Off The Clock
Pleasure Principle, 1
Roni Loren
Berkley
January 5, 2016
Book Blurb:
FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LOVING ON THE EDGE NOVELS, THE FIRST IN A SENSUAL NEW
SERIES
Overtime has never felt so good…
Marin Rush loves studying sex.
Doing it? That’s another story. In the research lab, Marin’s lack of practical
knowledge didn’t matter, but now that she’s landed a job at The Grove, a
high-end, experimental sex therapy institute, she can’t ignore the fact that
the person most in need of sexual healing may be her.
Dr. Donovan West, her new hotshot
colleague, couldn’t agree more. Donovan knows that Marin’s clients are going to
eat her alive unless she gets some hands-on experience. And if she fails at the
job, he can say goodbye to a promotion, so he assigns her a list of R-rated
tasks to prepare her for the wild clientele of The Grove’s X-wing.
But some of those tasks are built
for two, and when he finds Marin searching for a candidate to help her check
off her list, Donovan decides there’s only one man for the job—him. As long as
they keep their erotic, off-the-clock activities strictly confidential and
without strings, no one will get fired—or worse, get attached…
Excerpt:
Donovan stared out the window at the grounds and tucked his hands in his pockets, centering himself and bringing the focus back to the task at hand. “I want you to succeed here, Marin. Don’t doubt that. I’m going to train you to the best of my ability, and I have full confidence that you’ll catch on quickly. As for our past, I think we’re both grown-ups and can leave that where it is.” He paused, trying to let go of his dour thoughts and channel some levity. He smiled at his reflection in the window. “Unless you need to profess some undying love that’s been burning for me since you let me divest of your virginity?”
Donovan stared out the window at the grounds and tucked his hands in his pockets, centering himself and bringing the focus back to the task at hand. “I want you to succeed here, Marin. Don’t doubt that. I’m going to train you to the best of my ability, and I have full confidence that you’ll catch on quickly. As for our past, I think we’re both grown-ups and can leave that where it is.” He paused, trying to let go of his dour thoughts and channel some levity. He smiled at his reflection in the window. “Unless you need to profess some undying love that’s been burning for me since you let me divest of your virginity?”
*
Marin’s whirling
work-related thoughts skidded to a halt, all of them falling off the edge at
Donovan’s comment. Her lips parted.
But Donovan spun
around, a devilish smile on his handsome face and his hands still tucked in his
pockets. “That’s how it’s supposed to go, right? The guy who takes the V-card
always has a special place. Research has proven it.” He put his hand on his
chest. “Come on, did you write my name in your notebooks with a heart around
it? You can tell me. I’m a doctor.”
A choked laugh
escaped her. “Research doesn’t say any such thing. Plus, your name would be too
long to fit in a heart. And if you recall, I walked
away from you that night, doctor.
So you were probably the one pining over your misguided night with a teenager.”
He chuckled, the
sound as rich and warm as she remembered. It softened some of those hard edges
he’d acquired in the years since she’d known him, gentled the icy blue in his
eyes. “Of course I was. There was bad poetry written. Sad songs played. I went
through this weird emo/goth phase. It wasn’t pretty.”
“I’m sure,” she
said dryly. But let out an internal sigh of relief at his shift in mood. This
was the Donovan she remembered. He was still in there somewhere. She could work
with that guy. She wasn’t so sure about the other.
He grinned,
unrepentant. “See. You’re going to do just fine. There are two important
requirements to work in this field: shamelessness and a sense of humor.” He
raised a finger. “Oh, and the ability to keep a straight face no matter what.”
He gave her a
super-serious therapist face.
She tried to
give her own back to him, but she lost the staring contest and laughed.
He pointed at
her. “All right. Elephants slain?”
He still hadn’t
told her what he’d been doing in the parking lot in that half-dressed state,
but it really wasn’t any of her business. “Sure. Bleeding on the floor.”
“Aw, poor
elephants.”
He slipped off
his suit jacket, hooked it around the back of his chair, and sat behind his
desk in one gracefully executed maneuver—all confidence and swagger. The
accomplished doctor. The ridiculously beautiful man. Donovan West was pure
impact.
She had a
feeling he was probably loved or hated around here, not much in between. He was
a man who inspired reaction. He’d sure as hell always inspired one in her. Just
not one that had any place at work.
Stop
it. She sat up
straighter, studiously ignoring how well his shoulders filled out that dress
shirt, how the blue of his tie matched his eyes, and how his dark hair looked
thick enough for her fingers to get lost in. Nope. Totally wasn’t going to pay
attention to any of that.
Purchase
links:
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Author Bio:
If she’s
not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching
reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rockstars, er,
rock concerts. Yeah, that's it. She is the National Bestselling Author of The
Loving on the Edge series from Berkley Heat.
Places to
find Roni Loren:
Giveaway
Info:
Out of Print Library Card Tote Bag filled with Books (US/Canada shipping ONLY)
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