Just Because of You

Book excerpt: Hilarie Walsh just wants to lay low during her senior year after being branded the class tramp by her loathsome ex. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't escape the notice of the new kid Eric Lawington, the arrogant but incredibly sexy son of a billionaire who makes the rich heirs and heiresses at her school look middle-class in comparison. At first, she wants nothing to do with him, but Eric is nothing if not persistent and evident sparks fly between them. However, jealousy, the past, and a drama-making twin with a history of wrecking his sibling's happiness threaten their relationship... Excerpt: All the hardness left her face. Her eyes turned wide; her mouth stopped glowering. She looked vulnerable, like she could fall into pieces at any moment. "I don't know if I should be relieved or scared that you've stopped acting like a jerk." "Why should you be scared?" "Most of the time, guys are jerks. When they're being nice, they want something from you or are planning to break your heart." "You're so cynical." "Blame my ex." He untied the knot behind her mask. "How about I help you forget your ex?" "Trying to seduce me?" "Maybe." "Why are these masks so small?" she asked as he took off her mask. "Isn't the point of a masquerade ball to not know who anyone is?" "Not for me. I just wanted to show off my wealth." "You're a douche, but at least you're an honest one." "Unlike your ex?" She lifted the corners of her mouth. "You don't know his name, yet you already somehow know him so well." His mask fell to the bed. "May I kiss you?" "Why not?" she whispered. Closing his eyes, he put his lips on hers. From the way she moaned without pulling away from him, he could tell she enjoyed this. He then left a trail of kisses down her slender white neck, making her sigh in bliss. Christ, even her shoulders are beautiful, he thought as he pulled the straps of her dress down the smooth pale skin. She gasped as his teeth grazed the skin over her collarbone. "Want me to stop?" he breathed against her shoulder. "No," she whispered.