On a mission himself, Ethan Fitzgerald didn’t care who he pissed off on his road to fulfill his mother’s dying wish. He relied on himself, and was closed off to the world around him – until Mia Ryan walked through his door. Normally one to avoid messy emotions, Ethan’s world is turned upside down by Mia, and he can’t seem to get enough of her.
There are lines you can cross that will change the course of your life forever …
“What the
hell are you doing here? Are you stalking me now?” I snapped.
I attempted
to remove his hand, but the effort behind it was marginal. Everything within me
relished his hands all over me. My knees became weak with the heavy want
coursing between my legs. My upper body constricted with my wayward needs.
Ethan tightened his grip as he whirled me around so that my back was on his
front. The music shifted to a slow, deliberate song that was fitting for my
predicament. I cursed Usher underneath my breath for coming out with this song.
Ethan had buried me into his body. It was impossible not to notice his
hardness. He ran his hands down the front of my thighs until he hit bare skin.
“It's hard
to stalk someone when they're in the club that you own,” he shot back.
“You own
this place?” I stammered.
“I have a
vested interest, so I come in on occasion. You can imagine my surprise when I
discovered you were here,” he remarked.
My
concentration was dwindling with every stroke he made upon my body. Ethan
continued running his hands up and down my thighs, causing my heart to beat out
of my chest. I bit my lip to keep from moaning from the pleasure when his
fingers lingered towards the inside. My hands took on a mind of their own as
they slid down his waist and thighs. His breaths trickled across my neck. It
heightened the erotic dance south of me. I was in the danger zone with him. I
fought to find my rational side to avoid undressing for him right then and
there. My mind grasped at the few functioning brain cells to keep him talking.
It was my last line of defense to keep him from kissing me.
“Why are
you so upset?”
“I'm angry
because you keep denying me when it's clear you want me. To top it off, you
come to my club and dance with countless men right in front of me,” Ethan
growled.
He ran his
nose down my neck before licking away a bead of sweat. I gasped. The hand that
he had moved to my waist slipped underneath my top. He caressed my belly before
running his fingers further down, making every ounce of me come to a dull ache.
Against my will, my body moved in ways to encourage him to travel further south
to take full advantage of me. Ethan's hands settled along my waistline, lazily
trailing his fingers along it. My mind screamed one last time that this was not
an option for me. In a last-ditch attempt, I paused his hands so he wouldn't go
any further. Ethan whipped me around to face him. The passion in his eyes was
unmistakable.
“I'm trying
to do the right thing,” I moaned.
His hands
drifted underneath my shirt and up my sides on their way north this time. As he
progressed along my rib cage to the lower line of my bra, he moved us off the
dance floor. Ethan pushed me up against a pillar at the far end of it. He
brought his body right into mine. He tossed in an occasional thrust of the hips
as he pinned me, just to remind me how very well he knew my body. Ethan cupped
my breast with tender strokes of his hand before pressing his lips on a spot
underneath my ear lobe. It was enough to melt every part of me. I was throbbing
all over for him.
“You want
me. I want you. I don't care what's right or wrong,” Ethan hissed.
I tilted my
neck as he trailed deep kisses down my collarbone and exposed shoulder. I
wanted him so much that it was close to making me burst. I moaned even louder
when his teeth grazed the crook of my shoulder. He sucked along my neck with
eagerness, making no effort to hold back his want for me. I slanted my head to
bring my lips vigorously down on his. My tongue drifted across the top of his
mouth before his tongue met mine where they danced to the beat with the music
around us. My hands moved down to his hips as he pumped against me. I slid them
even further down to his ass. Ethan responded by grinding harder and grabbing
one of my legs to raise it around his hip.
Our bodies
melded together in an erotic dance as our mouths devoured each other. I lost
myself in the music, in his lips, in his body, in his hands, and in the desires
he brought out in me. His hands ran up and down my body while his lips and hips
brought me to the point of no return.
.jpg)
M.M.
Koenig writes a story filled with intrigue, mystery, friendship, and
love lost & gained all while trying to find one's place in life in
her book Conflicted. This book grabbed me from the very first
chapter and had me engrossed until the very last word on the pages. I
give this book 4 stars and I anxiously await the second book in the
series Complicated. I cannot wait to see what life has in
store for Mia and Ethan! This book was recommended to me by my fellow
Diva Jamie and I am so glad that she told me to read, and I am passing
along that same recommendation to everyone else, this book is absolutely
a must read!
After
getting expelled from school and her dream of a career in journalism
seems so far from her reach at the hands of the only man she ever loved,
Mia is floundering in a sea of uncertainty. She has taken to drinking
excessively and sleeping with several different guys, never letting any
one of them past the mile high walls of her heart, walls that Micah's
deception forced her to erect in order to protect herself. Living with
her friends, Trey, Bri, Shane and Jackson; she struggles to put her life
back together while they are finishing their last year of college
without her. And that is when she receives what appears to be the
answer to all her prayers, an
offer that she just cannot pass up. Or is it?
Harrison, from the up and coming magazine Inside Out
wants Mia to return to her roots in the south side of Chicago and apply
for an entry level position at a privately owned finance company so she
can be an inside source. Looking to expose the company for corrupt
business practices, Harrison requests that Mia work side by side with
the owners to gain as much information as she can so that his article
can be completed and take the company down. In return for her
information, she will be given the editor
job for the European circuit of the magazine. Telling no one that she
has accepted this offer, aside from Bri of course, she begins working at
the company F.F. Sweeney & Company after an interview with the
smoking hot Ethan Fitzgerald. The attraction that blazes between them
is red hot and sizzling to say the very least but Mia sets her mind to
ignoring it completely. She knows why she is there, and falling for the
VP of the company isn't anywhere on the list of reasons.
Things
become complicated with Ethan takes Mia out of the office for a day of
fun
after seeing her in turmoil for several days straight. Mia is
struggling to deal with the return of Micah and the fact that he wants
to talk to her as if nothing happened between them almost a year ago,
and that he didn't ruin her entire life. Out on the lake, wakeboarding,
Mia seems to let go of the reservations that she once had for getting
involved with Ethan and allows herself to feel the attraction, which
leads to the day ending in the kiss to end all kisses.
"We wanted each other, but it wasn't part of the plan. With that thought the tears begin to flow freely. If I gave into a relationship with him, I'd be in way over my head without a chance of coming out of this deal unscathed."
And
the complications become even more complicated when Harrison starts
harassing Mia regarding the information he feels she is withholding from
them, which isn't part of their deal. Sending threatening text
messages to her and threatening all those that are close to her, Mia
breaks down and tells her boys what is going on. Trey is less than
pleased that she has gotten into this mess with no apparent way out and
Bri urges Mia to tell Ethan what is going on. It is only when she
finally gains the courage to tell him the truth since it has been eating
her alive, that Ethan does the absolute last thing she would ever
expect; putting him in the same category as Micah, except for the fact
that she was still madly in love with him.
"Faith and love were two very different things. It was possible to have one without the other. I learned that today."
Conflicted ends
with a cliff hanger that will have you begging for more! You will be
sitting on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen with Mia and
Ethan but also what is really going on with Trey and Bri and why is
Harrison giving Mia the creepiest feeling. This is a MUST READ for
everyone!!!
.jpg)
Conflicted was the first book in the Secrets and Lies Series. I would give this book a solid 4 stars. This book will blow you away with the twists and turns it will take. I literally was begging for the second book Complicated. This story is told in one person POV of Mia. It unfortunately ends in a cliffy. But the passion and determination of this couple make it worth the wait. This is the first book I have read my M. M. Koenig but I have become such a fan that I will be following not only this series but whatever she puts out there. You will get your steamy sexy scenes and also its a mystery with tons of angst. Im not gonna lie Ethan I think has made it to the top of my Alpha Male ego loving list.
Mia lives with her best friends who all were in college until unexpectedly a scandal broke loose at her college newspaper and Mia found her self expelled from school. She was deceived by someone she always thought would never tear her heart apart but always hold it dearly. She is finding herself still trying to pick up the pieces when one day she is offered a job that she would be crazy to refuse. But that job will come with a price and she will get Conflicted with what is right and what is wrong. And of course there happens to be the sexiest man she has ever laid eyes on that she has found herself drawn too.
When he looked up, it stunned me. His eyes ran along my body causing his expression to change somewhat. His scowl gradually transformed to a timid smile. His eyes didn't leave mine as his brows wrinkled as if he was trying to piece something together. I didn't have much brain space to think about what was going through his mind. I was too busy attempting to contain my own impure thoughts. My body reacted in ways that I'd never experienced on the first encounter with someone. It flamed to attention as I soaked him in. Heat rushed to my cheeks while my heart started hammering loudly in my chest. I had never felt anything this strong. It was potent.Sweet Baby Jesus! He is beyond gorgeous!-- MIA
Ethan was one of the owners and superiors of the company. He had no idea when hiring Mia that a spark he didn't even realized existed inside of him came alive.
"I couldn't stop staring at you. I didn't understand how you could make me feels so vulnerable. I had to know what it would feel like to touch you. When our hands touched, it gave me a new sense of being alive. You awakened a part of me that I never knew was dormant." ETHAN
Mia held back from showing her feelings for Ethan but eventually he will get what he wants and when her walls will come down and she will let what she is feeling take over and it becomes explosive from the start.
"I know what you're doing Mia. It's admirable you can make it seem like nothing ever happened between us. For the time being, I'm willing to play this game, but you won't win. Keep that in mind the next time you need to come up with and explanation to avoid me."-- ETHAN
She soon realizes Ethan isn't the bad guy but how can she get out of her deal with the slimy reporter whom she found out set her up? Will Ethan forgive her for keeping this secret or does he have his own secrets?
Go get this book like yesterday! You will love even the side characters in this story just as much as the main. I can't wait for the next installment to this crazy roller coaster ride of a story! Thanks M.M. Koenig for a fantastic story!
M. M. Koenig was born and raised in Minnesota. She now lives in the Twin Cities area with her loving dog Marley. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota with a Bachelors of Science in Sociology.
M. M. Koenig enjoys being active and has a variety of interests that coincide with her passion for life. Always one to try new things, she has acquired a variety of skills. Her sarcastic nature and multitude of experiences tend to find their way into her novels.
When she has free time and isn't writing, she spends as much time as she can with friends and family. To fuel her soul, she is constantly looking for new music, movies, and books to keep the writer's block at bay.
HOSTED BY:
