I am so happy to be a part of the offical Out of Line series Fan week! I absolutely ADORE this series and everything about Finn and Carrie's story. If you haven't read this series I highly recommend that you do!
Series Overview
Out of Line by Jen McLaughlin
Synopsis:
"Desperate to
break free…
I've spent my entire life under my father’s thumb, but now I'm finally
free to make my own choices. When my roommate dragged me to my first college
party, I met Finn Coram and my life turned inside out. He knows how to
break the rules and is everything I never knew I wanted. A Marine by day
and surfer by night, he pushes me away even as our attraction brings us closer.
Now I am finally free to do whatever I want. I know what I want. I choose
Finn.
Trying to play
by the rules...
I always follow orders. My job, my life, depends on it. I thought this
job would be easy, all the rules were made crystal clear, but when I met Carrie
Wallington, everything got muddy. She's a rule I know I shouldn't break, but
damn if I don’t inch closer to the breaking point each time I see her. I’m
ready to step out of line. And even worse? I’m living a lie. They say the truth
will set you free, but in my case…
The truth will cost me everything."
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Out of Time by Jen McLaughlin
Synopsis:
"Desperate to keep him...
I've finally gotten everything I ever wanted: love, freedom, happiness,
and, most importantly, Finn. Our love is everything I expected it to be and
more. We've finally found each other, but the world seems determined to tear us
apart. We thought my father was the only obstacle between us, but now it's the
military. With Finn’s departure looming, we’re squeezing in every moment
together before we run out of time.
Trying to make every moment count…
Being Carrie’s bodyguard was one thing. Being her boyfriend is another.
Every day she’s mine is a day the sun shines in my life. Yet our time together
is running out. Her father will never think a tattooed Marine will be good
enough, so I’ll do whatever it takes to be worthy of her love. But the road
will take me away from the girl who makes me feel alive--the girl I can't live
without.
Time only gets us so far..."
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Deleted
Scene from Out Of Time: Part One of Three
This was the original ending to
Out of Time, before I decided to change it from a novella to a full length
novel. Once I made the book longer, a bunch of stuff changed, including the
way/place/time that Finn told Carrie he would be leaving. As did the reasons
why. Enjoy! --Jen
That’s what I was right now. What I’d been ever since Finn
told me he might be leaving. Even more so now that I knew the time for the
truth grew rapidly closer. It was Sunday evening at five-forty five and I was a
hysterical wreck. And I’d been that way all weekend long, especially once my
parents were gone.
In a way, I’d been grateful they were here like they’d been.
It had been a welcome distraction. But then they went home yesterday, and I was
all alone. Last night and today had passed the slowest any day had ever been.
I’d gone to the soup kitchen with Darren. Handed out tons of gift cards. Done
my homework. Worked on my thesis. Washed my new car. Done research. Cleaned the
apartment, which had been an adventure all in itself. Gotten ahead in class, even.
And I’d still had hours and hours to sit around twiddling my
thumbs, slowly going insane as I waited for six o’clock to come around. In a
matter of minutes, Finn would be here on this beach with me. And knowing he was
going to tell me whether or not he was going to freaking war…yeah.
Manic. That pretty accurately described my state of mind.
Despite the “unhappy” circumstances behind this picnic, I’d
tried to set a romantic scene, complete with a red and white checkered blanket,
a wicker basket, and a pilfered bottle of wine from Finn’s cabinet. There was
also a bunch of grapes and strawberries, and a couple of sandwiches for us
both.
I’d spent the night at his place last night, putting my
clothes away and just being there. I slept in his bed, hugging his pillow, and
had laid awake almost all night long. I tugged my navy blue and white sweater
down and fidgeted with the hem of my jean shorts. I’d left my hair down for
Finn, since he liked it that way, but now I was wishing I’d taken the time to
do something with it. If I’d done my hair, it would have taken me even longer
to get here, and I wouldn’t be sitting here fidgeting and wondering and
stressing.
As Finn would say…this
fucking wait was fucking killing me.
But no matter what he said, no matter what happened, I was
standing by him. I wouldn’t leave him, and I wouldn’t move on and forget about
him. Hopefully he didn’t really think
I would. Long ago—at least, it seemed long ago—he’d told me if he went to war I
would forget all about him. God, if he really thought that…
I’d have to do my best to show him he was wrong.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I got that
tingling sensation that warned me I was being watched. I remembered having the
same type of feeling the first night I met Finn, when he’d been guarding me and
watching from the shadows.
Who would have known that he would have come to mean so much
to me in so little time? That I’d need him so badly I couldn’t imagine a life
without him in it. Who would have known the man who was sent to watch me would
want me, too?
I rolled clumsily to my bare feet, my heart racing and
seeming to painfully climb up from my chest until it felt as if it rested in my
throat instead of my chest. I knew that wasn’t possible, of course, but I’d
swear to it anyway. He walked toward me steadily, his light blue jeans folded up
at the ankle to keep them clean. He wore a grey hoodie and a pair of
sunglasses. I couldn’t read his freaking eyes. Had no clue what to expect.
But suddenly it didn’t matter anymore, because he was here.
And that’s all that really mattered, wasn’t it?
I took a step toward him, then another. By the time my foot
hit the sand a third time, I was running. I’m talking, hair flying behind you,
full on sprint. Finn picked up the pace, too, his long steps growing even
faster. By the time we met, I was out of breath and fighting back the tears
threatening to escape.
Even though he hadn’t opened his mouth, I just knew what he was going to say.
He caught me in his arms, spinning me in a giant circle and
hugging me to his chest. I could feel his heart thumping, beating against my
own almost in tandem. He opened his mouth to talk, but I kissed him before he
could. I didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want my worst fears to become so
utterly, horrifically, devastatingly alive.
When I was a little girl, I’d been terrified of monsters
that hid under my bed. Now, as an adult, I knew the real terror lie in words
and actions and in life or death. Not in scary, hairy, huge beasts.
I kissed him with a desperation I hadn’t felt before,
knowing if I stopped he’d tell me the words I didn’t want to hear. Knowing if I
stopped, I’d utterly lose it. There was a good handful of people on the beach,
and they were probably all watching us with wide eyes, but I didn’t even care.
All those silly fears I’d had over the years seemed so freaking pathetic in the
face of this.
Of Finn.
He moaned into my mouth and stumbled back, his hands
supporting me. I knew I was attacking the poor man, but I couldn’t stop. Not
now. Not ever. From a distance, I heard the waves crashing on the sand and a
few voices carrying off from the distance, but I shut it all out. All I wanted
to focus on was Finn.
When he broke the kiss off, his breathing heavy and his grip
on me unbreakable, I dared a glance up at him. Even with his shades on, I could
see the tension in the way he smiled. And the way his shoulders were tight and
hard. “Hey, Ginger,” he said lightly.
I forced a smile for him, my hands gripping his shoulders so
hard it probably hurt him, but he didn’t so much as flinch. “Hey, yourself.”
“I like this kind of greeting.” He swung me into his arms,
cradling me against his chest. “But now I’m not going to put you down.”
“I don’t want you to,” I said, my voice breaking on the last
word. When he shot me a concerned look and opened his mouth to talk, I pressed
my fingers against his mouth. “No. Don’t say it. Not yet.”
He kissed my fingers and nodded, but he looked away from me.
Probably trying to hide his own tortured feelings from me, to protect me, but
it didn’t work. I could feel his pain as if it was my own—and he could probably
feel mine. “Okay. What’s for dinner?”
“Wine. Lots of wine.”
He laughed, but it sounded forced. Of course it did. “Let me
get this straight. You want me to publicly provide a minor with wine?
Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He set me down on my feet next to the picnic
blanket, and I buried my toes in the cool sand. Funny how that used to feel
like such a thrill to me. How naïve I’d been. “I want this to be the perfect
date. And once it’s over…then we talk. Deal?”
“Have I ever denied you something you wanted?” He sat down
and patted the spot directly next to him. “If that’s what you want, you’ll get
it.”
I wanted to demand he not leave me. Wanted to demand he not
go to war.
He’d promised to give me everything I wanted, hadn’t he?
But that wouldn’t be fair. Even I knew he didn’t have a say in whether he left or stayed. It was
all up to men like my father. To the men in the government who sat behind desks
and demanded that men like Finn go overseas to fight for oil and other crap
they tried to put a pretty face on.
“I want you, here with me.” I grabbed a grape and pressed it
to his lips. “And I have that now.”
He took the grape out of my fingers, licking them as he
sucked it in. Something in my stomach tightened, despite the emotional turmoil
I was in, and I leaned closer, watching his mouth hungrily as he chewed. It
wasn’t until I looked away that I noticed he still wore his dog tags. I gently
grasped the chain and pulled them out from under his shirt.
I scanned the words that denoted his name, social security
number, blood type, and religion. Guess I now knew he was O positive. Weird way
to find out, though. I didn’t even what the heck type of blood I had, but I
knew his. And knowing that this was how they kept track of who was who felt so
cold and impersonal.
But then again…that’s how life was, wasn’t it?
Out of Mind by Jen McLaughlin
Synopsis:
"Reaching for sunlight...Finn survived
the ambush and came home to me, but in his head, the battle is still raging.
He’s falling apart and I’m trying my best to pick up the pieces of him, to find
the us we used to be. I love him as
much as I ever did, but love isn’t enough to fix this. I thought telling my
father about our relationship would be the hardest thing we’d ever have to
face. I was wrong.Lost in shadows...All I wanted
was to be worthy of Carrie. One mission, just one, and I’d be able to give her
the future she deserved. Then everything went wrong, leaving me tainted and
broken. Carrie wants me to be who I was, but all that’s left is what they made
of me. I’m no good for her. No good for anyone like this. I have to figure out
how to move forward. Alone.Sometimes love isn’t enough…"
Watch out tomorrow for my review of Out of Mind!!
Author Bio
Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, a cat, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another. Her goal is to write so many well-crafted romance books that even a non-romance reader will know her name.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6921962.Jen_McLaughlin
Goodreads Links
I really hope you will try this series! It is absolutely amazing and I'm really sad that it is over. Don't forget Out of Mind comes out April 29, 2014!
Jen McLaughlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She writes steamy New Adult books for the young and young at heart. Her first release, Out of Line, came out September 2013. She also writes bestselling Contemporary Romance under the pen name Diane Alberts.Since receiving her first contract offer under the pen name Diane Alberts, she has yet to stop writing. She is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency.
