*~*Balance by Lucia Franco EXCLUSIVE Excerpt & ARC Giveaway*~*

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Adrianna Rossi is no stranger to the rigorous demands required of her body. Years of pain and determination make her one of the best. Olympic glory is the ultimate goal, and she’ll do anything to achieve it. Even if that means leaving home to attend World Cup Academy of Gymnastics, a training center that serves one purpose—producing champions.

 

Perfection, precision, and dedication are required of his athletes. When two time Olympian Konstantin Kournakova is persuaded into training the young hopeful, he immediately regrets it. She doesn’t come close to his high standards. As the relentless pursuit of her dream keeps her striving, a passion is ignited within him.

 

Kova’s power and domination, coupled with Adrianna’s fierce tenacity, reveal there is more for her body to learn. Every interaction can be misconstrued, but there’s no mistaking the darkening of his gaze, the lingering of his touch, or the illicit image of his bare skin pressed against hers. Integrity is on the line. One toe off the beam and their forbidden desires could ruin everything they’ve worked for, throwing it all off balance.

 

WARNING: This novel contains explicit content.

We were both leaning on the barre in a heap of heavy breathing when Kova’s arm secured my waist and tugged me to stand. “Come on, try it again.”

I didn’t want to stand, I couldn’t move. My body ached and I was exhausted after holding that position.

“Get up, Adrianna,” his warm breath sent shivers across my damp neck. With my back pressed against his chest and my ass nestled between his hips, the hardness of his body was making it difficult to function.

Kova’s hold tightened. A flush of heat coursed through my worn out body at his closeness, his breath on my neck, his fingers digging into me. My heart raced, and I knew he was the reason for it, not exertion. Strangely enough, I was okay with this reaction to Kova, this feeling streaming through my veins. Curiosity got the best of me and I embraced this moment.

Still glued to my backside, much closer than he truly needed to be, I decided to be daring. My lower belly was throbbing, an ache pooling inside for something more, so I leaned against him, slowly standing to my full height with a seductive arch of my back, hitting him in all the right places. Even going as far as to add pressure to the clearly obvious erection pressing into me.

Kova hissed. I was probably tempting him in ways he’d never been tempted before.

Ask me if I cared.

I didn’t.

And the part that frightened me most—I wished he wouldn’t hold back.

“What are you doing,” he asked in a broken whisper.

I answered honestly. “I don’t know.”

“You are treading a fine line, Ria. You are testing me.”

I answered by pressing into his groin again. His arm tightened around me, a rush of moisture coated my shorts as his fingers skated along my waist.

God, I wanted him to make me feel what I felt the night we were alone together.

“What is it about you that I cannot stay away from?” he whispered. His head dropped to my shoulder and his lips landed on my skin. My body melted in his hold. His breathing deepened against my back as he struggled. He didn’t move, and I knew why.

I was sixteen.

He was thirty-two.

There were many laws we would break if we took another step.

Not to mention, our careers would be in ruins if anyone saw the position we were in right now.

But in this moment, I forgot it all.

Kova’s grip was strong. I turned in his hold, twisting to face his body where he hadn’t moved one inch. My back was to the barre with my elbows resting on it. Looking into his eyes, they were swirling with desire just as I was sure mine were. I may be a teenager, but I wasn’t stupid. I could tell when someone wanted me. Lust, passion, want, need, it was all there. His mouth was only inches from mine, and if I stretched up on my toes I think I could touch his lips.

With lust overpowering the slight tremor in my nerves, I decided to push the envelope. I may never get the chance to be in this position again. Carpe diem!

The muscles in my calves strained as I stood on the tips of my toes. Hovering in front of his mouth, I whispered breathlessly, “If my flexibility is so terrible, show me ways to stretch.”

Kova’s jaw locked, the look in his green eyes penetrated me, and his hips pressed into me as if we were becoming one. I inhaled a strangled breath and gripped the barre, needing some type of leverage in this moment of insanity. I wished I could read the thoughts I saw running through his eyes.

One of his hands traveled down my ribcage to my hip. He squeezed hard and I groaned, my hips surging into his from the pleasure.

“You want ways to stretch out your hips? I can show you a few,” he said in a deep, raspy voice, his eyes gleaming with words he couldn’t speak. My lips parted with a sigh.

His hand curved around to my backside, rubbing in circles and heating my already tepid skin. He slid down the center of my ass and gave a good, hard tug, cupping me. A rush of wetness coated my shorts from his forceful pull. Kova pressed a finger between my cheeks while his large hand kneaded my small ass. My shorts rode up, the cool air hitting the crease as he continued to massage me into oblivion. If he asked me to give myself to him in every conceivable way and act out any fantasy he’d ever had, I wouldn’t hesitate. He could have me. The thumping of my heartbeat echoed in my ears. My legs were already jelly, my hips curled into him, feeling his dick against my aching sex. A hum escaped my throat and my stomach clenched in eagerness.

I wanted him to go farther. I needed him to go farther. God, what the hell was wrong with me?

He gave a rough squeeze to my ass once again, his eyes never leaving mine. “Want me to keep going,” he stated more than asked.

My eyes were heavy from just his touch and it wasn’t easy for me to respond.

“Say it.”

“Yes.” Rolled off my tongue.