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Nothing Above
I was hired to steal something, not some one .
But that changes when I see her , asleep in her cushy marital bed.
We live in the same town but our worlds couldn’t be more different.
So I insert myself in hers by getting a job working directly under her.
Seeing her every day isn’t enough. I want her nights, too. I want her everything, including the secrets she refuses to share.
I don’t care what I have to do or who I have to take on, she will be mine.
Just when I think I have her, I find out she’s not who she pretends to be. Not at all.
And those secrets I said I wanted…
They’re bigger than the ones I’ve been keeping from her.
This book is a 145k-word dark romance standalone intended for mature audiences. It contains content that may be upsetting to some readers. Please see inside of book or author’s website for full list of CWs.
But that changes when I see her , asleep in her cushy marital bed.
We live in the same town but our worlds couldn’t be more different.
So I insert myself in hers by getting a job working directly under her.
Seeing her every day isn’t enough. I want her nights, too. I want her everything, including the secrets she refuses to share.
I don’t care what I have to do or who I have to take on, she will be mine.
Just when I think I have her, I find out she’s not who she pretends to be. Not at all.
And those secrets I said I wanted…
They’re bigger than the ones I’ve been keeping from her.
This book is a 145k-word dark romance standalone intended for mature audiences. It contains content that may be upsetting to some readers. Please see inside of book or author’s website for full list of CWs.
490 pages, Paperback
First published August 17, 2023
63 people are currently reading
6194 people want to read
About the author
A. Marie
9 books439 followersA. Marie likes to paint her characters’ voices on to the blank canvas of a page using her own blend of quick wit and playfulness. She strives to bring readers entertaining yet powerful stories they’ll fall for time and time again. Born and raised in Washington State, she now resides in upstate New York with her husband and three kids.
Website: https://amarieauthor.com/
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August 17, 2023She’s married. But he’s a thief. He’s used to stealing what isn’t his.
Nothing Above is now LIVE on Amazon. Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited: https://mybook.to/NothingAbove
Nothing Above is now LIVE on Amazon. Read FREE in Kindle Unlimited: https://mybook.to/NothingAbove
August 29, 2023
Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶
Angst: 💔💔💔
Cliffhanger? ❌️
Do I recommend it? ✅️
Trigger Warnings: ☠️ ☠️
Tropes: dark forbidden romance, enemies-to-lovers, workplace, boss/employee, crime, possessive hero, boy obsessed
Reese Souza was hired to steal something, not someone. But that changes when he sees Lex asleep in her cushy marital bed. They live in the same town, but their worlds couldn’t be more different. So he inserts himself in hers by getting a job working directly under her. Seeing her every day isn’t enough. He wants her nights, too. He wants her everything, including the secrets she refuses to share. He doesn't care what he'll have to do or who he has to take on. She will be his. Just when he thinks he has her, he finds out she’s not who she pretends to be. Not at all. And those secrets he said he wanted? They’re bigger than the ones he's been keeping from her.
For this book being my first read by this author, I was blown away. If you love a story where women find their power, then this is the book for you. This suspense-filled, character driven journey was one hell of an exciting ride. I loved the characters, especially Lex, as she was the definition of badass. The author put so much meaning into every aspect, from the title to representations for every time Reese & Lex were near each other. This one was a bit long, but it was so worth it. I lived on the edge of my seat as I rode out every twist and turn. You can tell the author put a lot into this particular creation. I highly recommend this read! This is my honest opinion, freely given.
Angst: 💔💔💔
Cliffhanger? ❌️
Do I recommend it? ✅️
Trigger Warnings: ☠️ ☠️
Tropes: dark forbidden romance, enemies-to-lovers, workplace, boss/employee, crime, possessive hero, boy obsessed
Reese Souza was hired to steal something, not someone. But that changes when he sees Lex asleep in her cushy marital bed. They live in the same town, but their worlds couldn’t be more different. So he inserts himself in hers by getting a job working directly under her. Seeing her every day isn’t enough. He wants her nights, too. He wants her everything, including the secrets she refuses to share. He doesn't care what he'll have to do or who he has to take on. She will be his. Just when he thinks he has her, he finds out she’s not who she pretends to be. Not at all. And those secrets he said he wanted? They’re bigger than the ones he's been keeping from her.
For this book being my first read by this author, I was blown away. If you love a story where women find their power, then this is the book for you. This suspense-filled, character driven journey was one hell of an exciting ride. I loved the characters, especially Lex, as she was the definition of badass. The author put so much meaning into every aspect, from the title to representations for every time Reese & Lex were near each other. This one was a bit long, but it was so worth it. I lived on the edge of my seat as I rode out every twist and turn. You can tell the author put a lot into this particular creation. I highly recommend this read! This is my honest opinion, freely given.
August 28, 2023
Oh lordt. By now you should know how much I love A. Marie’s books….I wasn’t worried at all when I heard Nothing Above is different than her other books & my inkling was right!! The men A. Marie writes are 🔥 but I think it’s the women for me. They’re so badasssss. Plus, the angst and the steam are TOP. TIER. Check out the tropes below & if dark romance is your jam, definitely grab this one!
#OnTour with Nothing Above by A. Marie
Available now on Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
→ https://mybook.to/NothingAbove
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🖤Boss/Employee
🖤Forbidden Love
🖤Stalker
🖤Crime/Suspense
#OnTour with Nothing Above by A. Marie
Available now on Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
→ https://mybook.to/NothingAbove
🖤Enemies to Lovers
🖤Boss/Employee
🖤Forbidden Love
🖤Stalker
🖤Crime/Suspense
September 24, 2023
This book was okay ... Best part was the last 10% the ending was cute but everything up to that point was mediocre 😬
August 24, 2023
Wholly Guacamole this book! This is my first book ever by the lovely A.Marie so glad I picked up this book!
