“It was a traumatic experience.”
“Yeah?” I pout again and caress the side of his face. “Your poor wounded ego.”
“Again, you’re close but no cigar.” He pushes me away and moves past me. “I had a few too many drinks.”
“Before noon? Typical.”
“Says the girl who wakes up to mimosas.” He’s got a point there. “Anyway, I approached her and told her she was beautiful, but unfortunately I don’t f— before noon.”
“You idiot.” The look painted across my face is a beautiful, abstract collage of equal parts amusement and shame.
“And then, I checked my watch and it was a minute after twelve.” He smiles wide, a little too proud of himself.
“Did you really think that shit-f–ked pick up line was going to work?”
“I pity you, Apple.” He places a hand on each of my shoulders. I pull away ever so slightly, but not far enough so I escape his grasp. “It worked exactly as planned.”
“Oh please, enlighten me, your majesty.”
“I’m addicted to the booze.” He moves closer and this time, I don’t resist. “My life has become a wreck.” His palm trails down my side and against my stomach. “I’m spiraling out of control and the only thing that’s going to save me is the love of God.” He breathes a deliberate symphony of breaths against my skin before grabbing the glass out of my hand, and pulling away. “Or maybe, an innocent girl to guide me through the darkness.”
“It’s never going to work. She’s too smart.” I turn around to face him.
He finishes off the glass of my very expensive vodka. “All girls want a fairytale and none quite have the emotional punch as the one where the princess saves the bad boy.”
BAD REPUTATION
She knows better. She just doesn’t care.
On the verge of college graduation, Apple Malloy finds herself entangled in one last game of manipulation, deceit, and sexual corruption with her ex-lover, and constant enabler, Brick Valmont. The bet? That she can seduce the professor who had failed her the semester prior before Brick can seduce the innocent daughter of a sitting U.S. Senator.
If Apple emerges victorious, Brick will be forced to admit she’s better at these cruel games they play. If she loses, she must sleep with him one last time before graduation.
But when the tables are turned, and Apple finds herself falling for the man she’s supposed to destroy, all bets are off. And as the games quickly spiral out of control, one thing remains certain; nobody escapes unscathed in this titillating story of manipulation where nothing is as it appears.
Bad Reputation is the first book in the Bad Reputation series, and is loosely based on the 1782 classic novel, Dangerous Liaisons.
MEET THE PLAYERS
It’s people like him that turned me into the woman I am today.
I’m a bitter b—-.
I’m a woman scorned.
I manipulate men like Brick long before they realize they wield that kind of power. In many ways, Brick and I are the same person with different anatomies.
We use people.
We seduce people.
We destroy everything and everyone we touch. And we enjoy every second of it.
He’s as magnetic as a lithium battery that floats a little too close to the sun. Everyone wants him. Many have him. Nobody comes out from a one-night stand with him unscathed. In the space of one night, he’ll capture your heart and then shred it in front of the entire world.
He’s tall, with the kind of modern ruggedness that women line up in droves just for a chance to touch. The tattoos that line his right arm to the crook of his elbow tell a thousand different stories—all of which are true—but the women who fall for him never stop to read the narrative
He’s visually unhappy, shaking his head in disdain as I slowly approach him, taking quick snapshots of the students around me. I take notice of a few men in particular. Previous victims of mine who were unfortunate enough to climb into my web of deceit.
After what feels like forever, I finally reach Jensen and turn my back to the crowd. “I thought this was going to be a one-on-one thing.”
“Really?” he shoots back in a muffled whisper. “That’s interesting. I didn’t realize I was hiring a prostitute.”
“That’s a little sexist—“
“You look like you’ve shown up for a live, demonstrative reading of Fifty Shades of Grey.” He purses his lips tightly. “It is not sexist to point that out.”
“She’s wrong.” I reach forward and place my hands on her shoulders. “Cece, I swear I don’t want anything to do with him. He came to my table.”
“I told you, it doesn’t matter.” She brushes my hands to the side and crosses her arms.
“People like Rafe have certain wants and desires. They’re attracted to people like me—“
“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?”
“Hear me out. They’re drawn to people like me because of the way I am. I’m a challenge for them, but I’m not a challenge for them to get into bed.”
Her eyes roll in circles. “My mother would call that being a hoe.”
I hate that word. “No offense, but your mom’s an idiot. It’s just the way it is. I’m not saying you should sleep your way around town—“
“Good, because that’s not anywhere close to being a checkered box on my bucket list.”
“No.” I shook my head violently and forced the chair backward, almost knocking Brick to the ground in the process. I lunged from my seat. “Your own brother? You would do that to your own brother?”
“That man destroyed you,” he yelled through a fit of rage, but I had a feeling his rage was a cover to justify what he was about to do to Dom—his brother.
“He’s innocent in this.”
“He’s collateral damage, and it sucks, but there is always a price to be paid.”
“This is too far.”
“You told me,” he said as he placed a shaking hand on my shoulder, “that you wanted to watch this man suffer. I’m giving you that gift.”
“Not like this.”
“Dom is strong. He can get through this.”
The first person I see isn’t Brick. It’s someone else. A girl with flowing blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. She’s petite, but has a larger-than-life commanding presence.
“Brick,” she calls out and shifts her head toward the bedroom. “Someone is here for you.” She turns back to me. “Who are you?” she asks in the sweetest tone.
“A friend.” I smile and take a seat beside her, a little too close for her comfort as she flinches away from me. “Are you Tyra?”
“Yeah.” She’s taken aback that I seem to know of her, but she is in no way the meek girl I thought she would be. “How did you know?”
“I’ve heard so much about you.” I lean my head past her to make sure Brick isn’t coming out of the bedroom yet. Then, it’s back to business.
Bad Reputation – Available Now
Bad Situation – Coming Soon
MEET K.B. NELSON
I grew up on a farm in Ohio, but that’s not very interesting, is it? When I’m not writing you can find me doing one of two things; getting lost on highways or getting lost in the lives of fictional characters. If my heart had two feet, one foot would be in romance and the other solidly in geekdom. I hope you’ll all follow me on my journey through this carnival they call life.I promise there will be a happy ending.
OTHER BOOKS
Carnival – Charlie Scott is a small town girl with a bright future she’s not certain she wants. Blue is a carnie, working the carnival circuit, never staying anywhere long enough to call home. When they meet, the attraction is instant, and soon they come to realize that love is just like a carnival ride… The higher it goes, the faster it all comes crashing down.
Faithless – She’s a stripper. He’s a preacher. Her name is Faith, and he’s been faithless since the day she went away. Originally published as a serial, now available as a complete novel. A dark romance about love, loss and redemption.
A little steamy before noon. :)
ReplyDeleteHey K.B. You have a nice collection of books going! I liked the blog. Your characters sound like they could really turn a person's life upside down if they were real. Your awesome date for the night, and enemy for the next day! Daddy's watch your daughters, some of these Bad Reputation guys look irresistible!
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