The Vandervilles by Khardine Gray Book Tour and Giveaway :)
When
Beauty Met the Beast
Vandervilles
#1
by
Khardine Gray
Genre:
Romantic Suspense
Beneath
the luxurious lifestyle and the glamor of fame and fortune held by
the Vandervilles, lies a dangerous web of secrets and a twisted tale
of passion, and suspense.
With
wealth, power, and beauty in abundance their dominant name
prevails.
But
trouble is about to come their way and throw their lives into
turmoil.
One
man consumed with the quest for revenge seeks to ruin their lives and
destroy them one by one.
Witness
the brilliantly vindictive plan to bring down Benjamin Vanderville,
the deceitful precarious States Attorney of California and his wife
Regina, reigning queen of the fashion world.
Fall
in love with the warmth of romance that blossoms between Wade
Vanderville and Chloe Matthews.
And
walk the road of betrayal as Taylor Vanderville discovers where
loyalties lie.
The
riveting tale of When
Beauty Met the Beast will
grip you and captivate you right from the start…
**Only
.99 cents!!**
I proceeded into the
room and walked to where I knew she was, and like the trusted sun
that came up every morning, there Chloe Matthews was, unloading
clothes from one of the plastic crates. She placed them over her
forearm with care.
Good, she was by
herself. Everyone else seemed to have gone to lunch and a handful of
women milled about at the far end, near the other entrance.
I stopped by the
archway and looked at her. The last time I was here she was only a
fashion assistant assisting the creative team. Now she was part of
it. Taylor had filled me in on her little friend's achievements,
oblivious to my fascination with Chloe.
I allowed myself a
moment to appreciate her wild beauty that always captivated me. My
eyes roamed leisurely over her figure, making up for the five years I
missed out on. She looked better than I remembered, with her dainty
features, flawless bronze skin, slender body, and slim hips.
I'd always loved her
rich, golden blonde locks and had had the privilege of seeing it at
different lengths and in a variety of styles over the years. It was
long now, just the way I liked it, and hung in graceful curves over
her shoulders. The wall lights bounced off it making the smooth
strands look like lustrous glass tumbling carelessly down her back. I
could see myself happily spending the day running my fingers through
it.
She was the only
woman I'd ever fantasized about, and I didn't fantasize about anyone
or anything. When I wanted something, I took it; I didn't yearn for
it or wonder what it would feel like to have it. I usually skipped
past all of that and took whatever it was I desired, whether it was a
woman or a thing.
However, I'd declared
her off limits, unobtainable.
Until now.
I continued to watch
her, appreciating the way her straight-legged beige pants showed off
her long, sculptured legs and the silky texture of the cream-colored
camisole enunciated the full curves of her breasts. I admired the
confidence she exuberated. It was the kind that radiated from someone
who had the complete package and didn't care what effect they
created. Unlike most women who used their assets to lure and charm
you, Chloe didn't need to try.
Her charm and lure
were just symptoms, something that came naturally to the perfect
woman who didn't have to work hard to get attention.
I didn't know how the
hell I could have blown my chance with her. How could I have rejected
her willingness to be with me? How I could have said no?
I must have been
crazy, despite my good intentions.
As she turned and saw
me she jumped, startled by my presence. It made her drop the clothes.
"Jesus, what are
you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" She frowned at me.
I looked over the
delicately carved bones in her flawless oval face, her full
mouth that
displayed generously curved, parted lips, and the dusty rose of her
cheeks that grew rosier as her frown deepened.
Looking at her, I
could see there was one person who wouldn't be shedding any tears of
joy for my return.
She gathered up the
clothes, scooped them over her elegant wrists, and
glowered at me
with those sharp brown eyes that reminded me of autumn. I'd only ever
seen colors like that in Japan. Vibrant in the tones and hues.
Enchanting to captivate you and entice you to stare. Her lashes swept
down across her cheekbones as she narrowed her eyes at me.
"Taylor's
friend," I teased. "Look at you all woman sized." The
taunt widened her eyes and seemed to infuriate her.
Ours was a
relationship that was always a bit all over the place. When she was
little, she followed me around like a love-sick puppy. Literally like
she worshiped the ground I walked on.
She looked nothing
like that girl now.
"Can I help you
with something?" she asked.
"Oh, I just came
by so you could tell me how much you missed me."
Her brows shot up,
and she pursed her sparkly pink lips together in distaste.
"I'm sorry, did
you leave? I wasn't aware," she retorted in cold sarcasm. She
was the only woman who spoke to me like that.
Chloe couldn't stand
me. She was right to be on her guard. I was the worst kind of guy for
a girl like her. Always was, and while I might have taken her
infatuation with me into my own hands years ago and most assuredly
broke her poor heart, it didn't stop me from thinking about her.
Now more than ever
since I'd sorted myself out. I'd never be the candy-coated,
classic-movie kind of guy I pictured her with, but I'd kicked the bad
stuff. I thought it gave me permission to see what chance I might
still have with her.
"Ouch, doll,
you're hurting me." I feigned injury to my heart and laughed.
She didn't like that.
"What do you
want?" Her lips puckered with annoyance.
"I just told
you. Also, I was hoping for another offer to rock my world."
Her face colored
fiercely, and her eyes blazed just like they did in the past.
"Jump up my ass,
Wade," she fumed, tossing the clothes on a nearby table and
placing her hands on her hips to square off with me.
"Baby, is that
an invitation? Because doll, I'd love to. Your ass looks great
today."
Her mouth dropped,
and she glowered at me. "Don't speak to me. Ever." She
shook her head and walked away towards the stock room.
I laughed as I
watched her storm off, and I stared shamelessly at her fully rounded
ass that looked even better than the last time I saw it. She made me
hunger to know what secrets hid inside her soft, tempting body. My
fingers yearned to touch her, and my mouth to taste her. Looking only
reminded me of when she'd twirled around for me wearing nothing but a
pink lace thong.
That was a long time
ago now, long enough to brush under the rug and file as an act of
youth. But I didn't want to forget.
Looked like I'd
chosen the perfect time to come back. I smiled to myself as I walked
away.
Secrets
and Lies
Vandervilles
#2
Simmering
secrets and lies burst into a tempestuous roil in Secrets
and Lies.
Discover
who gets burned and who, if anyone, makes it through
unscathed.
Stability
Rocked
As
Wade’s whirlwind romance with Chloe starts to stabilize, his
ex-girlfriend turns up desperate to destroy what firm ground the two
have forged. Wade’s love for Chloe has grown so deep that he’ll
do anything to protect what he has with her – even if it means
spinning a new web of lies.
The
Agony of Betrayal
Still
reeling from the double betrayal of her father and lover, Taylor
barely regains her feet… only to fall in love all over again with
her cheating lover. The attraction is so strong she can’t stop
herself, even though she knows she must.
Matriarch
and Mother
Seeing
her daughter suffering is breaking Regina’s heart. She yearns to
give all the help she can but… Ben is scheming to use Runway to
financially back his bid for Governor. Will her struggles to keep her
family safe come at the expense of her daughter?
Murder!
Wade
finally gives in and goes to his ex even though he knows he
shouldn’t. But she’s dead and the cops finger him as the killer.
Only the real killer is still on the loose and hunting…
A
beautiful sunset graced the sky, filling it with the effulgent rays
of the sun. It peaked through the blinds at the windows and washed
over us, lighting up the room with the softness of the morning light.
Wade
kissed his way up from my thighs and slowly made his way up the flat
planes of my stomach. He lingered at my breasts and kissed around
each nipple before making his way up to my lips. I welcomed the
energy from the kiss and the bout of pleasure that surged through me,
marveling at the fact that there was no end to the satisfaction this
man gave me.
He
moved away from my mouth and nibbled on my neck as he rested behind
me so he could pull me against his chest.
“I
don’t think I can go to work today.” I had already decided to
call Lisa and ask her to fill in.
I’d
been going into work to try and keep everything going as normal as
possible. My presence there helped Regina out, and it distracted me
from the worries and stress. This week had been awful and I was worn
out from it.
I
needed to be with Wade. I needed the strength he gave me and the love
I felt when I was with him.
“I
think that sounds like a good idea.” I turned in his arms to face
him and rested my head back on the silky cream pillows.
I
locked my gaze on his gray eyes and handsome face. He smiled down at
me, but then something troubling filled his eyes and he glanced down
to my chest, away from my stare.
“Chloe.”
He met my gaze again.
“Yeah?”
He
suddenly looked nervous. Him. Wade Vanderville, looked nervous.
I
didn’t think he was capable of the emotion.
“Is
it too soon… Is it too soon to ask you to move in with me?”
My
jaw dropped and I had to ease myself up on my elbows.
Now
he looked worried. “It’s okay if you think it’s too soon. I
understand,” he quickly said with a soft smile. “It is too soon,
right? I was just hoping we could pretend that we’ve always been
together. That would make it like 25 or so years. And, when you think
of it that way, then it’s a long time.”
I
couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I couldn’t believe what he
was saying to me.
“Wade,
you want me to move in with you? Here?”
“Yes.”
He sat up.
I
pulled the sheets over my chest and sat up too.
“I
just hate when I’m not with you. I know you love living with Kelly
and Taylor and you’re happy by the beach, but I just had to ask. I
promise I won’t annoy you, and you can do what you want with the
place. I just want you here with me, so I can take care of you, make
you happy and protect you.”
A
troubled look filled his eyes as he said protect.
I
thought of how he’d acted over the last few days. Getting a new
security system, taking me to work and staying with me practically
the whole time. If I made the slightest sound he’d be at my side
asking me if I was okay and inspecting everywhere to ensure I was
safe.
That
had only been over the last few days.
“Wade,
do you think something’s going to happen to me?”
The
worried look on his face gave me the answer. I felt touched by it,
and by his desire to be with me. I guessed that this was the effect
of what happened to Taylor, but then there was that whole thing last
weekend when he had this same worried look and he’d felt strongly
enough to pack my bags and demand that I go with him. He was worried
for my safety then too.
“I
just want to make sure you’re safe. And I want you with me. Please,
will you at least think about it?”
Think
about it? I just did. I had only dreamed of being with this man my
whole life.
“Yes,”
I replied in an instant with a bright smile.
“You’ll
think about it?” He looked hopeful.
“No,
I’ve thought and I’m saying yes.” I giggled.
“Really?”
He looked so excited.
“Yes,
I will.” I laughed as he pulled me into his arms again and held me.
“Thank
you, beautiful Chloe.” He always knew how to make me feel happy and
precious to him. He pulled back so that he could look at my face. “I
love you, Chloe.”
Only
God knew how much I loved him too. Love
was perhaps too meagre a word to describe what I felt for him. But
since it was the only word I knew I said, “I love you, too, and
you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He
shook his head and rested his forehead to mine. “No baby, it’s
you. It’s always been you.”
Into
the Rabbit Hole
Vandervilles
#3
Chaos
Reigns
Wade’s
been arrested, a killer is on the loose, and Ben’s crimes are
catching up with him. Will anyone in this family emerge from the
chaos unscathed?
Murder
Mystery
Chloe
and Wesley dig deep to discover what is really going on and to prove
Wade’s innocence. The deeper they dig the more the shocking truth
becomes visible. Will they discover the man behind the drama? What
happens if they do?
No
Longer Hidden
The
light finally shines of the crimes that Ben has committed, but
unleashes more trouble. As always Regina is caught in the middle, but
this time it’s worse. She doesn’t know where she’ll begin to
fix things.
Forgive
and Forget?
Can
Taylor forgive, forget, and finally move on? Will she be able to see
the world with the fresh clear eyes that only forgiveness of a
betrayal can give? Will she be able to trust again?
Kiss
and Make Up
Can
Chloe accept Wade’s past and all the chaos ebb to allow the deep,
romantic love they so richly deserve?
Follow
the twists and turns to the stunning conclusion of Into The Rabbit
Hole!
She
didn’t deserve to die.
She was
a nice person.
Merissa.
Her
family would be devastated. I could just imagine the tears and the
heartbreak. They may never get over her death.
I
understood. I’d never been able to get over my mother’s death.
Time
never healed me; it only made my loss feel worse. Every day was
worse. Maybe it would have been different if my mother had died of
natural causes. Maybe I could have accepted that and tried to move
on.
But
murder…
Murder
was different; it meant she had a chance to live, but someone else
took it from her.
They
called me a psycho. Maybe I was. I certainly thought like one, but
they made me that way. Benjamin Vanderville made me this way, so they
could all thank him.
Admittedly
I no longer saw the boundaries that existed to keep right and wrong
separated. I just saw revenge; everything else was details. However,
I did feel for Merissa because of all she’d been through with her
involvement with Wade Vanderville and the loss of their baby.
I’d
been on the fence for a long time on her part in this game. In the
end I’d decided that her death was necessary.
Merissa
was a sacrifice for a cause. A necessary sacrifice.
My cause
might not have been her cause, but she served her purpose well.
It was
time to speed things along and really get my plan in motion. It was
time to get serious and up the game.
The time
for simply scaring them all was over.
I
answered my phone and pressed it to my ear as it rang.
“What’s
next boss?” said my truly psychotic partner in crime.
If
people thought I was a psycho I wondered what they would think of my
friend. This man had no heart and could kill without blinking an eye,
or having any form of afterthought.
Life and
death were nothing to him.
Our
stories were similar: both were products of revenge. Merissa’s was,
too. Revenge was the essence of what we had in common. That was why
they were so easy to recruit for this grand scheme.
However,
only this guy could have killed Merissa so effortlessly. There was
something soulless about him that didn’t care about right and
wrong. He’d offered straightaway to kill her without any thought to
it at all.
“Come
back here, we have things to do,” I said into the phone and lowered
it back to the table when my friend hung up.
On the
flat screen TV before me the press were having a field day.
Wade
Vanderville arrested for murder.
That was
the headline, and boy was it on every single channel. I’d flicked
through a few minutes ago and yes, every channel was reporting the
latest Vanderville scandal.
I’d
timed it perfectly with Taylor’s little tryst a few days ago. That
had been for fun more than anything, but still timed perfectly.
People like them did themselves in. I’d gotten to know their
personalities and behavior over the time I’d watched them so knew
what they were likely to do even before they thought about their
actions.
That
made me one step ahead of the game. Admittedly, Wade was a wild card
because I never anticipated his return and that everything would play
out so well.
I
wondered what they’d all think now. Their precious Wade, arrested
for murder. The guy had no alibi, no witnesses, nothing. My friend
had left the knife right by Wade after he covered the thing with his
fingerprints.
It was
funny. And comforting. This plan couldn’t have gone better, even
the mishaps were working in my favor.
My years
of waiting were paying off dramatically, and finally I was beginning
to feel some form of justice. It would never help with my loss, but
it was something.
I could
still remember the day when my mother was taken away from me.
That was
always clear in my mind, as if it had only just happened.
I sat
back in my chair and rested my head against the padded leather of its
back. Images of her flooded my mind.
Images
of her life.
Images
of her death…
Next
month would be twenty years since she was taken from me. Twenty long
years.
She’d
never had justice, never even had a proper funeral. Her family never
got the chance to lay her to rest properly and say their goodbyes.
She deserved so much more than that.
Aaron.
That was my name. That was the name she gave me.
I’d
gone by so many names since then that Aaron just seemed like another
alias. Another alias for that time in my life when I’d been the
talented son of Rachel Dean and the fallen marine Kennedy Bryce.
I
remembered what it felt like to be their son. The same as I
remembered that awful day of her death. As if it was happening right
before my eyes.
The
tenseness in the atmosphere. The smell of anticipation in the air.
And… uncertainty…
And
fear…
The day
she died would always be burned in my memory.
I’d
just turned seventeen and was studying extremely hard for my SATs. I
was en- route to going to Harvard to study medicine. I wanted to be a
surgeon.
That day
she came home in a heated fluster. I was in my room going over some
mathematical equations when I heard her come home. She would normally
call out to me when she arrived but that time she didn’t. It was me
that had to go to her. I found her in her room packing.
I closed
my eyes and remembered it all…
Khardine
Gray is a contemporary romance author who lives in England with her
husband, two kids, and three crazy ferrets.
She
is well traveled, cultured, and a woman with a passion for dancing
and ice skating.
When
not writing you can catch her shopping, indulging on pizza and hot
chocolate, or hanging out with her family and friends.
No
need to spend money on an airline ticket. Simply pick up one of
Khardine's books to become immersed in the fascinating stories and
characters she creates.
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