Crossing the Line by Nicola Marsh
(World Apart #1)
Publication date: May 8th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Laying it all on the line for love…
Mia Cresswell is tired of being good.
Achieving geek status at college doesn’t equate with fun. So when she heads home to her dad’s tennis academy in Santa Monica on spring break, she’s determined to be bad. And hot Aussie tennis star Kye Sheldon is just the guy to help her do it.
However, Kye’s troubled past continues to dog him and attending the Cresswell Tennis Academy is his last chance at the big time. He can’t afford to screw up…by screwing the boss’s daughter.
But Mia and Kye’s relationship is much more than a vacation fling.
Will it be game, set, match, when the truth is revealed?
Or will Mia and Kye have a real shot at love all?
USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Marsh writes flirty fiction with flair for adults and spooky, supernatural fiction for young adults.
She has published 45 books with Harlequin, Entangled Publishing and indie, and sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
Her first mainstream contemporary romance, BUSTED IN BOLLYWOOD (Entangled Publishing) released to rave reviews, including a nomination for RWA's RBY, Romantic Book of the Year 2012.
Her first indie-pubbed contemporary romance CRAZY LOVE released September 2012, is a Barnes & Noble bestseller, and was nominated for a 2012 ARRA award.
Her young adult debut, BANISH, a supernatural thriller featuring Wicca, spirits and murder, released August 2013 with Harlequin Teen.
Her young adult fantasy series with Month9Books launched November 2013 with SCION OF THE SUN.
Her debut new adult novel BEFORE releases December 2013.
She's also a Waldenbooks, Bookscan and Barnes & Noble bestseller, a 2013 RBY and National Readers' Choice Award winner, is a multiple finalist for awards including the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, Booksellers' Best, Golden Quill, Laurel Wreath, More than Magic and has won several CataRomance Reviewers' Choice Awards.
Author links:
Excerpt 1
KYE
"Hey."
I turned toward the girl's voice as she stepped out of the shadows, not sure what annoyed me most. The intrusion or the way she sauntered toward me, all long legs and cocky smile.
She was just my type: tall, sexy brunette with enough hip sway to make a guy wonder what made her so confident, and bedroom eyes that hinted at sin.
Sadly, this devil had just landed in the City of Angels and sin was the last thing on my agenda.
"I'm not in the mood for company," I said, expecting her to head back inside.
She didn't falter as she strode toward me. "Too bad, because I needed some air and this terrace is big enough for the both of us."
I could've left but there was something in the way she was staring at me that had me intrigued: like she wanted me but wouldn't have a clue what to do if she got me.
"Mia." She stuck out her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
"Kye." I reluctantly shook her hand. "Wish I could say the same."
"You don't like girls?" She slid her hand out of mine, the insolent quirk of her lips making me want to do something I shouldn't. Like kiss the smirk off her smart mouth.
"Love women." I took a step back, staring at her feet and slowly sweeping upward in a deliberate perusal meant to make a point. I wanted to make her squirm. It backfired, as I noted red nail polish matching her towering shoes, slim ankles, long legs, tight black dress that ended mid-thigh and hugged her lean bod, and pert tits. The frigging dress had a front zipper that just begged to be undone. Beyond hot.
By the time I reached her face, she was blushing.
"So which am I?" She leaned forward, giving me a generous glimpse of cleavage. "Girl or woman?"
Excerpt 2
Mia
I was in way over my head with this one.
The guys I dated in college were … sedate. Soft-spoken, laid-back guys who talked football and basketball and grades. Guys who were polite and refined. Guys who would play along with goofy crap like what I'd planned.
Guys the antithesis of Kye.
Oh. My. God. Dani had been right. Sex god.
Pity about the attitude.
I didn't go for surly bad boys. Rudeness annoyed me.
But I'd started down this track tonight and if there was one thing I always did, it was finish what I started.
Somehow, my plan had changed between the time I'd left Dani and the time I'd met Kye. Had to have been all of ten seconds from the time he'd stepped out onto the terrace and I'd introduced myself, but I'd known then he was more than a stooge to help me pull off a lame stunt.
There'd been something behind his glower … a hint of vulnerability behind the sneer that made me wonder what a guy like him was doing here. He obviously didn't fit in and I knew the feeling.
As for his sexy Aussie accent? Yeah, that probably had something to do with the fact why I was still hanging around. If only I could encourage him to talk more.
"You can let go now," he said, his low tone making awareness ripple through me. "I won't make a break for it."
I squeezed his hand. "Why don't you let go?"
"Because I'm not the one holding on hard enough to crush every metatarsal in my hand."
"Someone's studying anatomy at college," I muttered, and didn't let go.
I liked holding Kye's hand. Liked the feel of his roughened palm, his strong fingers. Liked the false courage it gave me.
