Blog Tour: Preservation by Rachael Wade (Adult)

Goodreads Blurb:

Fear is sabotage’s sweetest weapon.
Kate has no time for meaningless romantic charades, and definitely no time for hot college professors who are full of themselves and smitten with her. Constantly battling eviction notices, tuition she can’t afford, and a sick, dependent mother, the last thing she needs is to be distracted with someone else’s complicated baggage.
When she stumbles into Ryan Campbell’s creative writing class, he is only “Mr. Campbell” to her, until Ryan finds himself captivated by her writing and she is forced to face their mutual attraction. His cocky know-it-all syndrome is enough to send her running in the other direction, and his posse of female admirers and playboy reputation are enough to squander any odds in her favor.
But underneath Ryan’s abrasive facade is something to behold, and she can’t stay away for long. Ryan and Kate must decide who they’re willing to become and fight against their former selves if they want to make things work. That’s if academia, vicious vixens, old skeletons, and their own mastery at self-destruction don’t pummel their efforts first.

Excerpt:

KATE POV:

 “How about we stick to talking about writing?” I

folded my arms across my chest, my eyes darting toward

the towel on my chair again. He was sexy, full of himself,

and maddeningly right, all at the same time. I wasn’t

sure whether to smile back or slap him.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. But first,” he glanced

around briefly, then moved closer, positioning himself at

my side, just slightly behind my left shoulder, “promise

me you’ll try this. You’ll feel the difference, I swear it.”

I stood still, goose bumps springing up over my arms

when his fingertips made contact with my elbow, hyperaware

of his skin on mine.

“When you roll your shoulder,” his hand slid up my

arm and gripped it, “just let it roll in one fluid movement

when your body shifts.” He looked down at me and

swallowed, his eyes lingering on my lips for a second. He

stepped back a hair when his chest brushed mine, gently

pushing my shoulder down and then around, pulling on

my arm as he showed me how to move.

“Like this?” I repeated the motion, eyes still frozen

on his fingers’ grip around my shoulder. His skin set fire

to mine with each light brush."

RYAN POV:

 .

more like a perpetual yellow light. And something told

me she was borderline trigger-happy red. Still, damned

if I wasn’t going to try. I wanted to taste those lips. And

her writing was smart. Really fucking smart. I couldn’t

stop thinking about her work since she let me read it.

Think of something quick, man.

I moved in closer.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. But first, promise me

you’ll try this. You’ll feel the difference, I swear it.” She

stood still as I positioned myself at her side, just behind

her left shoulder, and tensed up slightly when I gripped

her elbow. “When you roll your shoulder, just let it roll

in one fluid movement when your body shifts.” My eyes

rested on her full red lips and fine China skin. Slowly and

evenly, I pushed her shoulder down and then around,

gently pulling on her arm, watching her committed

focus with admiration. Damn, she really was beautiful.

Like some elusive, rare diamond. And so intent on getting

it right. I skimmed my thumb over the crease of her

elbow, studying her graceful strength and the way she

yielded to my instruction, wondering how accurate the

accounts were in her short story.

by some druggie asshole boyfriend? Who would do those

things to this gorgeous, gentle woman? And was her dad

really in jail? Did she really leave home as a kid when he—

Was she really abused

“Like this?” she stirred my thoughts, repeating the

motion. The brush of her skin on mine made me shuffle

closer, her body responding with a warm flush under

my touch. Pleased by the pink color spreading over her

skin, I leaned in, nudging her earlobe with the edge of

my nose, feeling her shiver.

"How about we stick to talking about writing?"
Damn. Not liking where this was going."

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Little Miss Tardy made it clear the few times I’d

talked to her in class that she wasn’t like the others, who

normally rolled out the red carpet and gave me the green

light the second they were alone with me. She seemed