Sometimes you just can't resist
playing with fire…
By day, Aaron Clarkson suits up,
shakes hands, and acts the perfect gentleman. But at night, behind bedroom
doors, the tie comes off and the real Aaron comes out to play. Mixing business
with pleasure got him fired, so Aaron knows that if he wants to work for the
country's most powerful senator, he'll have to keep his eye on the prize.
That's easier said than done when he meets the senator's daughter, who's wild,
gorgeous, and 100 percent trouble.
Grace Pendleton is the black
sheep of her conservative family. Yet while Aaron's presence reminds her of a
past she'd rather forget, something in his eyes keeps drawing her in. Maybe
it's the way his voice turns her molten. Or maybe it's because deep down
inside, the ultra-smooth, polished Aaron Clarkson might be more than even Grace
can handle…
Buy the Book
On Sale September 6, 2016
Review
(By Cindy)
Too Wild to Tame
is the second book in the Romancing the Clarksons series by Tessa Bailey, and
it’s Aaron’s story.
Aaron and his siblings are on a family trek. Their plan
is to be in New York City on New Year’s Day to join the Polar Bear Club. In a
way, it’s their mother Miriam’s dying wish. Down by one sibling (because Rita,
the oldest sister, stayed in New Mexico after unfortunate car trouble ended up
sparking a romance with one of the town locals), the remaining Clarksons are
making their way East.
Aaron has been fired from his job as a campaign advisor
following an ill-advised decision to sleep with his boss’s wife. For him, this
trip is strictly business, plain and simple. His only reason for agreeing to
come along is to get to Iowa where he plans to woo Senator Pendleton into
hiring him to run his Presidential campaign.
Enter Grace, the Senator’s daughter, who for reasons
Aaron is determined to uncover, is kept carefully and quietly hidden from the
press. To say Grace is quirky is an understatement. She has more layers and
idiosyncrasies than anyone Aaron has ever met, but for reasons he can’t quite
explain, he’s intrigued. To be honest,
Aaron is a little suspicious about Grace’s mental state. She may be just a
little off true north, but her inexplicable charm and their undeniable mutual
physical attraction is threatening to undo the progress Aaron has been making
in winning over Senator Pendleton’s trust.
Hands down, Aaron and Grace are two of the most complex
(not to mention unlikely paired) characters I’ve ever read from Tessa Bailey.
Grace is harboring deep and painful secrets. Aaron has his share of painful
memories too. The journey they take in finding healing and love is racked with
twists, turns and surprises, some of which were, quite frankly, shocking and
tragic. Even the intimate scenes at times flirted with stepping into some very
peculiar territory.
Yes, there’s an HEA, because Tessa Bailey fans count on
it, but oh, the work it takes to get there!
Four stars!
Excerpt
The security guard at the rear entrance came into view, his familiar hawk eyes zeroing in on Grace. Then Aaron. Exasperation moved over the guard’s features before he hid it by adjusting his earpiece. Activity swarmed on the front side of the building, the media, the shouted questions, the general scrape and hum of movement audible, even where they walked along the backside of the school.
Knowing once they were inside, she wouldn’t see Aaron again, Grace smiled up at him, noticing he didn’t look quite as confident as he had a moment before. “It was nice meeting you,” she whispered. “Thanks for not ratting me out.”
“I…” He smoothed a hand down the front of his ruby-colored tie. “I won’t see you…around again?”
Grace’s hands itched with the urge to burrow into her hair, latch on to the braids she’d completed this morning while waiting for Aaron to show. “Probably not. Why would you?”
Why was he frowning at her? She couldn’t ask him why, since they were within earshot of the guard and the walk had ended way too soon. With a final memorization of his furrowed brow, she transferred her focus. “Hey, Marcus.”
“Grace.” Marcus dipped his chin at Aaron. “Who’s this?”
Her neck grew stiff. “This is my handler for today. He’s new.”
Marcus split a look between her and Aaron, before consulting his clipboard. “No one ran a change in staff by me.”
Grace could feel Aaron’s sharp scrutiny and ignored it, attempting to breeze past Marcus with a casual smile. “I understand. I’ll just go grab my dad, so he can clear it up—”
“No. That’s okay.” As predicted, a harried Marcus blocked her path. “Your father is busy. Just…” He gave Aaron another once-over, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper between men, as if Grace couldn’t hear every word. “You know the approved areas? Be sure to keep her within them.”
“Yes.” She was impressed when Aaron gave a brisk nod. “Will do.”
Aaron took her elbow and moved them into the back hallway, past the kitchen, where the local Boy Scouts were rushing to mix pancakes and pour them on the oversized, industrial griddle. Once they turned a corner and Marcus was no longer in view, Grace reluctantly tugged her elbow out of Aaron’s grip, rubbing the spot to keep the warmth alive awhile longer. “This is where we part ways.”
Aaron’s way too handsome face was the picture of bafflement. “Who are you, hippie?”
The low, intense vibration of his voice made her shiver. “Why do you need a handler?”
She reached back and curled her fingers around the metal staircase handle. The one she knew was there—and where it led—thanks to last night’s expedition. Her intent was to slip away without answering, but after ignoring so many compulsions that morning already, she couldn’t deny the final one.
With a thready apology, Grace shot forward and up, locking her mouth with Aaron’s, memorizing the way his stiffness melted in one big deluge. The way he gave a rough exhale through his nose. That gruff sound that drummed from his throat, a split second before his lips opened, tongue teasing in to taste hers. Just some. The most perfect, slick greeting. The two of them hung there, mouths open, lips wet and fitted together, breath racing, kitchen clamoring behind them.
Two ends of a silk rope pulled taut beneath her belly button, a tempting lick of his tongue clenching muscles she’d never acquainted herself with, nor could she point them out on a diagram. Whoa Nelly. And with her heart slamming against her ribs like a wrecking ball, Grace cut out that snippet of time—so shimmering and unmarred—tucked it into her pocket, and stole down the staircase, wondering how long the memory of Aaron’s kiss would stay with her. Praying the answer was forever.
Romancing the Clarksons Series
Too Hot To Handle, #1
Too Wild To Tame, #2
About the Author
Tessa Bailey is originally from
Carlsbad, California. The day after high school graduation, she packed her
yearbook, ripped jeans, and laptop, and drove cross-country to New York City in
under four days. Her most valuable life experiences were learned thereafter
while waitressing at K-Dees, a Manhattan pub owned by her uncle. Inside those
four walls, she met her husband, best friend, and discovered the magic of
classic rock, managing to put herself through Kingsborough Community College
and the English program at Pace University at the same time. Several stunted
attempts to enter the work force as a journalist followed, but romance writing
continued to demand her attention.
She now lives in Long Island, New
York with her husband and daughter. Although she is severely sleep-deprived,
she is incredibly happy to be living her dream of writing about people falling
in love.
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