By
Starla Kaye (Guest Blogger)
The
statistics about physically and emotionally abused women in
relationships is scary. Getting out of such relationships is almost
as frightening. It is easy for someone not in the situation to give
advice, or almost to belittle the abused person because they don’t
get out of the relationship. The outsider isn’t “walking in their
shoes,” living in their life. Too often the self-confidence of the
abused women has been destroyed. Finding the courage to take a chance
on leaving a harmful situation can be difficult.
In
Trusting Love Again, the heroine
was such a woman. Before the abusive marriage she had found herself
in, Toni had been an outgoing, upbeat, impulsive young woman. She was
one of far too many women who were blinded by falling in love with
the wrong man. She paid the emotional price for making a bad
decision. Her problems were made worse because she felt guilty and
then began losing the self-confidence to stand up for herself. But
she did finally find the inner strength to get out of the traumatic
marriage and found the determination to rebuild her life. Trusting
another man, trusting herself to fall in love again…enormous steps
for her to take.
The
hero, Chad, hadn’t suffered in the way Toni had in his previous
marriage. But his trust in a woman he’d thought he loved had been
shattered. He, too, had married the wrong woman, trusted her with his
heart and with being in an honest relationship. They grew apart,
which often happens. She decided she wanted to pursue a career that
would take her somewhere else. Her announcement blew apart his dreams
of their having a family together and living contentedly in the town
where he had a law practice. She was all too anxious to step away
from a marriage that would hamper her plans and he didn’t want to
hold her back. Heart-wounded, he agreed to a divorce. He was further
wounded when his ex-wife admitted after the divorce hearing that
she’d had an abortion for a baby he hadn’t known about. Trusting
another woman, falling in love again…enormous risks for him to
take.
Signs
of Emotional Abuse
- Your feelings are ignored
- You are called names
- What you do is monitored by someone else
- You are unfairly accused of being unfaithful all the time
- You are prevented from seeing friends or family
- You are stopped from going to work or school
- Your spending money is controlled
- You are humiliated in front of others
- Someone else decides things for you, including what you will wear or will eat
Sources
Violence
Against
Women:
Emotional
abuse
-
http://womenshealth.gov/violence-against-women/types-of-violence/emotional-abuse.html
Power
and
Control
Wheel
-
http://www.lessonsfromliterature.org/docs/manual/Power_and_Control_Wheel.pdf
Blurb
All
she wants is to start over, live a peaceful life…
After
an abusive marriage and an ugly divorce, Toni needs to rebuild her
self-confidence and start a new life in her hometown. Going home
again and confronting people she’d hurt when she’d left is never
easy. She’d hung onto the idea of buying a long-abandoned old house
and remodeling it to help her recover. But a man from her past has
recently purchased it for his business. That’s her emotional
breaking point and she does something reckless. Now she must pay the
legal consequences of her foolish actions…by working for him.
All
he wants is to focus on his work…
Chad’s
job as a lawyer working to protect the rights of the abused elderly
consumes his time and energy. It cost him his marriage and an aborted
child he hadn’t known about. Now he works harder, guards his
bruised heart. Yet the return of someone he’d held secret feelings
for comes back to town. She upsets his world, starting with minor
destruction of his business property and causing him minor injury. He
shouldn’t become involved in helping this troubled woman, yet he
can’t keep from doing so.
Two
heart-damaged people have trouble trusting love again.
Excerpt
“You’re taking
so long,” she said breathlessly, frowning.
“I guess it’s
time to get started.” He stroked his thick shaft while she shivered
with anticipation. Their gazes met and he gave a wicked grin. “Thank
you for letting me do this.”
He stroked himself
again, then guided the cock until it touched her pulsing, swollen
lips. The sight was exciting to watch, but she had to turn her head
away. She didn’t want him to see how badly she wanted him. It would
be there in her eyes, she was certain of that. She braced herself
mentally and physically. And waited.
But he didn’t
keep her in suspense for more than a second. He gripped her hips with
his big hands and the elastic bandage rubbed lightly against her. She
barely had time to think about it before he drove deep inside her.
“Ohhh. Oh my,”
she gasped at the fullness.
“Are you all
right?” he asked in concern. He held still in her body and she
quickly adjusted to the thick invasion.
She pressed
backward and his balls met her bottom. She shivered, longing for
more.
“I take that for
a ‘yes.’” He pulled nearly out as she moaned in disgruntlement.
He chuckled and thrust deep once more. “Demanding woman, aren’t
you?”
Every inch of him
smoothed against her sensitized skin, rubbed places inside her in
such a delicious way. But a demanding woman? It had been a long time
since she wanted a man to have his way with her. Stanley’s way had
never been enjoyable, at least not for her. A thought which annoyed
her. Stanley was in her past. Chad just might be her future. An idea
that worried her.
Enough thinking
about that! “How about speeding it up a little?” she beseeched,
quivering all over.
“Yes, ma’am.”
He began driving back and forth as she’d requested. His grip on her
hips tightened and she heard his heavy breathing.
A part of her
braced for roughness, for his undeniable power over her. Not
Stanley. Remember that.
He eased back on
the rhythm, moved more gently. “I want this to be good for you,
Antoinette.”
She
could sense how much this slowing down was costing him and that
knowledge endeared him to her even more. He wanted to make her climax
first. Another special gift from him. The notion, along with the
steady drive in and out, touching the most intimate part of her, had
her panting. She squeezed her eyes shut as the sensations built.
Buy
Links
Barnes
&
Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/trusting-love-again-starla-kaye/1122924735?ean=2940156674237
About
Starla
Starla
has been writing and publishing in different romance sub-genres and
lengths for twenty years. Her first published book, Tug of Love, was
a “sweet” romance published with iUniverse. Currently she mainly
writes edgier romances with an erotic or slightly naughty focus.
She
enjoys writing about strong-willed, independent women who butt heads
with equally determined, self-confident, and slightly domineering
men. Her belief in relation to her heroes is to find them their
perfect match, but make him really work for the happily-for-now or
happily-ever-after with the woman who wins his heart. Of course, she
likes her heroines to be challenged as well. Love isn't easy.
To
date she has published 20 novels, 39 novellas, 8 anthologies, 18
short stories, and 3 audio books. Starla writes for Decadent
Publishing, Black Velvet Seductions, and Blushing Books.
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4 comments:
Hello, Starla,
Thanks for your insightful post. I have one close friend who was terribly abused by her first husband. It has taken her years to recover. I hope this will be useful for some visitors.
Good luck with the book. And thanks for the giveaway, too!
Thanks for having me here today. Yes, I have a friend who also suffered abuse in her marriage, both physically and emotionally. You can't judge another person for why they stay in such a relationship. There are reasons. But I was so happy when she found the inner strength to walk away.
thank you for the wonderful post today. not enough people take a stand for domestic abuse survivors.
trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com
It's kind of like a dirty little secret, which is so wrong. Thanks for commenting.
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