If you’re looking for a new romance that is sure to hit the sweet spot, you won’t want to miss Aliyah Burke’s upcoming novel The Sweet Spot! Enjoy this exclusive excerpt from the novel, releasing March 27, 2023 through Entangled Amara.
Franklin “Linc” Conner was nothing less than a work of art. He ran shirtless, as did a bunch of the guys, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from him. His dark skin shone with sweat as his muscles rippled as he moved. His longer hair continually fell in his eyes but he didn’t seem to mind.
Her fingers itched to touch him, push the hair back and… Oh yeah, my batteries will be getting a workout tonight.
Gut clenching when his gaze locked on her, she gripped the chain-link barrier that had been put up to protect people behind the plate. Emma didn’t move.
Linc lengthened his stride, slowing by the lead group and speaking to them. As he headed across the field to her, picking up speed, she noticed one of the older children, a tall redheaded young woman, drop back to run with the smallest group.
The mother in her approved of how everyone was watched over.
She licked her lips the closer he came and whimpered, grateful that she was alone and he couldn’t hear it. As he approached, he planted large hands on his waist, bringing even more attention to both the power in his arms as well as the eight pack he had. Seriously? Eight? Weren’t those reserved for the swoony heroes in romance novels and photoshopped athletes on the covers of magazines? Those indentations above his pants—what was it called, an Adonis belt?
Holy hell. Were men really made like that?
And since when had forearms become sexy? She was officially into arm porn now.
Touching. Yes, yes, yes. She longed to do that.
Unfortunately, it also reminded her how out of his league she was.
His gaze lingered on her face before it dropped and roved over her body before returning to her eyes.
“Emma.”
Good God, he knows my name. Her legs quivered and for a brief moment she wished everything was different.
“Mr. Conner.”
One side of his mouth quirked up, showing her a dimple, and her ovaries imploded, just on principle.
“Linc, please. Mr. Conner is my father.” He wiped the back of his hand over his forehead, dragging her eyes to one of the tattoos on his biceps. The woven band of feathers was unique and she really wanted to take a closer look. “I don’t often have parents out here watching us warm up.”
“Really? I would think there would be a lot of single moms watching you run shirtless.”
He grinned at her as he came closer.
Holy shit. I said that out loud.
Heat swamped her face, and she was pretty sure she was as red as a tomato.
“I’m so sorry,” she babbled. “That was unprofessional and inappropriate.” She held out her hand. “I’m Emma Henricksen and I could use a few moments of your time, Mr. Conner, if you don’t mind?”
He took her hand and she locked her knees at the shock that rocked through her with the simple contact. She should have used her left hand, propriety be damned, because that way she could have held onto the chain link with her right and not risked falling down, because her gelatin knees suddenly decided they no longer wished to support her.
“Emma. And we’ve been over this.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “Linc.”
She gulped and he still held her gaze.
“Try it,” he encouraged.
What the heck was he telling her to try, because she was thinking something that only happened in dreams.
“Open up and say it.”
I want you? Wait, no, that wasn’t right. Take me? No, pretty sure that shouldn’t come out of my mouth.
“Linc.”
There. Got it.
Who knew sweat on a man could smell this good?
His lips twitched. “Emma.”
Goose bumps popped along her skin as she tugged on her hand. He released her, then walked to where a pile of towels and shirts were strewn about.
He drew on his shirt after wiping off the sweat, then moved to her side.
Lucky shirt.
“What is it that I can do for you, Emma?”
“Take that shirt back off.”
His black eyes gleamed and sparked with trouble.
“Pretty sure we would be starting rumors if I did that.” A wink. “Ask me later when we have no children around and I’ll be happy to.”
A SWEET SPOT FOR LOVE by Aliyah Burke
Former pro baseball player Linc Conner knows exactly where his head’s at. Most of the time, he’s completely focused on running his community center and focusing on the kids. But when it comes to single mom Emma Henricksen, Linc can’t see straight. She’s driven, resourceful—not to mention that smart, extra-kissable mouth—and when she’s near, he gets lost in a fog of lust. But getting her he needs her help to convince an investor that they’re engaged.
Emma’s too busy raising her gifted little girl to have a sex life that’s not battery-operated. Still, how could she resist being engaged to a guy who’s the sexual equivalent of her favorite dessert topped with whipped cream and a cherry, even if it’s just pretend? Emma knows all too well that if something seems too good—or too tempting—to be true, it definitely is…
Now it’s a game of pretend with a whole lot of chemistry between the guy who’s used to playing the field—and the woman who opted out of the game long ago. All that’s missing is one helluva curveball…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached here, or feel free to apply to join her yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aliyah_burke. She is married to a career military man. They are owned by three Borzoi, and a DSH cat. She spends her days sharing time between work, writing, and dog training, showing, and racing.
You can follow Aliyah on Twitter, Pinterest, and check out her website to stay up to date on the latest news.
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