Because I feared if I let go, the last of my courage would disappear and I'd be the one bolting. Back to the safety of my villa, far away from badass Aussies with blue eyes and broad shoulders and a mouth I couldn't stop staring at.
Excerpt 3
KYE
I had no idea why I asked the uptight princess to stay.
I should've let her stomp off in a snit after her shitfit.
But there was something about the way she'd stood up to me that had me intrigued.
I'd bet my left ball she was daddy's little angel. She'd virtually confirmed it when she'd blurted all that stuff about her private life.
So her tough girl act, when she'd shoved me around, made me admire her. She had spirit. Fire in the belly, as my mum used to say.
But I couldn't afford to think about Mum now. Not when Mia stared at me with those all-seeing, all-knowing eyes.
"Tell me why you want me to stay," she said, thrusting her chin up a little, daring me to drive her away again.
Considering she'd semi-lifted me out of my black mood, not a chance.
How long since I'd hung out with anyone, let alone a girl? After I'd been booted out of the tennis academy in Sydney for busting that bozo's nose, I'd spent a month at my dad's mansion in Double Bay, on what he'd labeled a good behavior bond.
Hadn't been so bad, as my dad was on location shooting an action flick in Darwin for three of those weeks. And that final week, he'd made arrangements for me to come here.
Woop-de-fucking-do.
"Honestly?"
She rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't have asked if I didn't want an honest answer."
I stepped forward, almost invading her personal space. "I've been in a pretty shitty place lately and you've distracted me."
"So you want me to stick around and distract you some more." She pressed her palms to her heart. "Lucky me."
"I also like that you're a smart-arse."
"I love your accent." Her lips curved into a sexy grin that made me want to step even closer. "Arrrrse," she said, and giggled.
I found myself chuckling along with her. "Let me guess. Your only experience with Australia comes from drooling over the Hemsworth brothers."
To my surprise, she blushed. "I may have seen The Hunger Games five times." She held up both hands, fingers spread. "And The Avengers ten. What of it?"
"Means you've got a thing for Aussie guys." I bumped her with my shoulder. "Lucky me."
She wrinkled her nose, but her blush intensified, making me want to touch her cheeks to see if they felt as hot as they looked. "You'll be the exception to the rule."
"Yet you're here with me now instead of at that party?" I grinned. "Interesting."
Our gazes locked for a long moment and I felt a jolt of something … powerful. I could attribute it to hormones, considering I hadn't got laid in six months, but the spark in her dark eyes made me want to do more than chat with her.
Excerpt 4
MIA
Trust me to pick the only bad boy on the planet with a conscience.
I didn't know what else to do to get Kye to sleep with me, bar strip and run around the tennis court naked.
"This isn't a good idea," he mumbled, sounding as tortured as I felt.
Good. Because if we didn't do this within the next five minutes, I'd combust from wanting him.
I pressed against him one last time, wishing I had the guts to touch him there. "We either do this, or you're going to spend the night under a cold shower or working off your frustration on the court."
The moment I said it, I had an idea. A brilliant one.
Trying to hide a triumphant smirk was almost impossible. "How about this. We play one game of tennis. I win, we have sex. You win, we don't."
His eyes narrowed, sizing me up. "You said you played badly, so what's the catch?"
"No catch." I shrugged, mustering my best innocent expression. "Come on. What have you got to lose?"
Apart from the game, because if there's one thing I knew about tennis, it was how to not play fair. I was average on the court. But I'd once watched Dani bring a guy to his knees by seducing him one shot at a time.
Now it was my turn to see if I had what it took to distract a gun player long enough that he fudged four points so we ended up in bed.
"You're giving in too easily." He shook his head. "I don't trust you."
"Shouldn't that be my line?" I smiled and flipped the catch on the storage box tucked outside the fence.
"Fine, we'll play one game, then I'm heading to bed," he muttered, rummaging through the rackets before he found one he fancied: testing the weight in his hand, fiddling with the strings, inspecting it.
"That's what I'm hoping for," I murmured, flashing him a smug grin when he glared at me.
I was in way over my head with this one.
The guys I dated in college were … sedate. Soft-spoken, laid-back guys who talked football and basketball and grades. Guys who were polite and refined. Guys who would play along with goofy crap like what I'd planned.
Guys the antithesis of Kye.
Oh. My. God. Dani had been right. Sex god.
Pity about the attitude.
I didn't go for surly bad boys. Rudeness annoyed me.
But I'd started down this track tonight and if there was one thing I always did, it was finish what I started.
Somehow, my plan had changed between the time I'd left Dani and the time I'd met Kye. Had to have been all of ten seconds from the time he'd stepped out onto the terrace and I'd introduced myself, but I'd known then he was more than a stooge to help me pull off a lame stunt.
