Unconventional
By Lucy Felthouse
Synopsis
Penny was
caught out in the wrong place, at the wrong time. As a recently graduated law
student, the brush with the law could put an end to her career before it’s even
begun. But thanks to her lawyer daddy’s contacts, she’s been given a second
chance. A chance to redeem herself and make her stupid behavior go away.
Which is
how she ends up working in a soup kitchen, preparing and serving meals to those
who are having a rough time of it. She’s not keen on the idea, and when she
meets Maddox, the guy in charge, she’s even less keen. A tall, skinny,
mad-haired, tattooed guy, Maddox is the sort of person Penny would normally
cross the road to avoid. But once she gets to know him, she starts to see
things differently. He’s had a checkered past himself, and has now put it
behind him and enjoys a glittering, prosperous career as a top chef.
Maddox
may have unconventional looks, but Penny quickly grows to like him, and, much
to her surprise, finds herself attracted to him. He’s a lot older than her, and
their lives are at completely different stages, but in spite of this, there’s
an undeniable connection between them.
When
Maddox makes Penny an unconventional offer, will she have the courage to take
him up on it? And if she does, where will it lead?
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Excerpt
From the
very second I laid eyes on him, it was clear he was unconventional. If I’m
being truthful, I thought he looked like a complete nutter—someone I’d probably
cross the road to avoid. Even in the daytime. He was tall and skinny, with a
shock of black hair—still apparent under his hairnet—and pale skin. Kind of
like Edward Scissorhands. Only—mercifully—without the scissors for hands part.
A vine-looking tattoo began at his left wrist, worked its way up his arm, then
snaked beneath the sleeve of his T-shirt…to who knew where?
Oddly,
even though I mentally kicked myself for thinking it, I found myself wanting to
find out. Did it stop at his upper arm, his shoulder? Did it continue over his
back, his chest, twine its way around a pectoral, sneaking in toward the
nipple? Or even farther south, perhaps?
Even if
you took Mr. Unusual out of the equation, there was nothing normal about the
situation I found myself in. After all, what recent graduate of law school
finds themselves volunteering in a soup kitchen? A recent graduate who lost her
head—and heart—over a bad boy, that’s who.
Most
people seem to think that those who study law are smart. Super smart, actually.
There’s a reason for that—folks who study law are smart. If they pass all the
exams, that is. And I did—with distinction. Which makes me clever on paper, I
suppose, but apparently lacking in common sense, or perhaps I just have
severely poor judgment. Or both.
However
you want to look at it, I fucked up. Big time. I fell for the wrong guy,
trusted him, and ended up caught up in something that got me arrested.
It could
have been the end of my law career. Before it had even started, and after all
those years of education—not to mention a rather large chunk of my parents’
cash. Fortunately, they’ve got plenty of it, due to my daddy’s successful
career. He works in law, too, which, luckily for me, means he’s got friends in
high places.
So it was
less voluntary work, more community service. Otherwise known as
do-this-or-you’ll-get-a-criminal-record-and-kiss-your-career-goodbye.
Fixing my
potential glittering career in my mind, I took a deep breath and crossed the
industrial-looking kitchen, heading toward him. He looked utterly at home
chopping carrots—he was like one of those chefs you see on the telly, his hand
and the knife he gripped moving so fast they were almost a blur. I cringed at
the thought of trying such a thing. Never mind the end of my career, it’d be
the end of my fingers.
Approaching
cautiously—I didn’t want to startle him and cause a horrific accident—I waited
until he’d finished his carrot before speaking. “Um, hi.”
Turning
quickly, still with his knife in his hand, he smiled. “Ah, hello. You must be
Penny.”
For a
moment, I was so caught up in his eyes that I couldn’t reply. Fortunately, I
managed to get a grip before I was the one who was a nutter. “Um, yes, that’s
right. I’m here to help out.”
As though
suddenly realizing he still held the knife, he glanced at it in his hand, then
quickly put it down on the counter. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to greet you with a
blade! I’m so used to using the things that it’s like they’re an extension of
my arm.”
Those
stunning eyes—such an unnatural yet beautiful blue—twinkling, he held out his
now empty hand. “I’m Maddox Black. Pleased to meet you. And very pleased to
have you here.”
We shook.
As we did so, the heat that had sparked inside me when we’d made eye contact
began to intensify.
Christ, no, Penny. You just ditched one bad
boy. The last thing you need to do is swap him for another one.
Meet the Author
Lucy
Felthouse is the award-winning author of erotic romance novels Stately
Pleasures (named in the top 5 of Cliterati.co.uk’s 100 Modern Erotic Classics
That You’ve Never Heard Of, and an Amazon bestseller), Eyes Wide Open (winner
of the Love Romances Café’s Best Ménage Book 2015 award, and an Amazon
bestseller) and The Persecution of the Wolves. Including novels, short stories
and novellas, she has over 150 publications to her name. She owns Erotica For All, and is one eighth of The Brit Babes. Find out more about her writing at http://lucyfelthouse.co.uk, or on Twitter or Facebook. Sign up for automatic updates
on Amazon or BookBub. You can also subscribe to her monthly newsletter
at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9
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