Impulse
by C.J. Lake
Date of Publication: October
5th 2016
Genre: New Adult
Romance
BLURB
I couldn't believe my luck, seeing Cady
Killoren at the bar and finding out she no longer had a boyfriend. Then ending
up at her place later that night... She had her guard up, but there was no
denying what was happening between us. I wasn't sure how to play this, I hadn't
exactly been honest with her. I only knew I wanted more of her...and then
things got complicated.
It was one impulsive night--totally unlike
me! I can't even blame it on the drinks. That night with Mick was pure
chemistry. I never would've guessed that the next time we met it would be in a
crowded restaurant, being introduced by my dad! And I would find out that
everything I thought I knew about Mick was a lie. There are a lot of reasons
why I need to resist Mick Croft... Easier said than done.
**
“So where does that leave us?”
“Wh—us?” she repeated stupidly.
“You and me,” he said softly and
inched even closer—which only reminded her how good he smelled.
“N-nowhere,” she managed to eke out.
Remember your resolve, she told herself. Distance, not flirtation.
“C'mon, Cady,” Mick murmured, “that's
it?” For a moment, she just looked up at him. “Don’t we deserve another night?”
The husky strum of Mick’s voice nearly sent shivers through her. “We could even
make it ‘no strings’ since that’s what you’re into?” he suggested playfully.
Please, that was so not what she was
into; in fact, she’d tried it just once—with Mick—and look at her. Still wanting him, still thinking about
him.
“No,” she said finally.
“No to no strings?” he questioned.
Inhaling sharply, Cady replied, “No to
all of it.” Though his face was inscrutable, she sensed that Mick was as
unconvinced as she felt, so she doubled-down. “We can't hook up again.”
“Why not?” he asked simply, still not
moving away. “We barely got started the first time.” Her eyes widened for a
second. Barely got started? God...
She fought a sudden carnal reaction
that sent her pulse leaping and made her cheeks flush. For an insane,
overheated second, she imagined what else they could have done that night—
Abruptly, she caught herself. What am
I doing??
Was she that weak? That hot for this
guy? Where was her resolve?
To regain a sense of control, Cady
straightened her posture (always a pretty good precursor to prissiness). “Mick, we’re forgetting that night, remember?”
He slanted her a look. “We are? When did I agree to that?”
“You have no choice,” Cady replied
crisply. “I’m still annoyed with you.”
With a roll of his eyes at that, Mick
said, “Jesus, how long are you going to be mad about a couple of white lies?”
Obviously he was determined to brush
off his insincerity at Donovan Shay's. Their very first meeting had started
with a pointless lie and apparently Mick didn't see a problem with that. “A lie
is a lie—no matter how you color-code it.” Before he could say or do something
to change her mind, Cady pressed on, “Besides, can you really blame me for
being turned off? Considering that you...”
“What?”
“...got me into bed under false
pretenses,” she managed.
Then Mick had the nerve to laugh. “Got
you into bed? C'mon, you must be
kidding. Cady—we barely did anything!”
His voice was gruff as he leaned his face a fraction closer to hers, adding,
“And if you want to be accurate here, it was more like you got me into
bed.” When she didn't immediately
protest, Mick continued, almost glibly, “What could I do? You were pressing up close to me with those
big blue eyes…that mouth…waiting for me to kiss you, practically challenging me
to kiss you…”
“I was not,” Cady protested weakly,
her voice soft and almost cracking.
Somehow their faces had drawn closer,
and Mick's mouth was only a few inches from hers. She could almost feel his
breath on her lips. “You were,” he murmured thickly, his deep voice making her
burn. She felt heat spreading through
her body, as perspiration broke on the back of her neck. It suddenly felt like
it was 110 degrees in that kitchen. She
was way too close to kissing him all over again.
And she panicked. “Oh, my God, you're
doing it again right now!” Cady whispered, hoping no onlookers had noticed how
much Mick was affecting her. A little
flustered, she took an abrupt step back--then one more, just to break the
spell.
Straightening up, Mick sighed. “All
right, forget it. Like I said earlier: let's not argue. Obviously you just want
to stay mad at me.”
“And obviously you're impossible to
reason with.”
“And you're frustrating as hell.”
“I’ll come back.”
They both looked and saw Torie. “No,
stay,” Cady insisted, feeling like she needed her friend there before she made
an even bigger fool of herself. Obviously Cady didn't have to be a Psych major
to realize that most of her fury with Mick at the moment was driven by
suppressed desire. Sure, if life were simple, things might be different and
Cady could do what she truly wanted—which was basically a repeat of everything
they'd done last weekend, and then a bunch of other stuff that, according to
Mick, they'd left out.
“Yeah, stay,” Mick agreed. “I was just
going.”
Torie acknowledged Mick with a quick,
friendly smile. “Hey—I remember you.”
Mick nodded. “Donovan Shay's, right?”
“Yep. So, how's the private security
business?” she asked sarcastically.
At least Mick had the good shame to
cast his eyes downward for a moment, as if to say he had no defense. Finally, a
shred of humility!
Smiling sweetly, Torie added, “By the
way, tell your friend, Quinn, that he's full of shit.”
With an effacing half-grin, Mick
replied, “Believe me, he knows that.”
Turning her attention back to Cady,
Torie said, “Well, I didn't mean to interrupt, but I was only coming over to
warn you.”
Reflexively, Cady's forehead pinched
with concern. “Warn me about what?”
“About the freakishly small world we
live in,” Torie said, forcing a smile—which only worried Cady more. “Um,
okay...Wes is here.”
~
MY INTERVIEW WITH
C.J. LAKE
How would you describe your style of writing
to someone that has never read your work?
Upbeat,
fast-paced, romantic and hot. I always
try to create not only a passionate love story, but a whole world that readers
will love being a part of and characters they will miss when the book is done.
What mindset or routine do you feel the need
to set when preparing to write (in general whether you are working on a project
or just free writing)?
I have
to come to the table with real determination, as well as an understanding of
who my characters are and what they are likely to do. Without those things, it’s way too easy for
me to get derailed by what I call perfectionist-procrastination--i.e. if every
word is not right, then forget it, let’s just do this later… Basically, I have to have the mindset that
I’m going to write this story, even when the words aren’t pouring easily or
perfectly onto the page.
Do you take your character prep to heart? Do
you nurture the growth of each character all the way through to the page? Do
you people watch to help with development? Or do you build upon your character
during story creation?
Well, I
always think I know my characters at the beginning, but they usually change
somewhat as the story evolves. Although
I begin a book with a pretty detailed outline, often planned scenes get
scrapped or reworked as I go, simply because I know the characters better and
can recognize, “Oh, wait, they wouldn’t say that,” or, “Why would s/he do
that?” A lot of times things sound
plausible and solid when you’re outlining, but then don’t hold up to scrutiny
when you’re actually putting a “real person” (i.e. the character you know &
love) into the situation.
Have you found yourself bonding with any
particular character? If so which one(s)?
Always. My heroines always feel like a part of me,
even when their personalities are different than mine. Cady from Impulse is a great example
of this. She handles certain things
waaaay differently than I would, because I’m expressive and emotional by
nature, and she struggles with those things.
Her default is to withdraw and keep things in, comforted only by the
sarcastic voice in her head, ha. As
different as she and I are, the whole time I was writing I felt deeply
sympathetic to her.
Have you ever felt that there was something
inside of you that you couldn't control? If so what? If no what spurs you to
reach for the unexperienced?
I seem
to be way too susceptible to nostalgia and the kind of sadness that comes from
dwelling on the past. This is something
that is frustratingly hard to control.
Especially because a tide of memory can rise up suddenly and be
triggered by the simplest things, like a song, a movie, a scent. Basically, I am always reminding myself to
focus only on the present moment, and not to get caught in a loop of replaying
the past, wondering or regretting. Which
is why I work on simply enjoying “right now” to the fullest--I make a real
effort to do this.
Thanks
for this interview! I hope you will
check out my new book, Impulse, as well as my Attraction Series! Happy holidays!! J ~C.J. Lake
Author Info
C.J. Lake is a storyteller who is passionate
about art, surfing, and skiing/snowboarding. She is the author of Constructing
Us, A Hot Winter, Sky High, and Impulse.
Residing near the coast of Massachusetts, C.J. is currently working on a
new book.
Readers can get in touch via email writercjlake@gmail.com
Author Link:
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