah. A former college professor, her biggest fears include faculty meetings and large stacks of ungraded freshman composition papers. She now writes full-time from her home in Indiana, where she lives with her husband and two children and their neurotic dog.
Once a college English professor, I now write full time. I live in rural Indiana, where, when I'm not writing, I get to hang out with my husband and two kids--a six-year-old boy and a two-year-old hellion, er, girl. Not surprisingly, reading and writing remain my favorite activities, though both come in bits and pieces these days, not the big hunks of time I enjoyed before I had children. When I'm feeling virtuous, I like to go running (I use that word liberally. I'm really, really slow) or do yoga. Don't worry, I'm always careful to balance out such activities with a hearty serving of ice cream or a chocolate martini.
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