New Release: Sins of the Past by Amanda Young

Sins of the Past by Amanda Young
Buy from MBaM!

Two men bonded by love. A long forgotten secret neither knew they shared in common.
Andrew Vought is a wealthy single parent who’s all but given up on love. Ryan Ward is an up-and-coming landscape architect, who’s never believed true love exists.
In each other’s arms, they find the love they’ve sought. But can a budding new love survive the secret both men harbor?

What the reviewers are saying:

4.5 Nymphs
“Sizzling sexual tension heats up the pages from the time Ms. Young’s character meet, and as their journey continues a sweet romance develops and grows. Lust is a powerful factor in this story, but it’s love that gives these men the chance they need for a beautiful future together.”
~ Reviewed by Water Nymph for Literary Nymphs
http://literarynymphsreviewsonly.blogspot.com/2007/08/sins-of-past.html

4 Blue Ribbons
“SINS OF THE PAST by Amanda Young is a charming and sensuous tale.”
~ Reviewed by Christina
http://www.romancejunkiesreviews.com/artman/publish/contemporary/Sins_of_the_Past.shtml

4 Stars
“Sins of the Past raises itself above the average and is well worth a read.”
~ Reviewed by British Bull Dog
http://rainbow-reviews.com/?p=80

Excerpt from Sins of the Past
© Copyright 2007 Amanda Young
Now Available at Samhain Publishing


Andrew weaved around bodies left and right. He spotted Ryan and Nick slightly ahead of him and off to the right. Ryan had his head thrown back, laughing uproariously at something Nick was busy whispering in his ear. Breathing a sigh of relief at having finally found them, he shuffled forward. Then he noticed the way Nick shifted closer to Ryan, his hands falling to cradle Ryan’s hips as they moved to the music, and molten anger shimmered through his veins.
How dare he? How dare Nick rub all up against Ryan, like some bitch in heat? And why was Ryan just standing there, letting him do it? The bastard.
Andrew took a wobbly step forward, his hands balling up into fists at his sides. A man the size of a small mountain stepped into his path, blocking his view of Ryan. He stopped, ready to tell the guy to move the hell out of his way, and looked up, and then up some more. Damn, the guy was tall.
At six feet, Andrew wasn’t used to having anyone tower over him. Sure, some guys were taller than him. Ryan was an inch or two taller. But this guy, God, he had to be close to seven feet or more. He tried to step around the man, only to be stopped by the Amazon’s hand landing on his shoulder.
“How about a dance, pretty?” The man’s voice was gruff and scratchy, like maybe he’d smoked one too many cigarettes. His words didn’t sound like a question, more like an order. Normally that would’ve ticked Andrew off. He didn’t like being bossed around. Tonight, however, it sent a little tingle of excitement shivering down his spine.
Andrew leaned to the side—almost tipped over, before he could catch his balance—and glanced around the goliath. Ryan was still absorbed in Nick’s sparkling wit, or whatever the hell it was he found so entertaining.
He turned to the goliath. “Sure.” What the hell. It wasn’t as if his date would mind. The bastard was too busy letting Nick hang all over him to pay any attention to what he was doing.
“Bud,” the man said, holding out his hand.
Andrew accepted the shake and watched his hand disappear inside the larger man’s paw. “Andrew.”
He started to pull back his hand, but found it trapped in the vise-like grip of Bud’s closed fist. Bud smiled, the upward tilt of his thin lips taking away some of the severity from the chiseled planes of his face, and gave Andrew’s hand a sharp tug. Pulled off balance, Andrew stumbled forward, his face smacking into the middle of the behemoth’s sternum.
Bud’s gigantic forearms closed around his back and pulled him up tight against him. Andrew held himself stiffly, not aiding but not exactly resisting either, as Bud began to sway to the beat of the music. Against his cheek, he could feel the steady thumpedy-thump of the man’s heart beating. Every granite muscle in Bud’s torso flexed and rippled as he shimmied them back and forth.
The song seemed to last forever before it finally began to slow to its end. Andrew let out a breath of relief, glad the dance was over. The arms around him loosened and he sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the pungent scent of sweat and cheap cologne.
It wasn’t a bad smell, just not the one he wanted. Not like Ryan. Ryan always smelled of woodsy cologne with a hint of the underlying musky testosterone that exuded from his pores.
He mumbled a hushed thanks to Bud for the dance and spun around, intent on finding Ryan. He didn’t have to look far. Ryan stood a couple of feet behind him, his hip propped against the wall, a glower on his handsome face and fire in his eyes. With his arms across his broad chest and his jaw clenched tight enough to grind nails, Ryan did not look happy. He looked mad as a wet cat, and that put a spring in Andrew’s step as he strutted over to him.
“Who was that?” Ryan barked out as soon as Andrew got close enough to hear him over the music.
For spite, he glanced back at Bud and waved. “Oh, that’s just Bud,” he answered as nonchalantly as he could. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, trying to pop out, but he restrained it.
Ryan humphed and came up off the wall. He moved in close, so close Andrew could count the individual black eyelashes framing his eyes. “If you can dance with Bud,” he said, spitting out the other man’s name as if it left a vile taste in his mouth, “then you can dance with me.”
Andrew shrugged. “I guess so.”
Ryan must not have liked the response because his eyes flashed a deeper shade of brown and the grinding of his teeth started up again. The smile Andrew had been fighting broke free and spread across his face. He couldn’t help it, seeing Ryan jealous was so sweet. It more than made up for the brief bout of insecurity he’d felt upon viewing Ryan and Nick dancing together.
“You little shit,” Ryan muttered, hauling Andrew into his arms and up against the lean contours of his body. “You’re getting a kick out of this, aren’t you?”
Andrew rested his arms on Ryan’s shoulders and sank his fingers into the soft hair at the base of Ryan’s neck, kneading the taut muscles. With a contented sigh, he shifted himself a bit deeper into Ryan’s embrace, resting his cheek against Ryan’s stubbled one. “So what if I am? It’s what you deserve.”
Ryan’s arms tightened around the small of Andrew’s back and he began to move, swaying his hips, taking Andrew’s body along for the ride. Their groins brushed together with every pass, allowing Andrew to feel how hard Ryan was for him. He swallowed back a groan, feeling his own cock stir at the contact.
Fingertips grazed the rise of his bottom. Andrew shivered, clenching his ass cheeks to stop the needy ache he felt inside.
Ryan must have felt the tremor pass through his body, must have felt their pricks rubbing together as Andrew did, because the riled expression in his eyes wavered and was replaced by something that looked a hell of a lot like more like hunger than aggravation.
Ryan’s breath was warm and moist as it wafted over his ear. “I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve seeing you all cuddled up with that dumb-ass lumberjack. Not when you hadn’t even agreed to dance with me yet.”
Andrew rotated his hips, pressing in a little harder against Ryan, dragging their pricks together and teasing them both in the process. “I’m dancing with you, aren’t I?”
A growl rumbled through Ryan’s chest. Andrew felt the vibrations more than heard it, and damned if it wasn’t the hottest thing he’d ever experienced.
“You know what I mean,” Ryan grumbled.
“Yes, I know what you mean. Just like I know while you were supposed to be in the bathroom, you were actually dancing with Nick.”
“I went to the bathroom, Andrew. Nick caught me as I was coming out. That’s all.”
Andrew felt an irrational surge of the same anger he’d experienced earlier at seeing Nick latched onto his man. “He was hanging all over you.”
Wait. Had he just thought of Ryan as his man?
“He was only talking to me, baby.” Ryan paused, his lips feathering over Andrew’s cheek. “I do think it’s cute that you’re so jealous though.”
“You’re one to talk,” Andrew replied.
Ryan sighed, blowing hot air over Andrew’s ear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Andrew shivered, goose bumps of arousal popping up all over his skin. He let go of Ryan’s neck, ran his hand between their bodies and gave Ryan’s nipple a sharp twist.
Ryan jerked his head back. “Hey! That hurt.”
Andrew smiled and snuggled back into place. “It wasn’t supposed to feel good.”
“Then why the hell did you do it?”
“You were asking for it.”
“I didn’t ask you to twist my damn nipple off.”
“I was hoping it would refresh your memory. Do you still not know what I meant?”
“About what?”
Andrew pinched Ryan’s nipple between his thumb and forefinger and cocked an eyebrow.
“All right, all right, I might have been a tiny bit jealous when I saw you dancing with the marshmallow man over there.”
Andrew grinned. “Marshmallow man?” That’s not how he would’ve described Bud.
“Yeah, marshmallow man.” The petulant look on his face warned Andrew not to contradict Ryan’s description, though Bud’s body was anything but soft.
He snorted and leaned in to rub his cheek on Ryan’s shoulder. Who would have thought he would actually like a touch of possessiveness in a lover? He never had before, but then again, none of the few men he’d been with were Ryan. The man could make anything, even jealousy, look good.
“What? You have a thing for big, brainless meatheads now? You know his balls are probably the size of small acorns because of all the steroids he’s taken, right?”
“No, I have a thing for tall, cute landscape architects, who ride motorcycles and get jealous at the drop of a hat.”
“Oh really?”
“Mmm–hmm.” He leaned up and pressed his lips against Ryan’s, oblivious to the party going on around them. For once in his life, he didn’t care if he was putting on a show. All he knew was Ryan and the chemistry and warmth sparking between them like static electricity, the delicious press of their chests and the desire he saw mirrored back to him through Ryan’s eyes. “Know where I can find someone like that?”
“Oh I might be able to think of someone,” Ryan murmured against the corner of Andrew’s mouth.
Ryan’s lips covered his, not with pressure but with a gentle coaxing sensation that melted Andrew’s knees and forced him to incline against Ryan’s chest for support as their lips, teeth and tongues dueled, heedless of the spectators around them. The roof could have caught fire and he wouldn’t have cared. All he wanted was more. More of Ryan, more of that one single moment when everything began to slide into place and he realized what he felt for Ryan was growing in leaps and bounds. Steadily spinning away from like and well on its way to another four letter word that should have scared the shit out of him, but surprisingly didn’t.
Love.