I throughly enjoyed this book I’m not a huge dark romance junkie but it was still so good! I would definitely check the trigger warnings before jumping in head first as it does touch on some heavy topics.
Reece is a thief whose indebted to his dads bookie after his dad couldn’t repay it himself. He was sent out on a job but instead of stealing what he came to steal he got one look at Lex in her bed she shares with her husband. He got a job working for her to get closer to her & the secrets she’s been hiding.
““I don’t want to hide you. Not here. Not anywhere. In private or public, in the dark or light, I want to treat you the same. Like you’re mine.”-Reece
This book was freaking spicy Reece Souza has a mouth on him!
4⭐️
5🌶️
I throughly enjoyed this book I’m not a huge dark romance junkie but it was still so good! I would definitely check the trigger warnings before jumping in head first as it does touch on some heavy topics.
Reece is a thief whose indebted to his dads bookie after his dad couldn’t repay it himself. He was sent out on a job but instead of stealing what he came to steal he got one look at Lex in her bed she shares with her husband. He got a job working for her to get closer to her & the secrets she’s been hiding.
““I don’t want to hide you. Not here. Not anywhere. In private or public, in the dark or light, I want to treat you the same. Like you’re mine.”-Reece
This book was freaking spicy Reece Souza has a mouth on him!
4⭐️
5🌶️
August 25, 2023
I read this book as an arc and LOVED it!!! I loved it from the first page, and carried on until the last. I loved both lex and reece and thought their whole story was an absolute rollercoaster. I can’t say too much without spoiling things, but if you love scary MMC AND scary FMC, then absolutely read this. i thought the characters had such amazing chemistry, and although there were various plot twists that really threw me off, i really enjoyed the whole book and would 100% recommend it. It was smutty, slightly scary at times, and the plot twists all kept me on my toes. Please please please check trigger warnings before reading, as there are a few! overall i’ve given this 5 stars and would definitely recommend and will be rereading very soon!
March 23, 2025
SO good. One of my top reads this year
August 26, 2023
Please check TW and CW before diving into this one. Action packed!!! Twists and turns coming out of left field but it made this book so interesting. There were times I wanted to jump into the pages and cause harm to some of the side characters like oh boy so evil.
August 21, 2023
These characters are fantastic! They compliment each other's behavior so well! I couldn't put this down even though it looks like it took me a very long time to read it. Great story, and I didn't predict anything! I was always trying to figure out what one or the other was going to do next, and they kept surprising me!
August 21, 2023
This is a dark stalker romance, and my first book by A. Marie. And I loved it, good story plot and world-building and the authors writing style was great! This book was a little hard to get into at the beginning but once i got into it I could stop reading!
August 22, 2023
Great dark romantic thriller! Reece and Lex are exquisitely done. The progression of their relationship and the twists and turns of the story made this book difficult to put down. Will be looking for more from A Marie.
August 23, 2023
This was my first A. Marie book and man it didn’t disappoint! The spice was *chefs kiss! Now to do a deep dive into all of this authors work.
August 15, 2023
This book has you hooked from the first paragraph.
Reece is the “sweet” bad guy drug into this life do to no fault of his own. He does it to protect those he cares about.
Lex the timid wife of the mark. Or so we thought
Both these characters have had a troubled life and were looking for their own way out. Reece was hired to steal something but what he stole was not the object he was sent for. What he stole meant so much more.
Lex was always the one to keep people away and she tried and tried with Reece but eventually she figured out he is the what she has been missing and looking for.
The way there is messy but it is an amazing trip. I laughed , I cried, I shook my head and internally cussed the book a few times but it is an amazing read and I absolutely think everyone should read it. The mystery and the clue hunting makes it all the better.
Reece is the “sweet” bad guy drug into this life do to no fault of his own. He does it to protect those he cares about.
Lex the timid wife of the mark. Or so we thought
Both these characters have had a troubled life and were looking for their own way out. Reece was hired to steal something but what he stole was not the object he was sent for. What he stole meant so much more.
Lex was always the one to keep people away and she tried and tried with Reece but eventually she figured out he is the what she has been missing and looking for.
The way there is messy but it is an amazing trip. I laughed , I cried, I shook my head and internally cussed the book a few times but it is an amazing read and I absolutely think everyone should read it. The mystery and the clue hunting makes it all the better.
August 17, 2023
Things that make you go Hmmmm! Or Yummmmm! I loved this!
My third foray into Ms. Marie's world, and yeah, there's no going back!
I am captured by her stories.
Her characters.
Her world.
The SPICE.
The intrigue.
Every thing!
Cannot wait to pick up another great story by this talented author.
My third foray into Ms. Marie's world, and yeah, there's no going back!
I am captured by her stories.
Her characters.
Her world.
The SPICE.
The intrigue.
Every thing!
Cannot wait to pick up another great story by this talented author.
August 16, 2023
Nothing Above by A. Marie is the story of Reece and Lex. Reece is used to taking what isn't his. But when he Lex he knows this taking would be solely for him what he wants. Enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from this author.
August 17, 2023
This was such a good book
August 10, 2023
Reese Souza has spent his life repaying a debt that wasn’t his. On one of his many jobs his life is forever derailed. Lex is nothing like what he thought and turns his life into a mindf*ck one scheme at a time. Dependent on each other to make it out alive, can either of them learn to trust?
