Genres: Contemporary Romance
time to see how much heat this fireman can take…
Ranger Erik Grady lives for the job. So when his chief at the Boston Fire
Department offers him two choices—mandated therapy for supposed PTSD or a
permanent desk job at the station, he reluctantly agrees to see a shrink. Only
this doctor is unlike anything he expected. Female and curved in all the right
places? Check. Hotter than a four-alarm fire? Check. The kind of woman that can
heat his blood in and out of bed? Check, check. And oh, yeah, he just happens
to have firsthand experience…
men to walk into psychologist Olivia Jones’ office, why did it have to be him?
Her one-night stand isn’t playing by the rules of just. One. Night. She’s had
her heart broken in the past, and no way is she going there again. And now he’s
blackmailing her into three dates? Well, if that’s what it takes to make him
see a different therapist, fine. She can handle it. So what if the chemistry
between them is combustible? She’s a professional, damn it. She’ll date Mr. I’m
Too Sexy For My Bunker Pants. But it won’t end in the fun he expects.
It’s time to see how much
heat this fireman can take…
Shit, how much time had passed? A cursory glance at his watch told him it was now fifteen minutes past. Gritting his teeth, Erik gave the area a wide sweep of his gaze, searching for a stunning blonde with the face of an angel and a body made for sin…and came up empty.
Goddamn it, he swore that if she wasn’t here in the next—
“Looks like you’ve been waiting a while. Did she stand you up?”
The feminine voice came from behind and a little to the left and held a distinct amused lilt. Relief flooded his system faster than a dose of adrenaline shot straight into the bloodstream. Erik cracked a smile then did his best to school his features with the help of dragging a hand over his afternoon stubble. Without turning around or looking back at her he said, “Yeah, it’s starting to look that way. Probably just as well, though.”
“Oh?” He felt her take a step toward him, stopping behind his left shoulder. “Why do you say that?”
“I think she was only using me for my body.” She gasped dramatically, and he barely contained his laughter. “I know,” he continued, “it shocked me, too. I thought she liked me for the important things.”
He’d never seen her playful side—didn’t even know she had one—and that she showed it to him now felt like a huge fucking win. Unable to resist any longer, he turned to face her and take her in.
“And what are the important things?”
Erik stepped into her until she had to lift her face to maintain eye contact with him. Then he used a sex-roughened voice to say, “You know, like my collection of pre-Civil War coins and freakishly extensive knowledge of Sumatran orangutans.”
Amusement danced in her eyes, and in order to prevent breaking character, she bit the center of her full lower lip. An act he very much wanted to do for her. “What a coincidence,” she said, her tone a mix of seduction and innocence that had him harder than a Halligan. “Those are two of my favorite subjects. It’s been such a long time since anyone’s showered me with”—she peered up at him through thick lashes — “Sumatran orangutan facts.”
Christ, even her playful side liked to kill him. “Sweetheart, I’ll shower you with whatever facts you want,” he said with a wink, “as long as I get to use my hands while doing it.” Erik watched as her pupils dilated in response, filling him with satisfaction. “You’re late.”
full-time writer, wife, and mother living in the upper Midwest, despite her
scathing hatred of snow and cold weather. An avid romance novel addict, she
began writing as an alternate way of enjoying the romance stories she loves to
read. Her debut novel, Seducing Cinderella, hit both the USA Today and New York
Times bestseller lists in less than four weeks, and she’s been living her
newfound dream ever since.
she’s not reading or writing steamy romance novels, she spends her time losing
at Scrabble (and every other game) to her high school sweetheart, doing her
best to hang out with their teenagers before they fly the coop, and dreaming
about her move to sunny Florida once they do.
