by Maria Luis
Jake calls out Devin for making a switcheroo on the edible arrangement card.
Claire has her next “gig.”
I don’t even care. I’m so into this story. Just take my vote and do what you want with it.
Chapter Seven:
Claire and Jake skip the gala. You know what I’m talking about here ;-)
Carl Lipton does something crazy. We need more crazy-sauce. Do something about it.
Claire runs into someone unexpected at the gala, potentially changing the course of EVERYTHING.
Jake sets out to prove to Claire that they belong together, in bed and out.
I don’t even care. You left me at a cliffhanger and I’m totally mad at you, Maria, but I still want to know what happens next week!!!
Chapter Eight:
It’s time for Jake & Claire to hit the sheets.
SEX.
Naughty-times.
Horizontal tango it upppppp!
Seriously? My only choices for next week are sex and more sex? Ummm, YES. Poor Jake has had blue balls for like four chapters now, LOL
Chapter Nine:
Oh.My.God. That sex was hot and I want more of it please!! (Insatiable, aren’t you?)
Uh-oh. Looks like Claire has something to say, and she might not want Jake . . . (OH GOD).
It’s time for Claire to open up about her past. So does Jake.
Max & Devin storm into the bedroom because we all need more M&D in our lives (teehee)
I have no idea. Take my vote and do what you want with it. Let’s get to next Tuesday!
Chapter Ten:
Claire needs to show our man Jake how much she wants him – time to put on her big girl panties!
Max & Devin play fairy godmothers, and get our lovers together.
Jake tries to stay away but he can’t. He needs to prove to Claire that they belong together forever.
Make it funny, Maria. After you just ripped my heart out with this chapter, I want the ending to make me smile. DO YOUR JOB, LADY.
**Note: While Breathless was polished for publication, nothing was altered to the storyline aside from splitting up one or two chapters for the sake of clarity. It was important for me to maintain as much authenticity to the original serial as possible. Therefore, the poll above may not line up exactly with the final manuscript available on Amazon.
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Acknowledgments
As I sit here, I’m not even sure I can find the words to properly portray how I feel about releasing Breathless into the wild.
For years, I’ve wanted to do a reader-driven serial. The idea derived from those early Choose Your Own Adventure ebooks that kicked off in the early ebook days. I loved those books—how you could choose various options and come out to a totally different outcome.
Fast forward almost ten years, and I continued to toss around the idea of a Choose Your Own Romance. Would readers be interested? I agonized over this for months. I marked down the “release date” in my planner. Circled the day. Quietly moved it to another month.
I worried, constantly, that this sort of story might not be received well.
My readers proved me wrong.
They jumped into Breathless with more excitement than I could have anticipated. I received emails each week, some giving me a thumbs-up, others teasing me about how they hadn’t see that week’s chapter coming at all.
Breathless was fresh. It was fun.
Most of it all, it was ours—a story written by me but envisioned by us all.
Jake & Claire would not exist if it weren’t for every vote, every tie, every crazy blindside where I sat at my computer and thought (pardon the language), “What the hell am I going to do now?”
Over twelve weeks, Breathless pushed me to become a better storyteller. It forced me to think on my feet and write with heart because, with the nature of a weekly serial, I couldn’t agonize over a single chapter for weeks at a time.
Breathless made me better.
And it could not have been done without the following readers: Jacinta Russell, Zoe M., Jane Carla Laird Gómez, Marsha Graniel, Deborah L., Dawn Black, Susan, Maj Barlow, Sharon Francis, Teresa Reitnauer, Ana, Parvati, Quinn Fforde, Roberta Capizzi, Jill Trest. I seriously love you all, and this book is for you and for every other reader who cast their votes and took a chance on Jake & Claire.
Many thanks also go to Najla of Najla Qamber Designs, who made Breathless its super sexy cover. I love you girl! You seriously know how to rock it every single time, and your covers make me feel breathless with each new reveal.
Tandy of Tandy Proofreads—thank you for making my words sparkle and shine. You are everything to me.
My family, who didn’t bat an eye when I closed myself away on weekends for two months with only the explanation of, “I have to figure out what Jake and Claire are going to do next.” Thank you for putting up with me and loving me despite the fact that I’m constantly dreaming of my characters.
And thank you to you, dear reader, for taking a chance on Breathless. It means more to me than you will ever know.
Also by Maria Luis
Blades Hockey
Power Play
Sin Bin
NOLA Heart
Say You’ll Be Mine
Take A Chance On Me
Dare You To Love Me
Tempt Me With Forever
About the Author
Maria Luis is the author of sexy contemporary romances, though she may or may not have (read: she does) a few historical romances hiding in the cobwebs of her computer.
When she’s not writing about strong men and the sassy women who sweep them off their feet, Maria is a historian/content marketing buff with a specialization in medieval England and 19th century New Orleans. What do the two eras have in common, you ask? Not much, except for disease, scandalous activities and crime—Maria’s favorite topics.
Maria lives in New Orleans with her better half, where she can generally be found hiking with her two dogs, Zeus and Athena, kayaking in Louisiana’s inter-coastal waterways, or curled up on the couch with a good book.
Find Maria in the wild!
www.marialuis.org
[email protected]