This was so GOOD! It’s intense, gritty, multi faceted, and not only does it come with the spicy scenes, it also includes smutty books. I couldn’t get enough of the dynamic between Reese and Lex.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was so GOOD! It’s intense, gritty, multi faceted, and not only does it come with the spicy scenes, it also includes smutty books. I couldn’t get enough of the dynamic between Reese and Lex.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
August 12, 2023
I was hooked at shes married he’s a thief!!! The world that Reece and Lex trap us in is one heck of a dark world.. these two are keeping secrets and walking a thin line for only one reason.. Thievery.. But one can’t stay away from the other and the other is trying to fight the urges she is craving. These two have you flipping the pages just to see how far they bend the envelope into a world they both weren’t ready for. Great read!!
September 6, 2023
Reece and Alex were magic! A. Marie writes books with spice and feeling. I loved every minute of this book.
September 2, 2023
"Five words that encapsulate my love entirely, the only kind I’ve ever known. The only kind I’ve ever trusted.
His is buttered popcorn under the veil of darkness and whispered vows in a lover’s embrace. Mine is methodical silence in the face of peril and gasped last breaths of an enemy."
I usually want to shout my love about books from the top of rooftops but this one..... This one I want to whisper. Cuz this was PRECIOUS. It was truly truly BEAUTIFUL.
It was as sharp as a knife on a throat, as calculated as traps laid with deception, as fucking powerful as a black diamond ring.
But it was also as sweet as attentive gestures like gifting books and chocolates, as soft as earning trust through real laughs and as fucking tender as flowers offered with thought and meaning behind them.
I know I might not make any sense to those who haven't read the book right now but my gosh, THIS BOOK HIT ME. It hit me so fiercely that I have a hangover and a blissful afterglow at the same time.
I'll try to reign in my chaos and love for this book with these facts:
1) Lex inspired me. She is deadly but she is hidden. She is a damn enigma and I love her. She was relatable ( I found another relatable fucking character and I bow to the author for just that)
2) Every cynical and jaded heart out there needs a Reece. 😭 That guy...he's just. He's fucking perfect okay. Perfect exists and Reece is it. I think I found another book boyfriend (whom my other maniacal book bf's would likely try to kill but.... what are panic rooms made for lol)
3) The plot was so fucking amazing. I got a thrill from it !!😍 Everything was so fantastically planned and executed , the calculative thought behind everything was so damn genius and sexy!
4) The chemistry between Reece and Lex was fucking explosive. And the sex was FIRE🫠❤️🔥😮💨
5) THANK YOU to the author for this book. This story made my heart thaw, smoothed out some of those rough , cynical edges and made me smile a soft smile with tears in my eyes (a real smile) . I haven't done that for a while, I realized. You made me believe. 🖤😘
It's probably a weird thing to notice but Another thing that I personally LOVED about this book was that.... the feminism wasn't thrust into your face like many other books nowadays. It was very subtly laid out so that you embraced it.
A knife to the heart doesn't hurt as much as splinters under your skin and the care with the feminist angle proved that here. The writing was beautiful but it also had tact that I just found 🤌
Rec? Hell, I'd make you read it at gunpoint if I could. 😌😌💅
His is buttered popcorn under the veil of darkness and whispered vows in a lover’s embrace. Mine is methodical silence in the face of peril and gasped last breaths of an enemy."
I usually want to shout my love about books from the top of rooftops but this one..... This one I want to whisper. Cuz this was PRECIOUS. It was truly truly BEAUTIFUL.
It was as sharp as a knife on a throat, as calculated as traps laid with deception, as fucking powerful as a black diamond ring.
But it was also as sweet as attentive gestures like gifting books and chocolates, as soft as earning trust through real laughs and as fucking tender as flowers offered with thought and meaning behind them.
I know I might not make any sense to those who haven't read the book right now but my gosh, THIS BOOK HIT ME. It hit me so fiercely that I have a hangover and a blissful afterglow at the same time.
I'll try to reign in my chaos and love for this book with these facts:
1) Lex inspired me. She is deadly but she is hidden. She is a damn enigma and I love her. She was relatable ( I found another relatable fucking character and I bow to the author for just that)
2) Every cynical and jaded heart out there needs a Reece. 😭 That guy...he's just. He's fucking perfect okay. Perfect exists and Reece is it. I think I found another book boyfriend (whom my other maniacal book bf's would likely try to kill but.... what are panic rooms made for lol)
3) The plot was so fucking amazing. I got a thrill from it !!😍 Everything was so fantastically planned and executed , the calculative thought behind everything was so damn genius and sexy!
4) The chemistry between Reece and Lex was fucking explosive. And the sex was FIRE🫠❤️🔥😮💨
5) THANK YOU to the author for this book. This story made my heart thaw, smoothed out some of those rough , cynical edges and made me smile a soft smile with tears in my eyes (a real smile) . I haven't done that for a while, I realized. You made me believe. 🖤😘
It's probably a weird thing to notice but Another thing that I personally LOVED about this book was that.... the feminism wasn't thrust into your face like many other books nowadays. It was very subtly laid out so that you embraced it.
A knife to the heart doesn't hurt as much as splinters under your skin and the care with the feminist angle proved that here. The writing was beautiful but it also had tact that I just found 🤌
Rec? Hell, I'd make you read it at gunpoint if I could. 😌😌💅
August 23, 2023
I was lucky enough to to beta read this novel.
Let me tell you that A. Marie does not disappoint. This is THE BOOK!
It is dark.
It is delicious.
And by god is it hot!!
I hope you are all ready for this one.
*Full review to come on release day*
Let me tell you that A. Marie does not disappoint. This is THE BOOK!
It is dark.
It is delicious.
And by god is it hot!!
I hope you are all ready for this one.
*Full review to come on release day*
March 12, 2024
DNF @ 25% in. I just couldn’t get into it.
March 14, 2024
female main character is too much for me, DNF
June 15, 2024
I refused to DNF and paid the price.
August 30, 2023
NOTHING ABOVE
PERFECTION, SPICY, TWISTED, SHOCKING, INTENSE, PAGE TURNER!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️10/10 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️10/10
OBSESSED! This book is perfection. Perfect balance of feckery, spice scenes, mind blowing twists, drama, secrets, I mean EVERYTHING!! A.Marie is brilliant, the world building, the scheming and how she puts everything together is pure genius. I have not read a book like this with so many twist and mind games between the characters while also being emotional too. It’s crazy! This book takes you on one h3ll of a ride. Fox Hollow is a place where the rich play dirty, and the underdog gets underestimated. The bully thinks he has everything under control and is a mastermind for the trainee to come in for the k!ll. It shows how much you’re willing to give/risk for the ones you love and want to protect.
Will you sell your soul to the d3vil to make sure your loved ones never get burned by the flames of h3ll?
Come to Fox Hollow and find out!
If you don’t pay your dues, you may never leave!
100/100 RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!
PERFECTION, SPICY, TWISTED, SHOCKING, INTENSE, PAGE TURNER!!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️10/10 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️10/10
OBSESSED! This book is perfection. Perfect balance of feckery, spice scenes, mind blowing twists, drama, secrets, I mean EVERYTHING!! A.Marie is brilliant, the world building, the scheming and how she puts everything together is pure genius. I have not read a book like this with so many twist and mind games between the characters while also being emotional too. It’s crazy! This book takes you on one h3ll of a ride. Fox Hollow is a place where the rich play dirty, and the underdog gets underestimated. The bully thinks he has everything under control and is a mastermind for the trainee to come in for the k!ll. It shows how much you’re willing to give/risk for the ones you love and want to protect.
Will you sell your soul to the d3vil to make sure your loved ones never get burned by the flames of h3ll?
Come to Fox Hollow and find out!
If you don’t pay your dues, you may never leave!
100/100 RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!!
October 27, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded to 4 because that is how rounding works in Real Math.
I had a couple gripes with this book, but it's 100% a "it's me, not you" thing. I'd be interested to see what else A. Marie has written for sure!! The writing in this was great!
I had a couple gripes with this book, but it's 100% a "it's me, not you" thing. I'd be interested to see what else A. Marie has written for sure!! The writing in this was great!
Read
April 21, 2024i had to DNF:( it wasn’t thattt bad, it’s just so long and is going no where.
June 4, 2024
One of the best books I’ve ever read. Lex and Reece and just so perfect. My highlights won’t work so I’m going to post them
“Forgive her? For what? Trying to suffocate me numerous times? Getting me to jerk off in her office on my first day here? Firing me twice? Throwing away my gifts right in front of my face without so much as a thank-you first?
Immediately saying no to the first and only favor I've ever asked anyone in my entire fucking life? Or plowing into me just now?”
“And just like that, Lex's slate is wiped completely clean. One goddamn smile and all's fucking forgiven.”
“If she were mine, I'a make her sleep naked every night, giving me round-the-clock access to her pussy.”
“"Because if I touched you, no other man would be allowed to. Not Kaisin, not Phil, not even Kordin fucking Debrosse."
“She's the biggest bitch I've ever met. I want to fuck that attitude right out of her.”
"Let go," she tells me. Her eyes still downcast, she doesn't see me shake my head. "Keep trying." If I let go, her tits will be out all over again, and this time, people are paying attention.”
“Watching the first guy get up, I pivot us to put my free arm forward. "Zip it up," I growl close to Lex's ear. "Let go first." I tighten my hold on both the dress and her. "No." She groans, and I can tell without even seeing her face, her eyes are rolling. Back on his feet, Lex's old customer charges us, and I swing out my hand, palm open, and box his ear so fucking hard he stops to cradle his head.
Since he's still within reach, I do it again, but much, much harder. Motherfucker.
"Shit!" he shouts over another bartender's shrieks for security. "You can't fight one-handed." I ignore Lex because not only can I, I fucking will.”
"We both leave or none of us do." Now that's sexy. She won't leave without me, even if it kills her. Goddamn. If we survive this, I'm wringing her fucking neck, but still, goddamn.”
“Out on the sidewalk, I switch spots with Lex so I'm closest to the street,”
"Stop trying to save me." Just like she did when I told her to stop fighting me, I say,
"I can't."
"Make sure you fucking coat me in cum. I want to be soaked." "Mine or yours?" I grin. "Yours." "Eyes on me." "I'm not blinking,"
"God. Don't tell me I took your virginity, too." "I'm not clingy. I'm fucking territorial. What's mine is mine."
“Predictably-annoyingly—he doesn't give it to me. Reece follows immediately after, his footsteps so heavy it sounds like I'm being stalked by a pissed-off bull.”
“"My cum's running down your leg and you're about to entertain this fucking guy?"
“"Where's your head? In the clouds?" Not in the clouds. In bottomless pits of obsidian.”
A NOTE • PAGE 208.
His eye color
“While Eve's downfall is notorious, her backstory isn't. It was bliss. That's it?
