Lost and Found

Professional Reviews

5 STARS: "It is a wonder my Kindle survived. Amber Carlton is a brand new writer to me, but one thing is for sure, I have discovered one heck of a master storyteller! LOST AND FOUND features the two most beautifully complex characters I have encountered in ages. Luke Devereaux and Celia Drake have worked their way into my dreams and my heart. I just can't stop thinking about the two of them. For the past three days, my emotions have been all over the place as I devoured this amazing story. It is almost 90,000 words and each one of those words was perfectly placed. Time sped by as I got lost in the Virginia Colony in 1720. Luke Devereaux has been exiled to Lost Soul's Spit to serve as the lighthouse keeper and atone for his past. He has created a very simple and satisfying life full of routine and quiet. Meanwhile, Celia Drake was giddy with excitement to be engaged to a handsome man. That all fell apart when he battered and raped her, forcing her to flee for her life and end up in the arms of a strange lighthouse keeper. With a heart as big as Texas, Luke can't turn Celia away. He cares for her tirelessly, working to keep her alive. All along, he makes sure to guard his heart, knowing she can never be his. She is a wounded animal, fearing the feelings she feels growing inside her. She's fallen for a man before and it led to a very bad end result. She must remember her goal is to heal and then get as far away as possible. One minute Celia and Luke would open their hearts and show kindness and caring, making my own heart break for them, and the next they would turn pig-headed and cruel. I was sure my Kindle would crack under the tension of my white knuckled grasp. This was worded so beautifully perfect that I felt all the anguish, conflict and intense passion that the two shared as they grew from strangers to friends to lovers. I'd like to say that this story went by quickly. It sure seemed like it did. But in truth, I have savored every single syllable and enjoyed hours lost on the Spit with my new friends. Peeling back all the layers and discovering what made them tick was fascinating enough. And watching the two of them fight their attraction while they just couldn't seem to recognize the obviousness of how perfect they were for each other kept me turning the page. But under it all was also the desire to know what Luke did that made him feel as though he needed to punish himself. And how was Celia, the closest thing to Virginia royalty there was, going to avoid recognition and not be returned to her father or fiancée? LOST AND FOUND had some seriously intriguing characters, a plot that gave me a peek into the times and kept me focused, and enough well placed suspense to keep me wondering and curious for more. It's a historical romance that is physically brutal and contains some very hot and explicit love scenes. If you are ready to really feel something for your characters, if you are ready to have your heart break and then be put back together again, this is one I want you to go check out. It is an amazing journey in the past that will leave you breathless. Enjoy!" -- Michelle R., The Romance Reviews

Excerpt

ADULT EXCERPT

A roar of pleasure swept through her body. Every muscle in her body quivered, and every nerve ending pulsed in fire. Her body trembled in his arms as the pleasure spiraled deep within causing her muscles to spasm and tighten around him. She stopped breathing. She stopped moving. The pleasure was so intense that for one moment a flicker of fear snaked its way down her spine. That he could steal so much of her control and hold so much power over her was frightening. But the pleasure was too wonderful to think of consequences. She let it roll through her, let it steal her strength and willpower, let it spiral through every muscle in her body with a delightful release that caused her body to slump against his with a delicious lethargy. Finally, she went limp in his arms and sighed.

When he pushed against her again, she gasped and lifted her head to meet his eyes. Dark. Feral. Burning with his own need for release. She swept the hair away from his face and caught his mouth with hers.

“Finish it, Luke. Fill me.”

The sound that came from him frightened her, the growl of some predatory beast, and his hands were rough beneath her, squeezing her flesh, hurting her. But she let him use her as he willed, clutching her against him, yanking her up and down as she rode him. His body was hard against her, pressing her so tightly against the door that movement of her own was impossible. She allowed him to take her with him, and when the pleasure began to build in her body once again, she was grateful.

Faster. Deeper. Harder. He moved her against him impatiently, greedily, pumping her up and down, each time more brutal, more dangerous, more savage. His muscles bunched beneath her hands, tensing and flexing, hard and unyielding. The pressure of his body demanded she focus on him. His stare drilled into her eyes. There was no tenderness there, no affection. His eyes were wild, determined to find pleasure, seeking it in the folds of her flesh and in the heat between her thighs. Something in his eyes made her want to give him everything she had to give. She wanted him to claim her, dominate her, use her body for his pleasure, capture her spirit, and hold it within him. She wanted to belong to him, mind, body, and soul.

She went limp against him, a signal to take, to use, to force, to possess. Each time he yanked her against him, she felt closer to having what she wanted. He would never be able to let her go now. He would never be able to send her away.

He lifted her higher, and his mouth searched for her breasts beneath the fabric of her dress. His lips were wet and hot, a touch of fire. His teeth nipped at her, sparking something that made her grind her hips against him and arch her back to allow him closer. She wanted his mouth on her. Her nipples ached, tightening, rising to feel the lips that searched for them.

She could stand it no longer. She reached between them and tore at the laces of her dress, fighting his mouth and his teeth. When she finally had them undone, she tore the fabric away with a moan, and his lips locked on her breast, pulling her flesh into his mouth with a burning need that made her gasp. His tongue raked across her skin, small circles of movement that spread another ache between her legs. When his teeth caught at her nipple and grazed across the flesh, she lurched against him.

A rumble of laughter tore through his chest. She felt it vibrate against her.

“Games, Celia,” he whispered. “’Tis all games.”

“No, Luke, it’s more than that,” she gasped. “Do it again. Harder.”

His teeth nudged her nipple again, and this time he bit down, a tiny nip that made her jerk against him as his mouth devoured her, pulling her nipple between his lips and sucking hard, exquisite torture. There was another stab between her legs, deep inside, an ache, a burn. She wiggled against him, feeling him within her, every inch filling her, pushing as far as it could go. Luke ran his tongue around her nipple, sucked at it again then licked her breast.

“You like that,” he said.

“Oh, yes...”

“You want more,” he said.

“Oh, yes...”

“But I’ve told you, lass. I haven’t more to give you.”

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “This is enough.”

He pulled at her nipple with his teeth, a sharp bite that spread agony through her. He yanked her down hard, burying his cock deep. He laughed when her body began to shake in his arms.

“You’re lying to me, lass.”

She shook her head. “No, no, this is enough.”

“’Tis not enough, but ’tis all there is. ’Tis all there can ever be.”

“Stop talking, Luke. Just fuck me.”

His tongue blazed across her skin, circling her nipple, running beneath her breasts, in the valley between them.

“We’ll do it again and again until you can’t take it anymore. I can’t resist sight of your hair, the touch of your skin, the smell that comes from your pussy. And now that I’ve been inside, I won’t be able to resist the lure of the dark hollows of your flesh. But ’tis all a game, lass. A dark, wicked game, and I think you like it that way.”

She gasped when he yanked her harder against him.

“You like it deep,” he whispered. “You like it hard. ’Tis the way I like it, too.”