Reckless decisions can have passionate consequences…
After seven years of trying to make peace with her father’s untimely death, recent college graduate Mia Carter is determined to forge a career path, preferably one free of her overbearing mom. The handsome man who rescues her from drowning seems to hold the key, but their strained friendship is more than Mia bargained for. Zack is hard-edged and bullheaded and the most intriguing man she’s ever met. While Zack refuses to open up to her, secrets of the past begin to unravel, and Mia’s frightening attraction threatens to turn her budding world into a nightmare.
Former playboy Zack Mason doesn’t believe he’s worthy of a second chance. Horrified by his past actions, Zack’s attempted to cut off all human contact. His mission to restore an old lighthouse is supposed to be his penance, or his execution, until the woman he rescues from drowning revives a part of him he thought died at the scene of a fatal accident. As Zack’s senses are awakened, the source of his demons resurfaces and threatens to do him in. Can Mia help Zack win the battle, and save him from himself?
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Read An Excerpt
Mia’s heart raced to the charging of her footsteps as she forced her way through the mob and trudged across the sand, in the direction she thought she’d seen Zack take off in. He couldn’t have gotten far. He didn’t have a vehicle to drive away in. But he was quick and savvy, and he knew the shores of Avalon better than a local tour guide.
Tears trickled down her face. She was obviously losing her mind because she’d watched Zack turn into Mr. Hyde and she was still running after him, more worried about Zack in this crazy moment than she could ever be afraid.
Mia’s chest rose and fell as she shouted Zack’s name, receiving no answer in reply. Not that he would answer her even if he heard her. Had he gone back to the lighthouse? Taken a moonlight swim? A more likely possibility coming to her mind, she raced across the dunes, wandering amidst the seashells and jellyfish until she found the section of trees Zack had shown her before the party.
Weaving her way between the branches and pine needles was even more difficult in the dark, without a guide to help her. Earlier, there’d been some daylight. Now, the secluded alcove was like the inside of a cave. Not seeing Zack, Mia was about to turn around when she heard a soft splash. Zack sat on the sand, tossing seashells into the water.
A chill washed over her shoulders. Staring at Zack, she felt the pain on his shadowed face as it cut through her like the blade of a knife. She sensed Zack knew she was there with him, but when she said his name, he didn’t flinch. It was as if he was in another world.
“Hey”—she brushed his back—“are you ok? What happened back there?”
The muscles in Zack’s profile stiffened as he stared straight ahead. “Exactly what it looked like. I assaulted your friend’s date.”
“I saw.” Mia inhaled as she sat beside him. “As did half the people at the luau. But why did you?”
“Do I need a reason? I almost hit that tool you recruited to help repair the lighthouse.” Zack’s eyes darkened. “Maybe I just like hitting people.”
“I don’t believe that. I realize I don’t know you that well. I’m not sure you want anyone to know you, but the guy who gets stucco all over his hands, the guy who came to my defense when someone I thought was a friend was harassing me wouldn’t hurt a person unless he had a really, really good reason to.”
Zack fisted a large shell. He threw it into the water. “Have you considered maybe you’re seeing what you want to see?”
“I have,” Mia said. “And yeah. I want to see you as the good guy but I’m not wearing rose colored glasses. I see what’s right in front of me. And”—her face caught fire as she squeezed Zack’s hands—“I like you, Zack Mason. God, I like you so much…”
Zack stared at her with his mouth wide open. Limbs vibrating like a plummeting ocean liner, he pulled Mia against his body and slammed his mouth against her face. Mia gasped, her heart beating against the back of her throat as Zack yanked her to her toes and drowned her in a blanket of softness. He raked his fingers through her hair, gripping her curls as if his life depended on it.
His eyes raging, Zack loosened his clenched fingers and tore himself away. He covered his mouth with his hand as his ribcage quaked with the rising of the tide. “You need to go. Right now, Mia—forget you ever knew me. You deserve so much better than the man standing beside you.”
Mia’s legs wobbled. She turned to leave but her hands betrayed her, cupping Zack’s face as she slowly lifted her chin. “But you’re the man I want. I don’t care about your past, Zack Mason. I want to be with you.”