Because she lived in a fucking garden with Adam? What kind of man was her only companion? Does anyone really know how he treated her? Was he as selfless as history would like us to believe? Or was he overindulging all along, leaving Eve positively deprived and reckless by the time that snake appeared offering her the first real flavor after a lifetime of bland leaves and twigs? If a single bite is responsible for the fall of man, then maybe man was already rife with faults.”
“I have no idea what goes through Reece's mind when he shops for me, but I'm glad he finally found a book with some explicit sex in it.”
“"Before you ask-" "I wasn't going to."
"_this one has lots of sex in it.
Consensual sex. I can personally guarantee it." "How?" Reece taps his lips like he's thinking, before saying,
"Missionary, cowgirl, a position called prone bone where the-" "I meant how can you personally guarantee there's consensual sex in it?" "Because I read it myself." "You read it?" He nods. "The whole thing?" Another nod. "Do you read a lot?" "Not since it was a requirement in school." "So, you just... felt like reading this one?" "Not really." He chuckles. "I wanted to make sure it met your standards." He read a book, a romance book, cover to cover, just to see if I'd like it”
“"Lex, I've memorized exactly how your sopping wet cunt looks, feels, and tastes.
We're fucking done with the last-name shit."
“The deepest love isn't spoken, it's shown.
Mouths lie, but actions reveal the truth.”
“"I'm supposed to believe you keep a shovel with you when you don't even carry a lighter?" "You know what... Why don't you give me a list of everything we might need before we leave the house next time? That way I'll be better prepared for whatever you chose to do."
“I'd take your worst over anyone else's best."
Next to Lex's Range Rover, I keep my finger on the lock button, pressing it every time she hits the unlock button, stretching my time with her by only seconds.”
"Because you're a lunatic." "Excuse me?"
"Your moon tattoo. Originally, lunatic just meant moonstruck, but since so much crazy shit happens during full moons, the term took on worse and worse implications over time until eventually it had nothing to do with the moon at all. At its core though, lunatic still means someone affected by the moon. Because bodies are made up of over fifty percent water, technically we're all lunatics, most females even more so if their cycle syncs up with the moon's."
"That's right. Fuck your husband's pillow so the next time he lays his head on it, he'll smell what I stole from him."
“I brush some hair off her forehead, running my fingers through the damp strands until I hit a snag that Lex frowns at but doesn't scold me for like she usually would. Multiple orgasms-that's the key. My schedule just got busier. And hotter”
"I'm jealous of the air in your lungs," I admit without an ounce of shame.
"Why?" I kiss her collarbone, whispering against the thin skin, "Because you let it in."
"Lipstick or tights, pick which one you don't mind replacing because I'm kissing one pair of lips before I leave this room and I don't give a fuck what I have to ruin to do it."
“Love is the world's biggest serial killer, yet it'll never make headlines.”
"Your attachment issues are disturbing.
You should seek help. Immediately."
"Jesus." "Wrong man again." "Reece."
"There we go. You like me fucking you?"
"Why'd you kidnap me?" Reece drops his hand to stare at me. "Because you wouldn't have said yes." "Said yes to what?" "To spending the weekend with me."
"Why have you been breaking in?" "To be close to you." God, that sounds as pathetic as I've felt all day.
"You know what I want from you? For you to breathe. That's all I need you to do this weekend. That's all I need you to do ever. Just fucking exist, Lex."
"Other men have tried to dress me up like a doll, too." "No, other men tried to dress you up like their doll, which didn't work out... because you're mine."
"You don't know exhaustion yet, Snow." I make myself return to the task at hand, saying, "I thought all I'd have to do is breathe." "Panting is breathing. Moaning is breathing. Screaming is breathing."
"You abducted me." "You broke up with me!" he says just as defensively as if the two are remotely comparable.
"Hey," he says when I start to lower my head over his lap. "No teeth this time.
I'm not trying to crash out here." It was one time and it was out of desperation. I had to do something to give my pussy a break the night he stayed at my house. It was like he was the sex addict on ecstasy.
The teeth worked because after he came, he was too paralyzed to touch me for a solid twenty or thirty minutes.
"Speaking of, where did that Chaste Tree go? I didn't see it in your apartment."
"You mean the one night you broke into it?" "Yes." Was he expecting it to be a regular occurrence? And now, he's upset it's not?
"Gray cars are more common than black cars," I say to lighten the mood. Glancing back at the SUV, he says, "Yeah, but you like black." "You like black, too." He looks at me again. "But I like you more, so I got you what you like." When he opens the door for me, I pass through, shaking my head. He considered my preferences when stealing a car.”
"Not counting the first few, I've read every book I gave you." "That's impossible. I can't even read that fast."
"Every book I buy you, I get on audio, too, and listen to it myself before giving it to you." Picked up that hack from my mom. I tried reading the physical books, but she's right, I can't read that fast.
With audios, I can crank the speed up and knock it out in no time. "Why?" She knows this, but I tell her anyway. "At first it was to make sure there was sex, then that the sex was consensual. After that it was to make sure you'd like it.
And.." "And?" She doesn't know this.
"Because I want to be able to talk to you about the stories... if you want."
“It's the most beautiful sound from the most beautiful woman. My beautiful laugh and my beautiful woman because I earned them both.”
“I'll break myself before I'd ever try fixing her.”
"Your vitamins are in there. I don't know how many you take, so hopefully there's enough. If not, we'll get more in town."
"What vitamins?" "The ones in your pantry. I didn't know what you needed them for, just that you might. And I figured you probably wouldn't have your luggage on you when I grabbed you last night, so I took several of each before I left your house."
"I don't know how," I confess quietly.
"How to what?" "How to..." Love myself.
Forgive myself. Give myself an ounce of fucking grace. "I'll teach you," Reece says.
"You don't even know what I was going to say." "I don't need to. Whatever you don't know, I'll teach you." "And if you don't know it?" "I'll learn it first."
"Why is this so important?" "Because I don't want you ending up like your mom thinking a bottle of wine and a book are the best life has to offer."
"I don't want to hide you." First I lower my gaze, then head, Reece's sincere expression evident the entire time, despite the flakes clinging to my lashes.
"Not in there. Not anywhere. In private or public, in the dark or light, I want to treat you the same." He pauses to pull my body to his, our fronts mashed together as tightly as our padded coats allow. "Like you're mine."
"If your scratches destroy me, draw my death out. Make it as long and brutally painful as you can." I'll go into the ground smashed, slashed, and having lived out a fantasy worth dying for.
What better ending is there?
with every breath she takes, I feel myself falling deeper and deeper in love with her.
I told her all she had to do was breathe but I left out the most important part. I need her to breathe near me.
"Why did you do that?" she cries. "Fall for you?" Her eyebrows caving in, she nods. How do I explain it? What is there to explain? It wasn't even me. It was all her. "I didn't have a choice, Lex. You knocked me on my ass."
"Reece," I start again. "I would kill for you." Five words. Five words that encapsulate my love entirely, the only kind I've ever known. The only kind I've ever trusted. His is buttered popcorn under the veil of darkness and whispered vows in a lover's embrace.
Mine is methodical silence in the face of peril and gasped last breaths of an enemy. One is sweet, the other bitter, neither fiercer than the other. Like Honeysuckle and Lily of the Valley— both hold the same meaning, but in very, very different ways.
"Our Reece?" Cia asks, making a laugh knock around in my chest. "Not your Reece. My Reece."
"I'm obsessed with you," I tell her quietly. Her eyes flutter open, and meeting mine, she says,
"I would kill for you."
Fuck, marry, kill was one of the many games we used to play inside to pass the time, except I always struggled with my answers. Now I understand why. I choose Lex to do all three to me.
Now I'm fucking overwhelmed. Lex runs Fox Hollow. Or she at least runs it with other... women? Yeah, she runs it with other women, including my-Including our family. That's why they renamed Silvy's to Gwen's.
"I'll teach you that, too," Lex promises. "You don't know what I was gonna say." "I don't need to. I'll teach you anything you need me to."
"I don't want to hide you. Not here. Not anywhere. In private or public, in the dark or light, I want to treat you the same. Like you're mine." She seals the same vow I once gave her by brushing my lips with hers, then pulls back and adds, "Because you are."
I approach the two slowly, clearing my throat to tell Primrose, "Hi, happy girl" When she doesn't shy away from me, only smiles bigger, I take her chunky hand, and unwrap the hair from it. Just because Lex's pain tolerance is higher than most doesn't mean my tolerance for her pain is
Staring into eyes like Snow in Summer foliage, I realize what it is that affects Lex's eye color.
It's not the lighting. It's her moods.
"What's that term that means better than happy? The one my sister used?" She never told me. Those silver eyes break from mine to glance at Breckyn, then they return, an easy smile both in them and under them. "Nothing above”
"I'm Reece Souza,
Okay I have never and will never do that again but this book deserved it
“Forgive her? For what? Trying to suffocate me numerous times? Getting me to jerk off in her office on my first day here? Firing me twice? Throwing away my gifts right in front of my face without so much as a thank-you first?
Immediately saying no to the first and only favor I've ever asked anyone in my entire fucking life? Or plowing into me just now?”
“And just like that, Lex's slate is wiped completely clean. One goddamn smile and all's fucking forgiven.”
“If she were mine, I'a make her sleep naked every night, giving me round-the-clock access to her pussy.”
“"Because if I touched you, no other man would be allowed to. Not Kaisin, not Phil, not even Kordin fucking Debrosse."
“She's the biggest bitch I've ever met. I want to fuck that attitude right out of her.”
"Let go," she tells me. Her eyes still downcast, she doesn't see me shake my head. "Keep trying." If I let go, her tits will be out all over again, and this time, people are paying attention.”
“Watching the first guy get up, I pivot us to put my free arm forward. "Zip it up," I growl close to Lex's ear. "Let go first." I tighten my hold on both the dress and her. "No." She groans, and I can tell without even seeing her face, her eyes are rolling. Back on his feet, Lex's old customer charges us, and I swing out my hand, palm open, and box his ear so fucking hard he stops to cradle his head.
Since he's still within reach, I do it again, but much, much harder. Motherfucker.
"Shit!" he shouts over another bartender's shrieks for security. "You can't fight one-handed." I ignore Lex because not only can I, I fucking will.”
"We both leave or none of us do." Now that's sexy. She won't leave without me, even if it kills her. Goddamn. If we survive this, I'm wringing her fucking neck, but still, goddamn.”
“Out on the sidewalk, I switch spots with Lex so I'm closest to the street,”
"Stop trying to save me." Just like she did when I told her to stop fighting me, I say,
"I can't."
"Make sure you fucking coat me in cum. I want to be soaked." "Mine or yours?" I grin. "Yours." "Eyes on me." "I'm not blinking,"
"God. Don't tell me I took your virginity, too." "I'm not clingy. I'm fucking territorial. What's mine is mine."
“Predictably-annoyingly—he doesn't give it to me. Reece follows immediately after, his footsteps so heavy it sounds like I'm being stalked by a pissed-off bull.”
“"My cum's running down your leg and you're about to entertain this fucking guy?"
“"Where's your head? In the clouds?" Not in the clouds. In bottomless pits of obsidian.”
A NOTE • PAGE 208.
His eye color
“While Eve's downfall is notorious, her backstory isn't. It was bliss. That's it?
Because she lived in a fucking garden with Adam? What kind of man was her only companion? Does anyone really know how he treated her? Was he as selfless as history would like us to believe? Or was he overindulging all along, leaving Eve positively deprived and reckless by the time that snake appeared offering her the first real flavor after a lifetime of bland leaves and twigs? If a single bite is responsible for the fall of man, then maybe man was already rife with faults.”
“I have no idea what goes through Reece's mind when he shops for me, but I'm glad he finally found a book with some explicit sex in it.”
“"Before you ask-" "I wasn't going to."
"_this one has lots of sex in it.
Consensual sex. I can personally guarantee it." "How?" Reece taps his lips like he's thinking, before saying,
"Missionary, cowgirl, a position called prone bone where the-" "I meant how can you personally guarantee there's consensual sex in it?" "Because I read it myself." "You read it?" He nods. "The whole thing?" Another nod. "Do you read a lot?" "Not since it was a requirement in school." "So, you just... felt like reading this one?" "Not really." He chuckles. "I wanted to make sure it met your standards." He read a book, a romance book, cover to cover, just to see if I'd like it”
“"Lex, I've memorized exactly how your sopping wet cunt looks, feels, and tastes.
We're fucking done with the last-name shit."
“The deepest love isn't spoken, it's shown.
Mouths lie, but actions reveal the truth.”
“"I'm supposed to believe you keep a shovel with you when you don't even carry a lighter?" "You know what... Why don't you give me a list of everything we might need before we leave the house next time? That way I'll be better prepared for whatever you chose to do."
“I'd take your worst over anyone else's best."
Next to Lex's Range Rover, I keep my finger on the lock button, pressing it every time she hits the unlock button, stretching my time with her by only seconds.”
"Because you're a lunatic." "Excuse me?"
"Your moon tattoo. Originally, lunatic just meant moonstruck, but since so much crazy shit happens during full moons, the term took on worse and worse implications over time until eventually it had nothing to do with the moon at all. At its core though, lunatic still means someone affected by the moon. Because bodies are made up of over fifty percent water, technically we're all lunatics, most females even more so if their cycle syncs up with the moon's."
"That's right. Fuck your husband's pillow so the next time he lays his head on it, he'll smell what I stole from him."
“I brush some hair off her forehead, running my fingers through the damp strands until I hit a snag that Lex frowns at but doesn't scold me for like she usually would. Multiple orgasms-that's the key. My schedule just got busier. And hotter”
"I'm jealous of the air in your lungs," I admit without an ounce of shame.
"Why?" I kiss her collarbone, whispering against the thin skin, "Because you let it in."
"Lipstick or tights, pick which one you don't mind replacing because I'm kissing one pair of lips before I leave this room and I don't give a fuck what I have to ruin to do it."
“Love is the world's biggest serial killer, yet it'll never make headlines.”
"Your attachment issues are disturbing.
You should seek help. Immediately."
"Jesus." "Wrong man again." "Reece."
"There we go. You like me fucking you?"
"Why'd you kidnap me?" Reece drops his hand to stare at me. "Because you wouldn't have said yes." "Said yes to what?" "To spending the weekend with me."
"Why have you been breaking in?" "To be close to you." God, that sounds as pathetic as I've felt all day.
"You know what I want from you? For you to breathe. That's all I need you to do this weekend. That's all I need you to do ever. Just fucking exist, Lex."
"Other men have tried to dress me up like a doll, too." "No, other men tried to dress you up like their doll, which didn't work out... because you're mine."
"You don't know exhaustion yet, Snow." I make myself return to the task at hand, saying, "I thought all I'd have to do is breathe." "Panting is breathing. Moaning is breathing. Screaming is breathing."
"You abducted me." "You broke up with me!" he says just as defensively as if the two are remotely comparable.
"Hey," he says when I start to lower my head over his lap. "No teeth this time.
I'm not trying to crash out here." It was one time and it was out of desperation. I had to do something to give my pussy a break the night he stayed at my house. It was like he was the sex addict on ecstasy.
The teeth worked because after he came, he was too paralyzed to touch me for a solid twenty or thirty minutes.
"Speaking of, where did that Chaste Tree go? I didn't see it in your apartment."
"You mean the one night you broke into it?" "Yes." Was he expecting it to be a regular occurrence? And now, he's upset it's not?
"Gray cars are more common than black cars," I say to lighten the mood. Glancing back at the SUV, he says, "Yeah, but you like black." "You like black, too." He looks at me again. "But I like you more, so I got you what you like." When he opens the door for me, I pass through, shaking my head. He considered my preferences when stealing a car.”
"Not counting the first few, I've read every book I gave you." "That's impossible. I can't even read that fast."
"Every book I buy you, I get on audio, too, and listen to it myself before giving it to you." Picked up that hack from my mom. I tried reading the physical books, but she's right, I can't read that fast.
With audios, I can crank the speed up and knock it out in no time. "Why?" She knows this, but I tell her anyway. "At first it was to make sure there was sex, then that the sex was consensual. After that it was to make sure you'd like it.
And.." "And?" She doesn't know this.
"Because I want to be able to talk to you about the stories... if you want."
“It's the most beautiful sound from the most beautiful woman. My beautiful laugh and my beautiful woman because I earned them both.”
“I'll break myself before I'd ever try fixing her.”
"Your vitamins are in there. I don't know how many you take, so hopefully there's enough. If not, we'll get more in town."
"What vitamins?" "The ones in your pantry. I didn't know what you needed them for, just that you might. And I figured you probably wouldn't have your luggage on you when I grabbed you last night, so I took several of each before I left your house."
"I don't know how," I confess quietly.
"How to what?" "How to..." Love myself.
Forgive myself. Give myself an ounce of fucking grace. "I'll teach you," Reece says.
"You don't even know what I was going to say." "I don't need to. Whatever you don't know, I'll teach you." "And if you don't know it?" "I'll learn it first."
"Why is this so important?" "Because I don't want you ending up like your mom thinking a bottle of wine and a book are the best life has to offer."
"I don't want to hide you." First I lower my gaze, then head, Reece's sincere expression evident the entire time, despite the flakes clinging to my lashes.
"Not in there. Not anywhere. In private or public, in the dark or light, I want to treat you the same." He pauses to pull my body to his, our fronts mashed together as tightly as our padded coats allow. "Like you're mine."
"If your scratches destroy me, draw my death out. Make it as long and brutally painful as you can." I'll go into the ground smashed, slashed, and having lived out a fantasy worth dying for.
What better ending is there?
with every breath she takes, I feel myself falling deeper and deeper in love with her.
I told her all she had to do was breathe but I left out the most important part. I need her to breathe near me.
"Why did you do that?" she cries. "Fall for you?" Her eyebrows caving in, she nods. How do I explain it? What is there to explain? It wasn't even me. It was all her. "I didn't have a choice, Lex. You knocked me on my ass."
"Reece," I start again. "I would kill for you." Five words. Five words that encapsulate my love entirely, the only kind I've ever known. The only kind I've ever trusted. His is buttered popcorn under the veil of darkness and whispered vows in a lover's embrace.
Mine is methodical silence in the face of peril and gasped last breaths of an enemy. One is sweet, the other bitter, neither fiercer than the other. Like Honeysuckle and Lily of the Valley— both hold the same meaning, but in very, very different ways.
"Our Reece?" Cia asks, making a laugh knock around in my chest. "Not your Reece. My Reece."
"I'm obsessed with you," I tell her quietly. Her eyes flutter open, and meeting mine, she says,
"I would kill for you."
Fuck, marry, kill was one of the many games we used to play inside to pass the time, except I always struggled with my answers. Now I understand why. I choose Lex to do all three to me.
Now I'm fucking overwhelmed. Lex runs Fox Hollow. Or she at least runs it with other... women? Yeah, she runs it with other women, including my-Including our family. That's why they renamed Silvy's to Gwen's.
"I'll teach you that, too," Lex promises. "You don't know what I was gonna say." "I don't need to. I'll teach you anything you need me to."
"I don't want to hide you. Not here. Not anywhere. In private or public, in the dark or light, I want to treat you the same. Like you're mine." She seals the same vow I once gave her by brushing my lips with hers, then pulls back and adds, "Because you are."
I approach the two slowly, clearing my throat to tell Primrose, "Hi, happy girl" When she doesn't shy away from me, only smiles bigger, I take her chunky hand, and unwrap the hair from it. Just because Lex's pain tolerance is higher than most doesn't mean my tolerance for her pain is
Staring into eyes like Snow in Summer foliage, I realize what it is that affects Lex's eye color.
It's not the lighting. It's her moods.
"What's that term that means better than happy? The one my sister used?" She never told me. Those silver eyes break from mine to glance at Breckyn, then they return, an easy smile both in them and under them. "Nothing above”
"I'm Reece Souza,
Okay I have never and will never do that again but this book deserved it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2023
This was my first book by A.Marie and overall it was pretty good. Decent storyline with some spice thrown in. I found it somewhat predictable but overall a very enjoyable read. 3.75
April 17, 2024
Reece has been hired to break into a house and steal a computer. He couldn’t have gotten it more wrong than he did. Lex is the wife of a real estate mogul with many things to hide.
This dark romance is exactly that. It is full of dark charters who do bad things. The men surrounding Lexi are evil. They only care about money and power and will use everyone around them to get what they want.
Many books have the “strong female character” But I do not think I have ever read a book with a more powerful female character, ever. She has reached her limit on the crap she will take and is now going to do something about it. She hides razor blades in her mouth. Takes down grown men with her stilettos, bitterly powerful guards. She kills workout remorse and uses her tears like teeth. She is one bad-a lady. I don’t really like the decisions she made at the end of the book. If she had just spoken to Reece he could’ve gotten out of jail much quicker. Instead she chose to stay silent and almost seemed to punish him. It was kind of strange.
This has a great HEA that, while it takes a whole lot of time to get to it, is definitely worth the wait.
R- Violence. Murder. Language. Sex.
This dark romance is exactly that. It is full of dark charters who do bad things. The men surrounding Lexi are evil. They only care about money and power and will use everyone around them to get what they want.
Many books have the “strong female character” But I do not think I have ever read a book with a more powerful female character, ever. She has reached her limit on the crap she will take and is now going to do something about it. She hides razor blades in her mouth. Takes down grown men with her stilettos, bitterly powerful guards. She kills workout remorse and uses her tears like teeth. She is one bad-a lady. I don’t really like the decisions she made at the end of the book. If she had just spoken to Reece he could’ve gotten out of jail much quicker. Instead she chose to stay silent and almost seemed to punish him. It was kind of strange.
This has a great HEA that, while it takes a whole lot of time to get to it, is definitely worth the wait.
R- Violence. Murder. Language. Sex.
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