Caught
in Us by Layla Hagen
(Lost
#3)
Publication
date: August 3rd 2015
Genres:
Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Dani Cohen knows Damon is
trouble the second he walks in during senior year. He has bad boy
written all over him. . .from his arrogant smirk to his perfectly
toned abs. He is arrogant, intense, rebellious.
Dani has her future all
planned out. She’s not the type to fall for a bad boy, no matter
how panty-melting his grin is or how shamelessly he flirts. But
something about Damon draws her in, awakening a desire she’s never
felt. Slowly, she uncovers the secrets Damon hides: underneath his
arrogance lies a tortured soul, his flirting smile masks despair.
Damon arrives in Dani’s
life against his will. Carrying the scars of a dark past and facing
an uncertain future, he knows he should stay away from her, but
can’t. Her innocence consumes him, as does the desire to indulge in
the passion igniting deep inside her.
An all-consuming bond
blooms into a reckless love. But when mistakes from the past threaten
their already fragile future, can their love survive?
A steamy and emotional
full-length, standalone love story from the USA Today Bestselling
author of Withering Hope.
Purchase:
Excerpt
As usual, I get too engrossed in my reading and am
almost late for class. Sitting next to Hazel, I take out my books
when Damon appears in front of our desk.
"You dropped your phone in the hallway," he
says politely.
"No, I didn't." I look in bewilderement as he
drops my smartphone in my hand. Damon smiles mischievously, walking
over to his desk as Ms. Evans enters the class. Wouldn't I have
noticed if my phone had fallen on the corridor during our
altercation? Not really...I was too preoccupied with him to notice
anything else. My skin heats up at the memory of his closeness. I
swivel to ask Hazel something and find her staring at me with curious
eyes.
"Do you have anything to share about your morning?"
"I read a book," I mumble.
Ms. Evan starts talking about the Bronte novel we had to
read when I receive a text.
You should take better care of your things.
The sender appears only by number, not name, but I know
who it is. Sure enough, one glance in Damon's direction confirms my
suspicion. He's not looking at me or his phone, but lifts the corner
of his lips. It dawns on me that I might not have dropped my phone at
all. He must have taken it from my pocket.
And you shouldn't steal other people's things,
I reply.
Hey, you were eavesdropping, so don't go all saint on
me. You were the first offender.
I smile, overcome by a strange giddiness. I can't
believe he stole my phone, or that he got my number, or that he's
texting me right now. I'm grinning like an idiot. It's the first time
a guy has written to me and not asked for my notes or something
similar. Given our less than friendly interactions yesterday and this
morning, this is a surprise. Sometimes it takes a healthy fight and a
familiar pain to gain a friend.
"After the battle of stares yesterday follows the
battle of messages?" Hazel murmurs, smiling. "Bad boy is
showing quite an interest in you."
"No, he's not." Something light settles in my
stomach.
"I heard that a junior tried very hard yesterday to
make him ask for her number and failed. He must be very interested in
yours if he got it on his own."
"This doesn't mean anything." The lightness
grows, the giddy feeling bubbling up inside me.
"Maybe not." She leans in conspiratorially.
"Maybe it does."
When Ms. Evan announces she'll question us about
Wuthering Heights, I have the feeling Damon might take this
opportunity to display the same unpleasantness as yesterday.
Be nice if Ms. Evans asks you something,
I type quickly. Please.
He doesn't type back, and as Ms. Evan begins to ask
questions, I brace myself. She deliberately avoids asking him
anything though. Then she asks Beckett what his opinion is about the
motives behind Heathcliff's behavior. He stares at her with a blank
face, clueless.
It's Damon who answers. "Heathcliff felt out of
place. He didn't belong to their class, and everyone else never let
him forget it."
Ms. Evans' eyes widen, but all she says is "Do you
think that justifies him?"
"No. That's no justification for being a dick to
everyone," Damon says nonchalantly.
Ms. Evans flinches. "That language doesn't belong
in the classroom, Damon." Her tone is firm. I'm proud of her.
"I'll let you out of the questioning round because you're new,
and I gave this assignment a week ago."
Damon's lip twitches, and I can tell he's about so say
something obscene back. I sit up straighter, staring at him intently.
He catches my eye and winks at me. I instantly flush, dropping my
gaze to my hands.
"I had to read the book in my junior year,"
Damon replies. Ms. Evans nods, and then continues questioning Anna. I
think about something the principal mentioned today... Damon scored
mostly A’s at his old school. My assessment was spot on yesterday.
Under the mask of carelessness hides a perfectionist. Someone who is
clearly smart. As Ms. Evans instructs us to look up a certain passage
in the book, I shift in my chair, holding my copy in my hands and
pretending to flip through its pages. In reality, I am sneaking
glances at Damon. Who was he before he came here and whom did he
lose?
Thank you for not being rude,
I text him under the desk. I receive an answer almost immediately.
Ouch. That sound like something you'd tell a dog. I'm
not a poodle; don't try to train me.
I write back quickly. You're
definitely not a poodle. More like a pitbull. I hear those are hard
to train. Whatever they do, it's because they want to.
There is a pause in which I wait breathlessly, and then
my smartphone vibrates. They also tend to
attack their owners.
My fingers almost snap as I hurry to reply. I
don't believe that. They just have a bad reputation. Don't believe
everything you hear. It's all appearances.
Another short vibration. Ms. Evans looks at me, so I
just chance a quick glance at my phone. So
what should I make of your Linkin Park t-shirt?
Frowning, I text back as best as I can while pretending
to pay attention to Ms. Evans. What's the harm
in liking Kinky Fuck?
Damon's next message confuses me. Is
that an invitation? I read what I wrote
before, and shame washes over me.
Abandoning all pretense of paying attention to the
teacher, I write It was autocorrect. I meant
Linkin Park. OMG, I'm so sorry.
He doesn't write anything back, and when I look at him,
he appears on the verge of bursting out laughing.
AUTHOR
BIO:
My name is Layla Hagen and
I am a New Adult Contemporary Romance author.
I fell in love with books
when I was nine years old, and my love affair with stories continues
even now, many years later.
I write romantic stories
and can’t wait to share them with the world.
And I drink coffee. Lots
of it, in case the photo didn’t make it obvious enough
Author links:
