The Art of Loving Ellie by Loren Beeson ~ Excerpt

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About The Art of Loving Ellie by Loren Beeson

Title: The Art of Loving Ellie
Author: Loren Beeson
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Smart, beautiful, talented, and… awkward.

Ellie Clark has big dreams of moving to the city to become a well-known artist. With the help of her eccentric boss, Alex, and his influence in the New York City art scene, everything should go according to plan. Until suddenly, Ellie comes to realize that her passion for painting has vanished with no explanation.

Despite her best attempts at avoiding distractions, she not so gracefully tumbles into a sexy stranger, adding more chaos to her already unsteady life. He continues to challenge her to the point of losing her grip on the one thing that keeps her grounded—her control, and to make matters worse, a past she had long ago made peace with is ripped wide open when she receives a phone call from a ghost of her previous life.

The refuge of her comfort zone is her greatest dependency, but Ellie doesn’t see the bigger picture. Can she risk opening her heart to this exciting, overconfident trouble-maker, or will she embrace the trauma of her past to discover that second chances aren’t just for the storybooks…

Excerpt from The Art of Loving Ellie

“Funny thing about fate is, she comes knocking when you least expect her. If you don’t answer her call, she moves on, and most of the time… she doesn’t look back.”

“Give me your hand,” I demand, and the bewilderment on his face makes me laugh.

Point, Ellie.

He gives me the hand that isn’t holding the palette, and I pause a moment to admire it. Tyler has long, strong hands, and I’m plagued with images of them groping my body. Remembering those hands firmly gripping my ass while we made out in the janitor’s closet makes me clear my throat uncomfortably.

I grab some white paint off the palette in his opposite hand and mix in some black to create a light gray. Placing my hand under his, I begin gentle strokes around the bones beneath his skin, creating thin white striations that make up the cartilage and tendons around them.

When I’m finished, I smirk at him, giving him a clean brush and offering my hand for him to work on. Admiring my work, he quirks an eyebrow at me, “I’m not normally so easy to outwit.” He gives me the palette and takes my palm in his. Dabbing some green paint onto his brush, he leans over my hand and applies it to my pale skin in slow strokes.

“It seems you may have met your match.” I smile at him, jumping slightly when the cold paint touches my skin.

He chuckles to himself, but I don’t miss the desire flooding his gaze when he glares back at me. “I’m no painter, so don’t you dare laugh.”

I giggle as he swirls the start of a green vine onto the back of my hand. He’s so focused on his work that he barely takes a moment to look up at me through his thick lashes. “I said don’t laugh.”

I hide my smile from him as he finishes the job, and we take turns painting our opposite hands. I move on to his right side contemplating where to start, and I run my fingers lightly down the full-length of his arm. Starting at his shoulder, I end my stroke over the pulse at his wrist where I absently rub a circle over his warm flesh, envisioning the direction of my design.

His skin is warm and smooth, and I can’t help but notice that I’ve left a trail of goosebumps with my touch. I’m lost in thought when he interrupts.

“Like what you see, Princess?” His words come out in a husky whisper that makes the hair on the back of my neck prickle.

I meet his gaze, teasing him, “A good artist always gets familiar with her subject.”

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About Loren Beeson

Loren is a dreamer, artist, radiologic technologist, and author who loves animals and people. Always writing short stories as a young child and young adult, she knew she wanted to become an author someday. The Art of Loving Ellie is Loren’s debut novel.

Loren can be found in her cozy home in Texas with her nose in a book, her corgi and mini-aussie on her lap, and her son trailing along with her and her husband through their many adventures.