MeliJag

The pain of deceit was fresh, but love and desire overruled everything else. Now, Aria and Aiden face their greatest challenge yet. Aria Cason’s life took an unexpected turn when she reconnected with Aiden Raine, the man who awakened a pure and undeniable love she’d thought was lost forever. Aria’s love for him burns deep, yet he still pushes for more - the total surrender of her heart. When a painful memory becomes her guiding light, she questions if a happily ever after really exists for a girl who never wanted one.

Life has a way of giving you exactly what you didn’t expect. When I’m sidelined by Mama’s illness, time in Blue Ridge becomes more than medical visits and sitting bedside. It unveils secrets that leave me spiraling out of control. My only solace is the inexplicable connection I feel with single-mother Ragan Prescott, a woman I shouldn’t want. I’ve somehow caught the eye of NFL’s Man on Fire Branch McGuire, and I now find myself in the center of a clique that shunned me in high school. Despite my caution, the attraction to someone like Branch is more than I can fight.

I easily transitioned from high school jock to egotistical playboy. And when the chance to leave Blue Ridge presented itself, I signed on, dropping everything without so much as a second thought. Settling into the lifestyle of a professional athlete, I indulge in the pleasures of my high-profile status. The only nod to my roots is my annual trip for a celebrity spotlight fix, but when I receive a call that forces an impromptu return home, everything I left behind comes barreling to the surface.

Aria Cason’s new life in Belize comes to an abrupt halt when a betrayal forces her to abandon her carefully laid plans. To protect a love she thought she’d never have, Aria makes an impossible decision that places her at the mercy of the man she loves but desperately wants to hate. Aiden Raine is determined to bury his love for Aria, but when an unexpected truth is revealed, his world once again collides with hers. As a means to an end, Aiden reluctantly enters a tenuous relationship with the one woman whose betrayal he may never forgive.

Touched, the sequel to the debut novel Untouched, continues with the emotionally provocative journey of Aria Cason and Aiden Wyatt. Aria had meticulously constructed her world -- both in the boardroom and in the bedroom. Her life was exactly as she wanted it and everything made sense, before Aiden. After Aiden was an entirely different story.

Every part of Aria Cason's life is structured and organized, including love and sex, which are always strategically planned until Aiden Wyatt. Aiden surfaces at Raine Publishing House as an intern who, from the initial meeting, causes several side-steps for Aria. Aiden's extraordinary good looks and commanding demeanor change Aria's structured world, unlocking feelings that she has vowed to never embrace as he introduces her to a world of intimacy she's never before experienced.