—
Kris fell, head over heels over hormones, for the damaged b*tch who became his power-woman sex-goddess wife.
All Nicole wants is to be a better mother, and a wife more worthy of the husband she loves with every fibre of her body, but she is constantly yanked away by her job and her overbearing boss Darren Hart.
But Darren has marital problems of his own – and, when he confides in her, Nicole realises just how easily a happy marriage can crumble.
…Can she keep her own from doing the same?
Told from both points of view, “Climbing The Walls” explores the fibres that hold a marriage together – love, trust, forgiveness… and of course, the earth-shattering sex that will not be denied.
(KRIS)
Love just is.
Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it doesn’t quite happen the way you want it to, and sometimes it happens in spite of it all.
And I loved that woman. God, I loved her with everything. I gave her, everything. I gave her my all.
And I’m dry inside, now, and hence the lack of emotion.
Dry inside because I have nothing more to give.
Dry because I have failed, like my bastard son of a bitch father, to give my children everything they need, everything I have struggled to provide for them all my life.
Failed like my bastard son of a bitch father, who tore my shirt off earlier today – no, wait, yesterday – because he thought my wife and I were taking swings at each other.
“I’m fiiiii-iiiineeeeeee,” I drawl out slower and softer, repeating myself, still talking like my daddy.
“Like hell you are, Kris.”
“Ma’am, maybe it’s about time to escort your friend out?” The bartender quirks an eyebrow in her direction.
“I’m not really her friend,” I spit out. “She used to teach my daughter. In kindergarten. She’s a kindergarten teacher. Kindergarten. My daughter. My little daughter. She’s about… yea high—” I gesture. “Little for her age, cute as hell, real bright too. I’ve got a picture. You want – you want to see?” I fumble in my pocket for my wallet. “See? Cute, ain’t she? Lookie here, my son too. He’s the sweetest thing, you know?”
“Adorable,” Barry responds with a tight smile. “Real cute. Ma’am?”
Michelle glares at him. “Kris, come on. I’ll drop you home. You can come back for your car in the morning.”
“I don’t want to go home,” I protest. “You don’t close for another hour. I want – another… anything. Surprise me.” I’ve run out of cash in my wallet, so I offer my VISA card.
Barry the bartender, who’s looking mighty blurry momentarily, looks at Michelle, my new best friend.
“You take credit cards, doncha?” I demand.
“Yes, sir.”
“Well?”
“Ma’am?” He looks at Michelle.
“Don’t you even think about it,” she snaps. “Look, Kris, come on, seriously. Let’s get out of here.”
“I don’t wanna,” I repeat plaintively. “Oh, come on, Barry.”
“My name’s not Barry, sir.”
“Do I look like I give a fuck? Come on, man, I’m paying.”
“Ma’am,” Barry says. “We don’t take too kindly to drunks in our establishment. Either you get him out, or I’m gonna get the bouncer to throw you both out.”
“Kris. You’re embarrassing me,” Michelle hisses.
Beautiful woman, but not the softer, approachable kind of beauty like Nicole. More the razor-sharp beauty, with the shards of glass that cut you up inside. Looks somewhat like a porn star, really. The hair, those eyes. Tantalising. Bit of a temper on her, though.
“Gee, golly, goshhhh, I’m sorryyyy.” Big bloodshot eyes looking up at her. “I done already told you to go home, I ain’t your responsibility, Mich.”
“Like hell you ain’t.” She’s tugging at my arms, got her hands all around my shoulders. Touching me too much.
“Don’t you touch me, Mich. I know you want me. But I don’t like you, don’t touch me. You know you want me.”
“Uh-huh? Oh, really?”
Tugging at my arms, my shirt. No, wait. J.J.’s shirt. Tugging at J.J.’s shirt, one arm around my stomach, pulling at me, toward the door.
“You did, anyway. Earlier tonight. And before today. All that time, when you saw me, at the school.”
“Really?”
“Nikki told me.”
“Your four-year-old told you I want you? Oh, that’s classic. Really, that’s just classic.”
“Yup. She sees things, you know. She sees things… about people.”
“Well… tsk tsk, if she could only see her daddy right about now.” Arm around my neck now, ushering me through people, bumping into people. “S’cuse me… s’cuse me… s’cuse me…”
“She’s not four, you know. She’s five. Five years old. Turned five Friday. Big party and everything. Nemo. We did it with Nemo, everywhere. It was real cute. Nemo, you know the fish from the cartoon movie? Nemo, everywhere. Buncha screaming kids. Fucking migraine’s what I had, but she was happy. Gosh, she was so damn happy. My little girl, happy. Took every ounce of me to keep smiling whole day, but I’m good at it, you know? I’m good at lying, fronting, being cool when everything’s going to shit. I’m a good dad, you know? I try, real hard.”
“I know you do.”
“Really, I try. I do the best I can, I’m there every night to tuck ’em in when she’s at work still, I’m there in the morning when they wake up. I take leave when Nikki’s on school vacation… y’know? I really try. It’s hard, being the only one holding it together, you know? But goddammit, I try. I really do. And that’s how she pays me back, ain’t it? Shame on me. She’s there all the time talking bout Darren this, Darren that, Darren’s got marital problems. Well fuck it, man. Kris got marital problems too. What about Kris, huh? What about me?”
Love just is.
Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes it doesn’t quite happen the way you want it to, and sometimes it happens in spite of it all.
And I loved that woman. God, I loved her with everything. I gave her, everything. I gave her my all.
And I’m dry inside, now, and hence the lack of emotion.
Dry inside because I have nothing more to give.
Dry because I have failed, like my bastard son of a bitch father, to give my children everything they need, everything I have struggled to provide for them all my life.
Failed like my bastard son of a bitch father, who tore my shirt off earlier today – no, wait, yesterday – because he thought my wife and I were taking swings at each other.
“I’m fiiiii-iiiineeeeeee,” I drawl out slower and softer, repeating myself, still talking like my daddy.
“Like hell you are, Kris.”
“Ma’am, maybe it’s about time to escort your friend out?” The bartender quirks an eyebrow in her direction.
“I’m not really her friend,” I spit out. “She used to teach my daughter. In kindergarten. She’s a kindergarten teacher. Kindergarten. My daughter. My little daughter. She’s about… yea high—” I gesture. “Little for her age, cute as hell, real bright too. I’ve got a picture. You want – you want to see?” I fumble in my pocket for my wallet. “See? Cute, ain’t she? Lookie here, my son too. He’s the sweetest thing, you know?”
“Adorable,” Barry responds with a tight smile. “Real cute. Ma’am?”
Michelle glares at him. “Kris, come on. I’ll drop you home. You can come back for your car in the morning.”
“I don’t want to go home,” I protest. “You don’t close for another hour. I want – another… anything. Surprise me.” I’ve run out of cash in my wallet, so I offer my VISA card.
Barry the bartender, who’s looking mighty blurry momentarily, looks at Michelle, my new best friend.
“You take credit cards, doncha?” I demand.
“Yes, sir.”
“Well?”
“Ma’am?” He looks at Michelle.
“Don’t you even think about it,” she snaps. “Look, Kris, come on, seriously. Let’s get out of here.”
“I don’t wanna,” I repeat plaintively. “Oh, come on, Barry.”
“My name’s not Barry, sir.”
“Do I look like I give a fuck? Come on, man, I’m paying.”
“Ma’am,” Barry says. “We don’t take too kindly to drunks in our establishment. Either you get him out, or I’m gonna get the bouncer to throw you both out.”
“Kris. You’re embarrassing me,” Michelle hisses.
Beautiful woman, but not the softer, approachable kind of beauty like Nicole. More the razor-sharp beauty, with the shards of glass that cut you up inside. Looks somewhat like a porn star, really. The hair, those eyes. Tantalising. Bit of a temper on her, though.
“Gee, golly, goshhhh, I’m sorryyyy.” Big bloodshot eyes looking up at her. “I done already told you to go home, I ain’t your responsibility, Mich.”
“Like hell you ain’t.” She’s tugging at my arms, got her hands all around my shoulders. Touching me too much.
“Don’t you touch me, Mich. I know you want me. But I don’t like you, don’t touch me. You know you want me.”
“Uh-huh? Oh, really?”
Tugging at my arms, my shirt. No, wait. J.J.’s shirt. Tugging at J.J.’s shirt, one arm around my stomach, pulling at me, toward the door.
“You did, anyway. Earlier tonight. And before today. All that time, when you saw me, at the school.”
“Really?”
“Nikki told me.”
“Your four-year-old told you I want you? Oh, that’s classic. Really, that’s just classic.”
“Yup. She sees things, you know. She sees things… about people.”
“Well… tsk tsk, if she could only see her daddy right about now.” Arm around my neck now, ushering me through people, bumping into people. “S’cuse me… s’cuse me… s’cuse me…”
“She’s not four, you know. She’s five. Five years old. Turned five Friday. Big party and everything. Nemo. We did it with Nemo, everywhere. It was real cute. Nemo, you know the fish from the cartoon movie? Nemo, everywhere. Buncha screaming kids. Fucking migraine’s what I had, but she was happy. Gosh, she was so damn happy. My little girl, happy. Took every ounce of me to keep smiling whole day, but I’m good at it, you know? I’m good at lying, fronting, being cool when everything’s going to shit. I’m a good dad, you know? I try, real hard.”
“I know you do.”
