Here's the blurb:
Amanda Thompson is offered her dream job as a junior
executive at a Manhattan venture firm. The terms are a little vague, but she
has a seriously ill sister to provide for, and her new boss is a seriously
attractive man. Failure is not an option, so she'll keep her eye on the prize,
and her heart and body out of the mix…despite the boss's overly personal
interest in her.
Logan Winter is a hard-driving business tycoon who likes his
sex life hot and his emotional life cold. His new high-end call girl is a
little different from the ordinary bimbos who fill the role. That's okay, since
he's ready for different. Even discovering the mistake that's been made is
okay, because he knows how to get what he wants…and he wants Amanda.
Excerpt:
Logan stopped in front of Amanda, crowding her. She could
smell him, his faint, spicy cologne overlaid on a trace of soap. His
high-planed cheekbones, well-defined jaw and slash of black eyebrows marked him as a strong, damnably attractive
man.
"May I help you off with your jacket?" He touched
her shoulder. "You don't look comfortable."
She stepped away from him. "You shouldn’t make personal
comments." Why did she feel and sound like a maiden aunt? "Though I
know we’ll be working together closely, I expect both of us to maintain a
professional attitude."
"A professional attitude," he repeated. He placed
his drink down on the glass dining table beside her, and the little clinking
sound chimed like a warning bell. He began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.
Amanda stared at him. She could tell his actions were
automatic, but they still made her uneasy.
There were only two possibilities here. Either her vivid
imagination had run away with her, drawing a scenario of sexual attraction
where none existed. Or, she stood in danger of succumbing to the dangerous
appeal of this man, a course of action which would jeopardize everything she
intended to achieve. Either way, she could only lose if she didn’t keep her
wits about her.
"I intend to perform this job to the best of my
ability," she said. "As I told you before."
"You take an unusual amount of pride in your…ah,
profession."
Her back stiffened. "I work hard."
His lips twitched. "Don’t worry about my ego."
She barely restrained a snort. He had enough ego for ten
men. "The agency told me you were a demanding boss." Let his ego take
that.
Surprise flitted across his face. "I suppose that’s
true." He smiled at her. "Though I save the rough stuff for my business
adversaries."
"I don’t mind a tough boss. You warned me that this was
a job, nothing more."
"I have every intention of treating you with respect.
So forget the tough boss routine."
"What do you mean?" Now she was surprised.
He took a step toward her. "I’d prefer to show you what
I mean."
She froze in bewildered shock as he folded his arms around
her. He bent his head, and before she knew what he meant to do, he touched his
lips to hers. Just a soft, warm brush of his mouth over hers. Nothing threatening
at all. If she didn’t count the buzz that ran over every one of her nerves.
"Logan!" She tried to step back, but his arms
didn't release her.
Instead, he reached up and massaged the back of her neck.
Pleasure sizzled over her skin and she dropped her shoulders to allow him more
access. Oh, that felt good.
His long fingers explored an inch or two down into the back
of her blouse. "You’re very tense," he said. "It will be better
for you if you can relax."
"I don’t need to relax." She needed to breathe. Before
she collapsed at his feet, and he got the wrong idea about how he made her
feel. Because this wasn't right.
He didn’t seem to be getting the same message.
"I told the agency I wanted someone different," he
said, licking the edge of her mouth with his hot tongue. "But I didn’t
expect them to be so successful." He angled his head and kissed her neck.
"I hardly think the agency had anything to do with
this."
"Mmmm." He dropped another light kiss on her
mouth. "Physical attraction is hard to predict."
"I’m not attracted to you!" Her breath strangled
in her throat as she fought a moan. His hands were very close now to the
undersides of her breasts.
"Are you sure about that?"
His tongue licked her lips and her mouth fell open, without
any decision on her part. He swept in, and this time he kissed her hard. So
hard she had to kiss him back. So hard that their tongues couldn't avoid
tangling. So hard that it was only natural for his arms to sweep around her and
crush her to him.
She tasted whiskey on his tongue, smelled heat on his skin,
and heard murmurs of approval in his throat.
No, she wasn’t sure about anything. Except the fact that she
couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be thinking about twining her legs around his
waist, or falling back on the plush sofa and turning it into a bed. If she had
to think about beds, she should picture her sister lying in her narrow hospital
bed, wires snaking in and around her body, with a sheet tucked in tightly, as
if awaiting a corpse. The image chilled her, and she shivered. Would she allow
an emotion as transitory as desire to sway her from her goals?
His mouth moved down her neck as he pressed kisses
both hard and tender to her. He bit her where her neck met her shoulder, just
as his roaming hands feathered over her breasts. She stiffened and melted at
the same time. Her purse fell to the floor, and the thump registered a
wake-up call.
"Logan," she said, struggling to repeat the
words. Lie or not, she had to say them to stop this dangerous madness.
"I’m not attracted to you."
He released her just enough to look down at her.
"So why are your nipples hard?"
"Because you’ve been manhandling them!"
His half smile showed, though his face looked a little
strained. "Yeah, technically I suppose they have been handled by a man.
With great pleasure."
"Look, I've had a long day." If she didn't get out
of this room, she might grab him. "I'd like to retire to my room. Will you
need me tonight for work?"
He raised his brows. "Yes, I will need you," he
said firmly. "Perhaps you’d like to change into something more
comfortable?" Dropping his hands, he glanced at his watch. "Shall we
say half-an-hour?"
"Fine." She suppressed a sigh. He had told her
this would be her first night on the job. "Though I don’t need to
change," she added. "What will you want me to do?"
His gaze, which had been lingering on her breasts, snapped
to her face.
"Amanda, you’re a sharp woman. Right from the beginning
I liked that about you."
She took a step back. "Your point is?"
"Look, unless you’re wearing a plaid skirt and knee
socks, the ingénue approach isn’t my thing."
"The ingénue approach?" He’d reduced her to a
parrot.
"The dumb, innocent act. Even in the right outfit, it
wouldn’t be my first choice."
"I …" She opened and closed her mouth. Words
failed her. Had she taken a job with a pervert?
Damn! It had seemed so perfect!
"What are you talking about?"
"Are you new at this?" he demanded, his eyes
narrowing as he looked down at her. "Because I’m sure I’ve told the agency
I want only experienced women. And no games."
"You know exactly what my experience is." Amanda
grabbed her purse from the floor. "But if you don’t like to play games,
then stop speaking in riddles. Just tell me plainly what you want."
"Fine." He jerked his hand toward her. "Get
undressed."
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Just for fun, here's a picture of the lighthouse on Cape Cod where Amanda waits for Logan to figure out what he's doing wrong...
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