BECOMING ANNE ELISE by Elle Emriche

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To escape an abusive husband, Pauline Ray takes her two young children and all the money she’s secretly stashed over the years, and travels as far as the funds allow. She ends up in the small Virginia town where she encounters the eccentric Blue sisters, who take the family into their care. The sisters come up with the idea to pass Pauline off as the daughter of deceased friend. That way, she inherits a cottage and a new identity, that of Anne Elise Greenway. In the small town of Norton, Virginia, gossip spreads like wildfire, and the story is that old man Greenways’s daughter has returned, a widow whose husband left her penniless. When the local ranch hand and mysterious loner, Jeremy Sheffield, learns this, having seen and become intrigue by her, he approaches with the idea of helping. She explains that she can’t afford to hire him; he explains there is more than one way to pay a man. It’s supposed to be a surface relationship, help in exchange for sexual relations, but attraction fuels an unexpected affection, which complicates matters. Jeremy and Anne Elise have both suffered from gnawing loneliness most of their lives, and the intimacy between them changes everything. Unfortunately, Pauline has not been forgotten; her husband, Ethan Ray, hires the Pinkerton Agency to find his wife and children. When a detective finally locates her, Ethan comes to collect his family. As usual, when Ethan is angry, he is violent. Jeremy arrives on the scene in time to save Anne Elise, but only by damning himself. The ghosts from his past resurface and he’s forced to accept that he’s meant to be alone. Only by drawing on all her newfound strength, will Anne Elise convince him of his worth and her love. click here to buy book

EXCERPT :

Jeremy’s arms were folded behind his head as he stared out the window at the storm. The knock at the door surprised him and he stared at it a moment before jumping up and putting his pants back on. He reached for his shirt and put it on, but only managed to fasten one button before he opened the door. Anne Elise was standing before him, wearing an ivory silk dressing robe. Her hair was down.

“May I come in?” she asked.

His jaw went slack for a moment, but he stepped back quickly. It hadn’t occurred to him that she’d come to him tonight. He needed to speak, to say something, but he couldn’t think. He shut the door. “I didn’t think you’d--” he began. “I … didn’t think it would be tonight.”

“You have to go back tomorrow, don’t you?”

He nodded.

“Well, then,” she said, stepping close. She ran her hands up his shirtfront slowly, avoiding his gaze.

“You’re sure?” he asked, grasping her wrists. “I mean, I haven’t done anything yet.”

She looked into his eyes. “All I’m sure of is that I’ve been dead in a lot of ways for a long time. I think...” Her gaze dropped to his lips. “...I’d like to remember, or maybe to know, what a kiss feels like.”

His gaze raked her face. It was baffling how she could be both forward and incredibly vulnerable at the same moment. She was blushing and her pulse was pounding as hard as his. He knew because he could feel it in her wrists. A kiss. Did he even know how to kiss? He’d fucked hundreds of times, but a kiss? Had he ever kissed? And she wanted to know what it felt like from him? “I’m not sure I’m any good at it,” he admitted.

She looked into his eyes. “Me neither.”

He leaned forward slowly, his breath held, and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. Her lips were surprisingly soft and the fit was perfect. Had he known a kiss was so sweet a thing? No. No, he had not known until this second. “I think that’s how it’s done,” he whispered.

She smiled. “I like it.”

He kissed her again, first her lips and then her warm cheeks and then her lips again. Her eyes were closed, her breath coming fast. She clutched his arms, followed his movements, matched his pace. He moved in closer, pulling her body to his, the power intoxicating. Her skin was hot now, her breathing rapid. He kissed her cheek and along her jaw. “You wanted to get specific,” he said in a husky voice. “I think … kissing has got to be part of our deal.”
She nodded. “Yes. Yes, I agree. Kissing.”

He kissed the side of her neck, and then her earlobe, and felt her jerk. She’d been dead, she claimed. Well, so had he. But no more. He flicked a tongue in her ear experimentally and she moaned and jerked again in his arms. He tightened his grip, blew softly in her ear, and flicked his tongue in again. His hand closed over her breast and teased an erect nipple between finger and thumb, maybe too aggressively because her lips parted in a gasp. It was the perfect opening and he took it, exploring her mouth with eager thrusts of his tongue.

She moaned and her hand tightened on the back of his neck. She tentatively offered her tongue and he knew what it felt like to want to devour a woman.
She pulled away, but only to unfasten the button on his shirt. She ran her hands and gaze over his chest and circled his nipples with the pads of her thumbs.

An intense tremor stiffened him. He wanted to fuck her, but he wanted to suffer this strange ecstasy, too. Never in all his fantasies had he imagined this bliss. Not all that long ago, he’d been staring at her from a distance, wondering what it would be like to get close to her, and now he was with her, holding her, tasting her – more alive than he had ever been.

She turned away and slipped the robe down, just a bit, revealing beautiful, bare shoulders. He pushed her hair to one side and caressed her shoulder. He’d never know shoulders, the backs of shoulders, were so lovely, so feminine.

She let the robe slip lower. She was teasing, but he loved it. No one had ever played this game before. He relished each inch of skin, drinking the sight in like a parched man gulped water. He ran his fingers over her back and it seemed to him that he’d never touched skin before.

She straightened her arms and let the robe fall fully.

He let out a shuddering breath and pressed himself against her, his cock impaling her back. He cupped her breasts, then ran one hand over her chest to her throat and then to her jaw, forcing her head backwards against his shoulder. “Tell me how you like it.”

“I’ve never liked it,” she said in a low voice. “This is a new experience.”

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