Beyond Reason
Authors: Karice Bolton
Tags: #Coming of Age, #new adult romance, #Contemporary Romance
Copyright © 2014 Karice Bolton
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, and events either are the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To contact the author, please visit her online at
http://www.karicebolton.com
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DEDICATION
I want to say a heartfelt thank you to the readers of the Beyond Love Series. You have made the series soar and my heart sing with your kind notes, messages, and posts about the stories and characters. I look forward to sharing many more stories about Jason, Gabby, Brandy, Aaron, and Lily with you all. Also, a big thank you to Natalie C. who came up with the name Austin during a ‘Naming Contest’ I held. It fit perfectly! As always, a big thanks to my amazing husband and wonderful mom for putting up with me while I type away.
LONELY SOULS
ALTERED SOULS
RELEASED SOULS
SHATTERED SOULS
AWAKENING
LEGIONS
CATACLYSM
TAKEN NOVELLA (A Watchers Prequel)
BEYOND CONTROL
BEYOND DOUBT
BEYOND REASON
BEYOND INTENT – Coming Soon
RecruitZ
AlibiZ-Coming Soon
I glanced around the steakhouse, which was packed with couples and families celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. And I was on a date. Rob had asked me out several times, and I’d finally agreed. He was a co-worker at the PR firm in Portland where I worked. His father, also, happened to be the president of the firm so that was a bit of a sticky situation.
In the past, I seemed to have gotten myself in trouble with people who had some sort of authority over the direction of my life. The professor was a mistake, but I wouldn’t take it back. I wouldn’t take back any of my mistakes. And that was the exact reason I’d told Rob “no” so many times. I’d been trying to avoid making those slipups quite so frequently.
I was attracted to Rob and was trying to be good, but my willpower finally gave up. I’d felt the slightest sweep of his fingers across mine after a meeting last Monday and here I was.
Besides, he
wasn’t
my boss.
However, I also hadn’t expected to feel completely dead when I looked at him tonight.
And I did.
So that was great!
Where did the spark go? Why did this always happen? Was I just always looking for something that only existed in fairytales and movies? I blamed my mom and her incessant need to watch
Pretty Woman
when I was a kid.
“Is it just me or are these drinks really strong?” I asked.
I felt Rob’s eyes on me and knew I should turn my attention back to him. But something wasn’t working for me. I mean, he was completely my type, and I’d daydreamed about him almost nonstop from the moment I started my job several months ago. Yet, here I was sitting across from one of the sexiest men in Portland, and somehow, I was managing to stare at a light fixture attached on the wall next to me rather than at him. Eartha Kitt and Bing Crosby Christmas music wrapped around me and fit the seasonal vibe of the steakhouse to perfection, but I was feeling anything but in the holiday spirit. The spirit I was in made me want to bolt right back home into the embrace of my current read.
“I think when you make any drink a double, they tend to be stronger,” Rob laughed.
His laughter brought my attention back to him, and I started laughing too. Maybe I could turn this around. His blonde hair was swept to the side, and his brown eyes were intense as he took me in. This was about the time I should start swooning. Our eyes should connect, and I should feel that thing, that pulse—but nothing happened.
Zippo!
This was turning into a nasty habit.
“Probably a connection.” I took a sip of the Trigger Finger and wondered what on earth made me decide to give whisky another try in my lifetime. I pushed down the shudder and smiled as the sting lingered on my lips.
“I still don’t understand how you got out of college without a ring on your finger,” Rob said, leaning back in his chair.
Seriously, dude?
I tried not to spit out the whiskey mixture and swallowed the last bit.
“Ha,” I belted out. “Who said I want a ring on my finger?”
His brow arched and he leaned forward at the table. “Touché.”
“Believe it or not, some women actually go to college to get an education. It was a shock to my great-grandmother as well, so don’t feel alone.” I glared at him.
Great! How was I going to exit this one gracefully?
“I think I like this side of you,” he said, his voice lowering.
“The angry side?” A tiny quake of revulsion ran through my body as he eyed me.
He laughed loudly and suddenly his status as Portland’s most eligible bachelor became all too clear. I probably shouldn’t tell him that though. Nope. I wouldn’t do that. He was a co-worker. I had to save face and be polite.
But, man, he was annoying.
“So you’re always scurrying off to Seattle on the weekends. Why’s that?” he asked, his eyes touching down on mine quickly before scanning the room.
“I have two best friends up there,” I said, feeling my phone buzz inside my clutch. I hoped to heaven it was some nonlife-threatening emergency to get me out of here.