There'd been something behind his glower … a hint of vulnerability behind the sneer that made me wonder what a guy like him was doing here. He obviously didn't fit in and I knew the feeling.
As for his sexy Aussie accent? Yeah, that probably had something to do with the fact why I was still hanging around. If only I could encourage him to talk more.
"You can let go now," he said, his low tone making awareness ripple through me. "I won't make a break for it."
I squeezed his hand. "Why don't you let go?"
"Because I'm not the one holding on hard enough to crush every metatarsal in my hand."
"Someone's studying anatomy at college," I muttered, and didn't let go.
I liked holding Kye's hand. Liked the feel of his roughened palm, his strong fingers. Liked the false courage it gave me.
Because I feared if I let go, the last of my courage would disappear and I'd be the one bolting. Back to the safety of my villa, far away from badass Aussies with blue eyes and broad shoulders and a mouth I couldn't stop staring at.
Excerpt 3
KYE
I had no idea why I asked the uptight princess to stay.
I should've let her stomp off in a snit after her shitfit.
But there was something about the way she'd stood up to me that had me intrigued.
I'd bet my left ball she was daddy's little angel. She'd virtually confirmed it when she'd blurted all that stuff about her private life.
So her tough girl act, when she'd shoved me around, made me admire her. She had spirit. Fire in the belly, as my mum used to say.
But I couldn't afford to think about Mum now. Not when Mia stared at me with those all-seeing, all-knowing eyes.
"Tell me why you want me to stay," she said, thrusting her chin up a little, daring me to drive her away again.
Considering she'd semi-lifted me out of my black mood, not a chance.
How long since I'd hung out with anyone, let alone a girl? After I'd been booted out of the tennis academy in Sydney for busting that bozo's nose, I'd spent a month at my dad's mansion in Double Bay, on what he'd labeled a good behavior bond.
Hadn't been so bad, as my dad was on location shooting an action flick in Darwin for three of those weeks. And that final week, he'd made arrangements for me to come here.
Woop-de-fucking-do.
"Honestly?"
She rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't have asked if I didn't want an honest answer."
I stepped forward, almost invading her personal space. "I've been in a pretty shitty place lately and you've distracted me."
"So you want me to stick around and distract you some more." She pressed her palms to her heart. "Lucky me."
"I also like that you're a smart-arse."
"I love your accent." Her lips curved into a sexy grin that made me want to step even closer. "Arrrrse," she said, and giggled.
I found myself chuckling along with her. "Let me guess. Your only experience with Australia comes from drooling over the Hemsworth brothers."
To my surprise, she blushed. "I may have seen The Hunger Games five times." She held up both hands, fingers spread. "And The Avengers ten. What of it?"
"Means you've got a thing for Aussie guys." I bumped her with my shoulder. "Lucky me."
She wrinkled her nose, but her blush intensified, making me want to touch her cheeks to see if they felt as hot as they looked. "You'll be the exception to the rule."
"Yet you're here with me now instead of at that party?" I grinned. "Interesting."
Our gazes locked for a long moment and I felt a jolt of something … powerful. I could attribute it to hormones, considering I hadn't got laid in six months, but the spark in her dark eyes made me want to do more than chat with her.
MIA
Trust me to pick the only bad boy on the planet with a conscience.
I didn't know what else to do to get Kye to sleep with me, bar strip and run around the tennis court naked.
"This isn't a good idea," he mumbled, sounding as tortured as I felt.
Good. Because if we didn't do this within the next five minutes, I'd combust from wanting him.
I pressed against him one last time, wishing I had the guts to touch him there. "We either do this, or you're going to spend the night under a cold shower or working off your frustration on the court."
The moment I said it, I had an idea. A brilliant one.
Trying to hide a triumphant smirk was almost impossible. "How about this. We play one game of tennis. I win, we have sex. You win, we don't."
His eyes narrowed, sizing me up. "You said you played badly, so what's the catch?"
"No catch." I shrugged, mustering my best innocent expression. "Come on. What have you got to lose?"
Apart from the game, because if there's one thing I knew about tennis, it was how to not play fair. I was average on the court. But I'd once watched Dani bring a guy to his knees by seducing him one shot at a time.
Now it was my turn to see if I had what it took to distract a gun player long enough that he fudged four points so we ended up in bed.
"You're giving in too easily." He shook his head. "I don't trust you."
"Shouldn't that be my line?" I smiled and flipped the catch on the storage box tucked outside the fence.
"Fine, we'll play one game, then I'm heading to bed," he muttered, rummaging through the rackets before he found one he fancied: testing the weight in his hand, fiddling with the strings, inspecting it.
"That's what I'm hoping for," I murmured, flashing him a smug grin when he glared at me.
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