“Really, I try. I do the best I can, I’m there every night to tuck ’em in when she’s at work still, I’m there in the morning when they wake up. I take leave when Nikki’s on school vacation… y’know? I really try. It’s hard, being the only one holding it together, you know? But goddammit, I try. I really do. And that’s how she pays me back, ain’t it? Shame on me. She’s there all the time talking bout Darren this, Darren that, Darren’s got marital problems. Well fuck it, man. Kris got marital problems too. What about Kris, huh? What about me?”
 | Darren loves Luisa. To hell and back. And she’s taken him there, so she knows. And Luisa owes Darren. Even when he behaves badly (and oh boy, does he!)… she owes him… ***Real emotion. Real life. Real love. This is NOT a glossy love story. But if you're looking for a romance read that will rattle you... characters that will change you... and love that will last in your mind long after you're finished... THIS IS THE ONE FOR YOU.*** PANDORA'S POISON Darren forgave his wife – or tried to – years ago, but surviving the affair… even raising her lover’s child as his own… is an entirely different concept than actually having to deal with the man pushing his way back into their lives to seek his rightful place with the daughter he never knew… …If that really is all that Gianni wants… Luisa felt it the moment she finally met the formidable Nicole – the woman who had always crawled under her skin, long before she herself developed a dangerous attraction for a less complicated man than the granite bastard she married. But, as this beautiful man once told her: there is always a choice… Told from both points of view, “Pandora’s Poison” explores the forces that tear a marriage apart – infidelity, insecurity, and doubt… and brings to the fore the question faced in one’s darkest hour: Can you trust yourself? ______________________________ PRAISE FROM READERS: ★★★★★ - "Spellbinding, heartbreaking, masterful – this story and its alternating POVs weave a story so dense and deep you will find yourself getting tired from treading water." ★★★★★ - "A story of a crumbling marriage, volatile emotions, bitterness and secrets that could destroy. A highly emotional tale that grips you in its extreme intensity. It will shock you. It will anger you. It will intrigue. Stunning to read. Unbearable to put down. Impossible not to love." ★★★★★ - "Just like the first book, this one is captivating, addicting, raw, emotional, heart-wrenching, soul-sucking and just unbelievably phenomenal! I’ve never had a book affect me in quite the way that this one has." ★★★★★ - "Lord, I hate and love this story. It’s sad and beautiful and a big mess. This second book has us in deep. I don’t know what happiness is right now after finishing this story. I’m in shock and I need the next book because I need to know." ★★★★★ - "The word that comes to mind first is hypnotizing, mesmerizing… Everything felt so, so real. What I’ve come to realize with this author: when I pick her books up, I need to be prepared to face reality and feel the emotions because that’s what she gives me." ______________________________ “HART & COLE” SERIES: “A marriage is not a happy ending; it’s a beginning of so much more to come.” Book 2 ends at Darren's & Luisa's turning point, and the rest of their story will be revealed in Book 3 "Pandora's Price" which is now available for pre-order at http://mybook.to/pandorasprice Visit the author's website www.sachafortune.com/author to learn more about the Hart & Cole series. |
 | The affair they could never overcome… The lover that won’t stay in the past where he belongs… And the secrets they’ve both kept over the years… Can their marriage survive the ultimate betrayal? PANDORA'S PRICE …Go big or go home… Darren gambled everything for love – for the woman he’s loved his entire adult life… and the only person he can never seem to truly understand. Luisa can pinpoint exactly when the shift happened in their marriage – shortly after Darren hired his protégée Nicole on a whim… a ‘reckless decision’ that he never knew would cost him their marriage. But what if she can get the love she so desperately needs… just not from her husband? Told from both points of view, “Pandora’s Price” explores the forces that bring a marriage to its breaking point – vulnerability, mistrust and resentment – and seeks the redemption that can pull them back from the edge of destruction, and salvage everything in the face of crisis. ______________________________ “HART & COLE” SERIES: “A marriage is not a happy ending; it’s a beginning of so much more to come.” Book 3 culminates Darren's & Luisa's story, and ties up the first 3 Books of the series. Book 4 "Below The Surface" is coming in 2019. Visit the Author's website www.sachafortune.com/author to learn more about the Hart & Cole series and subscribe to the author's newsletter to be alerted when Book 4 is published. |
Stacey Bennett’s meticulous ways have always alienated her from many of her peers, but she’s baffled at the suddenly cool distance that seems to have appeared overnight between herself and long-time friend Victoria Mendoza. The fact that Victoria holds the one secret that could tear her marriage apart only makes her more uneasy – and welcomes back a rush of memories about the past she tried to bury.
Told from both points of view, Below The Surface explores the forces that tug at the fibres of a long-standing marriage – secrecy, self-doubt, crushing regret, and the underlying threat of straining a relationship past its breaking point.
Her passion for writing began in her early childhood, when she channeled her active imagination into writing short stories, poems and full-length novels for her friends.
The winner of several writing awards during her childhood, she became the President of the Writers’ Guild at Lancaster University in Lancaster, UK, where she contributed some poems and short stories to Lancaster University’s Writers’ Guild Anthologies during 2005-2007.
With her BA in Media & Cultural Studies under her belt, she went on to complete her MA in International Journalism at the University of Westminster in London, UK.
Win a $25 Amazon gift card!
💕 Below is a third-party ad. Click it if you like it, ignore it if you don't! 💕
Sounds like a really emotional read.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an intriguing read.
ReplyDeleteThese look like fun reads. I like the couples on the covers. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDelete