Excerpt Reveal: Fighting Solitude by Aly Martinez

While we're all eagerly anticipating the release of the third book in author Aly Martinez's On the Ropes series, here's an excerpt from Fighting Solitude that will have you wishing the release date were today. Make sure to pre-order the book and check out the first two books in the series as well, Fighting Silence--which is on sale--and Fighting Shadows.

Fighting Solitude
(On the Ropes #3)
by Aly Martinez
Release Date: February 2, 2016

An Excerpt from Fighting Solitude
Her eyes grew wide. “They scheduled a rematch?” she breathed.

I’d spent the night lusting over her as she’d pranced around the ballroom. Thoughts of taking her on every horizontal surface had filled my mind for the majority of the evening. But right then, as she stared up at me with a mixture of surprise and elation, all because I was going to get something I truly wanted in life, a warmth I hadn’t felt in years washed over me. 

“No, Liv. We’re getting a rematch.” 

Her eyes flashed between mine as she silently held my gaze. Pride and affirmation filled my chest from her unspoken praise. 

God. This woman. 

She was so fucking beautiful. 

Guiding her injured hand to my chest, I fought the urge to kiss her. 

She was close. It wouldn’t have taken much. 

I could have gripped her neck and tilted her head back. Leaning down, I could have brushed my lips against hers. She would have gasped, unsure of what to make of it. But, even in her confusion, her nipples would have swelled. Her breathing would have sped in what she would claim was nerves, but we’d both know that it was pure and erotic desire. Her feet would shuffle forward until those round breasts were compressed against my abs. Her hands would immediately snake around my waist for balance just before her eyes fluttered shut in invitation. 

I wouldn’t kiss her yet. No. I’d simply watch her face soften and her lips part in anticipation. Sliding my free hand up her side, I’d whisper my breath across her mouth, denying us both the contact we so desperately needed. Goose bumps would pebble her otherwise smooth skin as I made my way up to cup her jaw. Then I’d graze my thumb over her plump bottom lip until her tongue peeked out to dampen it. With a deep breath, I’d fill my lungs with the intoxicating mixture of champagne and Liv James—holding it impossibly long for no other reason than it had once been hers. I’d continue to ghost my lips over hers, torturing us both, until her eyes finally opened, dark with need. She would whisper my name as a question, and then and only then, when I was positive she was drenched, primed, and ablaze, would I crush my mouth over hers for the first time. 

Deep. 

Languid. 

Hard. 

Reverent. 

Liv. 

“Oh my God!” she yelled, snapping me back to reality. Throwing her arms around my neck, she pulled me in for a tight celebratory hug. 

Meanwhile, the warmth in my chest disappeared as I mourned the loss of a moment that had never truly been mine to claim. 

I had to get over this bullshit with her. 

Or...figure out a way to get her on the same page as me. 

Both seemed equally as impossible. 


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About Fighting Solitude
I was born a fighter. Abandoned by my parents, I spent my life forging my own path—one guided by my fists and paved with pain. 

Untouchable in the ring, I destroyed everyone who faced me, but that’s where my victories ended. Outside the ropes, I repeatedly failed the few people who loved me. Including my best friend, Liv James—the one person I’d die to protect. 

Even though I didn’t deserve her, Liv never stopped believing in me. Never gave up. Never let go. After all, she understood what I’d lost, because she’d lost it too. 

Liv was everything to me, but she was never truly mine. 

That was going to change. 

I lost my first love, but I refused to lose my soulmate. 

Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life. 

Fighting to be the man she deserves. 

Fighting the solitude of our pasts. 

Fighting for her. 


Add Fighting Solitude on Goodreads.

Pre-Order Links

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About the On the Ropes series

About Fighting Silence (book one) - Released: February 23, 2015
Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?

I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.

You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.

They both happened anyway.

Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.

Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.

I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.

Add Fighting Silence on Goodreads.

Sale Links


About Fighting Shadows (book two) - Released: July 7, 2015
I come from a family of fighters. I always thought I’d follow in their shadows, becoming unstoppable in the ring. That changed the day I saved the life of a woman I loved, but could never have.

My brother hailed me as a hero, and my reward was a wheelchair.

Paralyzed, my life became an inescapable nightmare.

Until I met her.

Ash Mabie had a heart-stopping smile and a laugh that numbed the rage and resentment brewing inside of me. She showed me that even the darkest night still had stars, and it didn’t matter one bit that you had to lie in the weeds to see them.

I was a jaded asshole who fell for a girl with a knack for running away. I couldn’t even walk but I would have spent a lifetime chasing her.

Now, I’m on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting the shadows of our past.
Fighting to reclaim my future.
Fighting for her.

Add Fighting Shadows on Goodreads.

Purchase Links

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About Aly Martinez

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Aly Martinez is a stay-at-home mom to four crazy kids under the age of five, including a set of twins. Currently living in South Carolina, she passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a glass of wine at her side.

After some encouragement from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the crazy train she calls life.

Connect with Aly

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