Masquerade
by Nyrae Dawn
Synopsis:
A biker. A tattoo artist. A love to last a lifetime.
Maddox Cross has always had to be tough. When his father went to jail for murder, the teenager took care of his sister and mother. Now on his own and working security at a night club, Maddox wants to become a tattoo artist-a dream that comes closer to reality when he falls for the hottest, most tatted woman he's ever seen. She's wild and beautiful, and Maddox will do anything to be with her.
Bee Malone came to town to open up her new tattoo parlor, Masquerade. Since being kidnapped as a young girl, Bee has had trouble getting close to anyone. But when she meets Maddox, she sees that under his hard biker's body is the sensitive soul of an artist. What starts out as a sizzling one-night stand soon becomes so much more.
Bee wants Maddox to join her tattoo business, but letting him into her life means revealing all her most intimate secrets. And as the past begins to intertwine with her present, Bee fears their love may not be as permanent as their ink . . .
Review:
Maddox was the All-American kid growing up. He had perfect
nuclear family. He excelled at football. His life was the stuff of dreams. He
was the boy to be envied…until he kept a secret that cost more than he can
repay.
Bee has her reasons for keeping people away. She’s had an
experience that left a lasting deep-seated fear in her. But it’s a fear she can’t
express to anyone. See, what happened to Bee wasn’t necessarily abusive. She had
a great childhood…until it all came crashing down.
Maddox meets a Bee in a bar. They agree to let each other
fill the temporary sexual desire. Neither of them want complications, and
commitment is the furthest thing from their minds. A no strings attached in a
hotel room with a stranger sounds like a good idea, right? And it is…until
Maddox walks into Bee’s tattoo shop to ask for a job.
What happens when you put two characters, whose sexual
tension is so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw, together day after day?
They become really grouchy. And for Bee and Maddox, who are already mad at the
world, it’s like lighting a slow burning fuse to a keg of dynamite. Boy is the
explosion worth watching.
Bee and Maddox are such jerks, but they’re likable jerks.
Watching them fight their attraction to each other was alternatingly funny and
frustrating. Both of them crave the other for more than a physical connection,
but neither of them wants to admit it. It’s not until they realize the things
that annoy them about the each other are the same things holding them back from
being happy that things change for these two.
Masquerade is the story of what happens when two people take
the mask that they present to the world off and let someone see who they truly
are. It’s a sweet, touching story about the healing power of finding love with
someone who understands you.
Reviewed by Liz
Reviewer was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
EXCERPT:
Reviewed by Liz
Reviewer was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
EXCERPT:
“Did you bring
any drawings?” Bee sits at the chair behind a desk.
I hand her a
book, but the second I do, I want to snatch it back. It’s always like that
showing someone my work, even though I know it’s good. “That’s just one I had
with me. I have more at home.”
She doesn’t
answer as she starts flipping through the pages. After a couple minutes of
watching her study each page, I start to get jittery. Feel like she’s looking
inside me instead of at some pages, so to distract myself, I move around the
room, taking in pictures of her work and other tattoos on the walls.
She looks at the
book for what seems like an hour before speaking. “These are good. They’re
different. Your artwork has a unique style that I haven’t seen before.”
I nod.
“Why do you want
to be a tattoo artist?” she asks. The question shows me how serious she is
about what she does because no one has brought it up before.
The urge to tell
her it’s none of her business surges through me, but I want this badly enough
to answer. “Because when I’m around it, I feel more like myself than I probably
ever have.”
A brief flash of
shock shows on her face, but she covers it quickly. “Good. I won’t screw around
with someone who’s playing a game. This isn’t something you do to make a quick
buck. Not if you’re working with me, at least. Did you get a chance to actually
give anyone ink?”
“No. The
apprenticeship only lasted three months before he bailed.”
Bee nods.
“That’s good. I actually rather you have hardly any experience—that way I don’t
have to train bad habits out of you.”
“I’m not a dog.”
“No one said you
were. Chill out, Scratch.”
I tense at the
name, but before I can really say anything, she starts asking questions again.
“Do you lean toward liking only black work or are you into color too?”
Everything I
have so far is only black, but as I look at her again, I see a variety of black
and colorful work. “Depends. I don’t want to do only one or the other. I love
work with shading too. I’ve seen some pieces that are really incredible just
because of the shading.”
She nods and I
wonder if that was the right answer.
“I’m not saying
you don’t, but this is something you have to take seriously. There are a lot of
dumb-asses out there who think it’s all fun, but it’s not. Stuff like being
clean and safe is even more important than the picture you put into someone’s
skin.”
“That’s a given,
isn’t it?”
She grins.
“You’d think, but it’s not always like that.”
We’re both quiet
after that. Bee glances down at my artwork again. “I’m surprised I even let you
in here tonight. It’s important that you know that. I don’t take shit from
people.”
One look at her
and that’s obvious. Part of me didn’t expect her to open the door for me
either. “I’m surprised I came, so that makes two of us.” When she looks up at
me, I’m not sure how I feel about the way her eyes take me in. Don’t know what
I think about the fact that we have shit in common or that her look is familiar
to me. I give it myself.
Bee stands,
walks around to the front of the desk, and then leans on it. “If we do this, can
we keep things from getting awkward?”
My answer comes
automatically. “I can if you can. It was one night. We don’t know each other
and I’m never with someone more than once anyway.” I’ve shared this strange
sort of honesty with her tonight that makes my body overheat. I want all the
words back because they’re a part of me and I don’t want anyone to see who I
am, but this is it. Saying these things to her is the only way to get what I
want.
“Now that you’ve
asked your questions and realize this isn’t a game to me, I need to know if
we’re doing this or not.”
Silently she
walks toward the door and opens it. I hold in the groan, pissed at myself for
fucking this up again and even more pissed that she’s in control.
Bee turns toward
me, her blond hair messy from sleep, but it’s another thing she doesn’t care
about. It doesn’t take away from how sexy she is either.
“We’re doing
this. Don’t make me regret it. Now I need to get some sleep and then we’ll talk
tomorrow about a schedule.”
I let out the
breath trapped in my lungs. Thanks, echoes through my mind, but all that comes
out is, “Cool. We’ll talk later.” Then I walk out the door.
Instead of going
home, I head to the high school. It’s such a dumb fucking thing to do, but like
I’ve done other nights, I jump the fence and head to the football field.
Sitting in the middle of it, I let my eyes trace over the whole thing, trying
to remember the time this used to be important to me. And trying not to
concentrate on the fact that even though I got something I want, something I
need, I still want to take out the fucking world because of everything I’ve
lost.
THIS IS A MUST ONE CLICK SERIES !!!
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