Title: The Color of Us (College Bound #2)
Authors: Laura Ward & Christine
Manzari
Release Date: June 20, 2016
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Eighteen year old Alexis Sinclair is lost
in the darkness of grief. Since the death of her sister in a car accident, she
can’t find the will to get out and enjoy life again. When she’s forced to face
her biggest fear and take a summer Driver’s Ed course, she’s surprised to find
hope in the most unlikely person.
Liam O’Connell is trouble. He isn’t proud
of his dark past, and he knows Alexis is the one girl he has no business
pursuing. Doing the right thing has never been easy for him, but this time, it
just might be impossible.
The perfect girl and troubled boy are all
wrong for each other, but as Liam helps Alexis cope with her grief, they
realize nothing has ever felt more right.
That is, until Alexis uncovers a secret
about Liam that breaks her heart.
Liam knows he can’t allow the one good
thing in his life to walk away without a fight, and he’s determined to convince
Alexis they can find their way out of the darkness together.
Can he prove he’s worthy of her, or is
some love too tainted to be saved?
He took a deep
breath. “Our lives are completely different, Lex.” He raised his hand in a
loose fist, running the backs of his fingers along my jaw. My breath caught in
my chest as his thumb stroked over my skin in slow, gentle circles. “So
different.” He stared into my eyes, and I leaned forward, mirroring his
posture. I placed my hand on his jaw. His chin was rough with stubble and tight
with worry.
“Help me understand.”
My voice was needy, begging, but that’s only because I was desperate to figure
him out, to unlock the secrets he kept close. I wanted to know how he could be
the sweet, patient boy who taught me to drive and then beat the living hell out
of his friend a few days later. It didn’t add up for me.
He reached up to grab
my fingers that were still touching his cheek, and he adjusted them so that he
was holding my hand. “I didn’t grow up the way you did. The only thing I could
ever depend on were my fists. That’s how I protect myself and those I care
about. Yeah, Adam’s my boy, but he crossed a line. Said something he shouldn’t.
And in my world, when that happens, you teach a lesson. That lesson usually
means blood.”
I cringed at his
bluntness and then felt guilty about it. He’d said our lives were different,
but that didn’t mean mine was better than his. I had no right to look down at
him. Too many people already did that. In my world, there were lessons and
punishments too. They were more calculated and less physical, but they were no
less vicious. Like Melissa’s threat to get her father to have Liam fired from
the country club. When I thought about it, I wasn’t sure which lesson was more
cruel—fists or social war.
“What did Adam do to
make you so mad? Was it because you wanted to hang out with me instead of going
to the levees?” God, I hope not. That’d be the overreaction of the
century.
Liam shook his head
and traced patterns on my jaw with his thumb. “It’s not important, angel. Just
know that when you’re with me, you’re safe. No one hurts you. No one touches
you.” He leaned forward, letting his lips hover next to mine. “If anyone tries
to hurt you, I’ll make them pay. I mean it.”
A chill skittered
down my spine. The passion in his words was so strong that the air around us
was charged with unspoken promises. Why would Liam feel such a fierce need to
protect me? It frightened me that I enjoyed it so much. I swallowed. “Why did
you call me angel?”
He tilted his chin up
and pressed his lips to my forehead and then trailed kisses down my face,
stopping to press his mouth to the corner of mine. He leaned back to let his
eyes scan the length of me, head to toe, as he grinned. “It’s hard not to think
of you as an angel when you’re dressed all in white and looking so goddamn
perfect. You’re so… good.” He shook his head with a sad smile. “I have no right
to want you as much as I do.”
His eyes darted to my
lips, and then his mouth was on mine again, stealing the words I wanted to say—I’m
not perfect… I’m not good… I want you too. He sucked on my lower lip,
pulling it into his mouth with such gentleness I thought I might melt into a
puddle on his floorboards. How could so much rage be wrapped up in this much
tenderness?
My hands snaked
around the back of Liam’s neck, and I moved to bring his mouth back to mine,
grazing the tip of my tongue against his. I could faintly taste the smoke of
his cigarette, but I could also taste the sugar of the funnel cake we’d shared.
He was a heady mix of danger and sweetness that was so uniquely Liam it made me
crave more. I slid my tongue against his again, and Liam’s groan was the only
warning I got before his mouth was devouring mine, demanding kisses from me
that I was only too happy to return.
“You even taste
good,” Liam murmured against my lips before dropping his face to the curve of
my neck where he nibbled along my skin, leaving goose bumps in his wake. “I
want to taste every single inch of you. I think I’m addicted.”
His lips pressed
against my pulse point, and I was sure he could feel the frantic beating of my
heart. My entire body felt like it was vibrating for him. I couldn’t decide
what I wanted more—for him to keep whispering his precious thoughts against my
neck, or for him to go back to worshipping my lips.
As if he knew my
inner turmoil, Liam trailed a slow pathway of kisses up my neck toward my
greedy mouth.
“You look like an
angel,” he said, whispering a kiss under my ear. His quiet words trickled down
my neck in a delicious shiver. “You act like an angel, too good to be true.” He
left a kiss on the side of my jaw before turning my face to his, his lips
hovering over mine with so much heat I thought he might burn me when he finally
kissed me. “You’re my angel, Lex. And I think you just might save me.”
Laura Ward lives in
Maryland with her loud and very loving three children and husband. She married
her college sweetheart and is endlessly grateful for the support he has given
her through all their years together, and especially toward her goal of writing
books. When not picking up toy trucks, driving to lacrosse practice, or
checking spelling homework, Laura is writing or reading romance novels. Her
debut novel, NOT YET, is a Top 100 Amazon Bestseller.
The first thing
Christine does when she's getting ready to read a book is to crack the spine in
at least five places. She wholeheartedly believes there is no place as comfy as
the pages of a well-worn book. She's addicted to buying books, reading books,
and writing books. Books, books, books. She also has a weakness for adventure,
inappropriate humor, and coke (the caffeinated, bubbly kind). Christine is from
Forest Hill, Maryland where she lives with her husband, three kids, and her
library of ugly spine books.
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