They say confession is good for the soul so here goes.
“Forgive me, fandom, for I have sinned. I have lusted over
Jesse in Pitch Perfect, who is not a book boyfriend.”
Seriously, I am in love with his character! I mean, who
doesn’t love a straight guy who can sing, dance, AND make you laugh? Not to
mention, he’s adorable. Trust me folks, I had my fist in the air by the end of
that movie. (Only awesome people will understand
that reference.) It remains one of my all time favs and you better believe
I will be first in line to get Pitch-slapped when the second movie comes out.
Though I could write an entire blog about the thousand
reasons to love Jesse/Skylar, I shall refrain. Instead I will focus on the
moment that he won my heart forever.
Like most of you, I was friggin impressed with Anna’s
performance of “Cups”. (Go girl!) My nine-year-old daughter memorized it as did
most of the pre-teens/teens of America. I, however, was swooning over Jesse’s
reaction. Remember? He stared, awestruck, and uttered one word.
“Wow.”
That one word, so overused and overlooked in most
situations, hit me like Cupid’s arrow. What girl in her right mind wouldn’t
want a man who is so impressed, so enamored, so dumbfounded by her talents that
he is left with his jaw hanging to the floor? Wow. Instantly I turned to my poor husband and asked if he’d ever
had that kind of moment with me. God bless him, he smiled sweetly and like a
seasoned pro answered, “Every day, baby. Every day.” (That’s good training for
you, ladies.) After I laughed at his obvious lie, I let it go. But I did
secretly fantasize over such adoration.
I realized the writer of Pitch Perfect had caught me up in a
love affair that would affect my next novel. My heroine deserved a love like
that. Amilynn needed a love like that
to sweep her off her feet and make her feel worthy and worshipped. I wanted
Ezekiel, the sexy wolf shifter hero of BREAK HER FALL to have a Jesse-Wow
moment.
The following scene was born. Amilynn
goes to the small stage in the alpha house to dance her stress away before her
first official date with Ezekiel. She thinks she is alone with the music, but
she has an audience. I hope you love it as much as I do!
Ezekiel
made it all the way back to his apartment and through his shower before he
realized he had no clue what to wear to a Latin dance club. Usually, he didn’t
care. But this was for Amilynn and if he had to dress up a bit, she was well
worth the effort.
He found Melissa still in the
kitchen, talking to Vivian. The two of them were laughing when he came in.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey yourself.” Vivian smiled
at him, her hazel eyes full of mischief. “You and Ami put on quite a show
today. Have fun?”
“Yeah, actually. I think your
compadre broke my ribs, but what the
hell.” The ladies both chuckled at him. “And thanks to Melissa, here, I have to
accompany said warrior princess to a dance club.”
Vivian gave Melissa a grin.
Ezekiel continued. “And now
you have to tell me if I’m supposed to dress fancy for this shit.”
Melissa hugged him around the
waist. “Jeans and a nice shirt should be fine, sweetheart. No heavy boots.”
“Thanks. Anything else I
should know? Like don’t step on her toes or she’ll gut me?”
“That’s a given,” Vivian said
with a one-shouldered shrug. It was all in good fun, but he felt like there
might be a hint of truth behind the joke.
“Great.” He rolled his eyes
and headed downstairs to his apartment with Vivian and Melissa giggling behind
him. At least someone was amused by his suffering.
He passed by the closed doors
to the theatre and heard music. If his little brothers left the sound system on
again, he was going to kill them. The music came from behind the closed curtain
and he went around to the side of the stage.
The woman behind the curtain
made his breath hitch. He slid into the shadows where he could watch. The song
changed and a lovely smile crossed her face. She closed her eyes and slowly
lifted her arms into the air, going up on the points of her toes.
Amilynn was a woman of many
talents, as he discovered. Being more of the athletic type, Ezekiel hadn’t had
too much exposure to ballet, but he recognized it for what it was. He never
would’ve thought to mix ballet with a rock ballad. She did it effortlessly. “When
You Love Someone” played and Amilynn’s smooth movements and soft lines were the
most elegant thing he’d ever seen. She cast a spell with each step, entrancing
him and holding him in place. He was afraid to breathe, afraid it would break
the magic.
This was a whole new side to
his chosen mate. He’d seen the warrior, the seductress, the teacher, the
stubborn ass. This? This was the angel, a part he assumed not too many had the
pleasure of knowing. Observing her now, no one would believe her to be anything
more than a genteel lady. She leapt, her legs extending in opposite directions,
her arms over her head, and her back perfectly straight. It made his heart
skip. She was amazing. The lyrics to the song were perfection. They told
everything he wanted for them and more.
The melody of the song
heightened, bringing the listener to that point of emotional precipice. Each
drumbeat raised his pulse. Ami turned, her body fluidly spinning round and
round, propelled by one powerful leg until he lost count of the rotations. She
ended, just as the song did, in a graceful split, her hand slowly rising above
her head, her face full of rapture so deep it brought him to his knees.
Ezekiel let out the breath
he’d held and blinked rapidly to clear his eyes.
If he
ever looked back on their courtship, retelling their story to their children or
grandchildren, Ezekiel would say this was the moment he fell madly, hopelessly
in love with Amilynn. He would tell of how he stood paralyzed by her beauty and
talent and untamed spirit while she danced her way into every corner of his
heart.
Swoon! For more of Ezekiel and Amilynn, check out BREAK HER
FALL.
If you haven’t read book one, PRIDE BEFORE THE FALL, grab it
now while it’s on sale for .99!
I’d love to hear about any Jesse-Wow moments you’ve had!
Lovingly,
Jo
Break Her Fall
Blake Pride Series
Book 2
JoAnna Grace
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal romance
Publisher: Winged J Press
Date of Publication: Jan 20th 2015
ISBN: 978-1-94-460-15-4
ASIN:B00RKOSPXS
Number of pages: 300+
Word Count: 91K
Cover Artist: Jleeann.com
Book Description:
As beta female of the Blake Pride, Amilynn does whatever it takes to get the job done and guard her family—even if it might not be morally sound. Now that the Pride has moved in with the Blackburn Pack, she faces a threat she never saw coming…a mate. The sexy and persistent wolf wants to claim the leopardess, but she’s not going down without a fight.
Ezekiel is used to getting what he wants and his eyes are set on his seductive target. Yet predicting Amilynn’s next move is fruitless. He’s caught between admiring her strength and resenting it. Does he dominate or submit? Can he prove to Amilynn she really is worth the fight?
When a ghost from Amilynn’s past stalks their family, Ezekiel will learn her true strength. Amilynn isn’t a docile house cat and, by the time she’s done, everyone will know it.
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
AMILYNN SNUGGLED
INTO the warm arms that were around her. God, Ezekiel smelled like heaven. The
sweet honey of his mating scent filled her mind and made her inner leopard purr
with desire. It was so easy to sleep when his strong arms held her close and kept
her safe. He was there for her in her time of distress, waiting to see if her
best friend would pull through the night. He’d given his own blood to save
Vivian’s life. Amilynn never thought she could find peace in the middle of a
hospital, in the midst of a catastrophe like this, and yet Ezekiel gave it to
her.
Her cat had
never been more satisfied, even if he was a wolf.
While Ezekiel
kept her safe, Ami could focus on the crisis at hand. Vivian had to live. She
had to make it. If there was no hope for Vivian to live a full life of love and
happiness, then what chance did Amilynn have? Vivian was wilder, more feral in
her independence than Ami and, somehow, she’d found a mate in Kasey Blackburn
who was worthy of her devotion. The wolf alpha had shown his love for Vivian
time and time again, gaining the trust of the rest of her Pride. But look where
it got them. The songs were bullshit. Love is not all you need.
Vivian fought
for her life in that hospital because members of Kasey’s Pack didn’t want the
Pride coming in. The feline shifters didn’t belong there, so they said. The
Pack might be a mixture of wolves and bear, but adding felines to the mix was
more than some of them could handle. The rebellious group had done a fine job
of letting Amilynn and her family know they weren’t welcome.
Amilynn, in
particular, had been warned off the males of the Pack. Here she sat in
Ezekiel’s arms, the arms of a future alpha. Wouldn’t that cause another
rebellion? The hookers and hounds, what a mess.
Her cat came to
attention when a rumbling in Ezekiel’s chest woke her up. The low growl was
aggressive and full of warning. Her eyes popped open, ready to defend her
family at any cost.
“Easy, fool,”
Tyrone, her brother, warned Ezekiel in gravelly bass.
Ezekiel, who had
also been awakened with a start, gripped Ty’s hand. It took a couple of seconds
for all of them to realize there was no threat.
“V’s awake.” Ty
yanked from Ezekiel’s grasp.
Amilynn didn’t
hesitate to uncurl from Ezekiel’s lap and follow Ty. She didn’t look back,
couldn’t. Once she was in her right mind, she would explain to Ezekiel that
there was no way they were going to be together. They were too different.
Ami took her
first easy breath when she saw Vivian’s eyes open. They were half crossed, but
they were open. Relief and love bubbled over her, creating a wave of deep
emotion she didn’t know how to process. She could cry, but who had time for
hormonal drama? When Vivian smiled at her, she had to blink back the tears.
Damn. This was not cool.
“Well,” Ami
said, needing to escape with her dignity. “Since Kasey is stuck up your ass,
and you’re in good hands, I’m going to jet.” She sniffed and made sure not to
look Vivian in the eyes again. “Glad you’re awake.” Without another word, she
left the hospital room. Her chest constricted so tightly, she could’ve passed
out.
“Here.” Ty
tossed her a set of keys. Of course her brother would know she didn’t want
anyone to see her lose her shit. She gave him a nod and bolted from the
hospital. Go figure; they were to Ezekiel’s motorcycle. At least if she cried
while she was on the bike, she could blame it on the wind in her eyes.
Sometimes being a girl sucked.
About the Author:
JoAnna Grace lives in a world of alpha males and strong females where true love conquers all—at least in her mind!
From the time she started holding a crayon she began to create magical worlds. Her first book was a series of pictures about a puppy princess. The story changed each time she told it, but there was always a happy ending! Her first written story was about girls who changed into tigers.
Now those stories have become a bit more complex!
JoAnna’s tales are spun at her home in East Texas where she lives with her husband, three kids, and a couple dogs. When not hiding behind the computer screen you can find her camping, boating, and shopping.
Sign up for her newsletter to receive information about new releases, events, and giveaways! www.authorjoannagrace.com
JoAnna loves to hear from readers and fans!
You can find her at the following places:
Authorjoannagrace.com
Twitter: @JoAnnaGrace4ya