The Hotter You Burn
(The Original Heartbreakers #2)
Gena Showalter
$7.99 U.S./$8.99
CAN.
ISBN-13: 978-0-373-77969-7
ON SALE 7/28/15
New
York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter is back with a sizzling Original
Heartbreakers tale featuring a troubled playboy and the woman he can’t resist…
Beck
Ockley is ruthless in the boardroom...and the bedroom. He's never been with the
same woman twice, and vows he never will. With a past as twisted as his,
meaningless sex keeps the demons at bay. His motto: One and done. No harm, no
foul.
Harlow
Glass is the most hated girl in town. The beautiful artist is penniless,
jobless and homeless. When she sneaks into Beck's home—her ancestral estate—for
food, she's shocked by his early return...and her immediate, sizzling and
intense attraction to him.
For
the first time in Beck's life, he can't get a woman out of his mind. All too
soon, friendship blooms into obsession and he'll have to break her heart...or
surrender his own.
“I’m leaving,
that’s what,” Harlow said. Determined words, snotty tone. She attempted to
wrench herself from Beck’s grip.
“Oh, no.” Beck merely
tightened his hold. “We’re going to have a glass of sweet tea while you two crazy
kids get to know each other better.”
Harlow anchored
her hands on her hips. “You know what? You’re right. We are
going to get to know each other. But your presence is unnecessary, Beck. Leave.”
“Not gonna
happen.”
“We don’t need—”
He cut her off,
whispering, “If you and West get married and live happily ever after, you’ll
have to get used to having me around.”
She snapped her
mouth shut, then lifted her chin and grumbled, “That’s a very sad point.” She
flashed a too-bright smile at West and eased into the chair Jase had vacated. “I’m
game if you are.”
Beck vibrated
with irritation as he carried a pitcher of tea and three glasses to the table
and settled between the pair. “My girl here has certain ideas about the kind of
man she wants to end up with,” he explained, “and I’d like to know if the two
of you are compatible.”
Understanding
dawned on West’s features, a smile nearly breaking free. He cleared his throat
and donned his most uncaring expression. “Sure. Whatever.”
Beck poured the
tea, handed out the glasses, and Harlow clutched hers as if it were a lifeline.
“Kick us off,
sweet pea,” he said. “Tell my good buddy Lincoln—that’s his first name, in case
you didn’t know—a little about yourself.”
“Well.” There
was a slight tremor in her voice. “I’m twenty-six, and I’ve never been married.”
“Would you like
a medal?” West muttered, while staring down at his cell phone, playing one of
the games he’d created.
She glared at
Beck, but he merely arched a brow.
Don’t make plans with men you don’t know.
“Yes, actually,
I would like a medal, considering I’m
hot but don’t realize it, which makes me even hotter.” The tremor had vanished,
the snotty attitude firmly in its place. “It’s a miracle no one’s snatched me
up. But then, most men are idiots, so…”
West smiled, realized
his mistake, and glowered at his screen.
Beck braced
elbows on the table. “You’re suggesting outward beauty is all that matters.”
“Hardly. My
personality is hot, too. But Beck, darling.” Sugary-sweet tone now. Too sweet.
“You aren’t part of this get-to-know-you session, even though you insist on
being a total third wheel, so do us all a favor and zip your stupid lips.”
Then, she
dismissed him. Looking to West, she traced her fingertips over the collar of
her shirt, so feminine Beck’s every masculine instinct growled, hungry for the
next meal. “So. Lincoln. How old are you?”
West played the
video game a little longer before deigning to answer. “I’m twenty-eight, but I’ve
got the stamina of an eighty-year-old coma victim. Horrible lover. Even worse cuddler.”
“Well, those
skills can be taught,” she said, reaching over to caress his shoulder. “Anyway,
you’re quite young to be so successful. It’s impressive.”
It was impressive. Beck wasn’t sure where
he would have ended up without the guy.
West shrugged. “I
work hard,” he said, then added, “probably too hard. I tend to ignore the
people in my life. Especially women.”
“Well, I
understand how taxing such a busy work schedule can be, and I commend you for
it.” She gave his shoulder another caress, and Beck almost jerked the two apart.
“I hope the lucky ladies in your life are as understanding as I am.”
“I guess,” West
said and shrugged again.
“Wow, just look
at these muscles, West. You are amazingly strong, aren’t you?” She cast another
narrowed glance Beck’s way, presumably to make sure he was watching as she
scooted her chair closer to West’s. “You know,” she said, the tip of her finger
toying with the rim of West’s glass. When she caught a bead of condensation,
she brought it to her lips and sucked, causing Beck’s groin to twitch behind
his zipper. “I have a skill of my own, but it’s quite naughty.”
West glanced up,
phone forgotten. “Do tell.”
“Yes. Do.” Beck
simmered with renewed anger—even more desire. He smoothed a lock of hair from Harlow’s
face. One touch, but he was greedy for more.
Her breath
caught, but she leaned away from him, getting closer and closer to West, until
her mouth was poised at the shell of his ear. In a husky voice low enough to be
considered a whisper but loud enough for Beck to overhear, she said, “I’m super good at parking.”
Stick a fork in me. I’m done. Done with the conversation. Done with watching
the object of his obsession doing her rock-solid best to arouse another male. “West
doesn’t need to hear about that. Let’s go—”
“Even boys from
two counties over dreamed of making out with me in the backseat of their
trucks,” she continued with an effortless sensuality. “I’m very bendy.”
Beck slammed his
glass on the table, tea sloshing over the sides of the rim. “Harlow here is
looking to settle down forever,” he barked. “She thinks you’d make an awesome
groom.”
“Marriage?” West
sneered with distaste. “Me? Hell, no. Never.”
“He’s all for
others tying the knot, but when it comes to himself he thinks the Newlywed Game
should be called the Dig Your Own Grave game,” Beck explained, relaxing now
that the conversation had taken a new direction.
Harlow unveiled
a brittle smile. “Maybe you just haven’t met the right person, Lincoln. You don’t
mind if I call you Lincoln, do you?”
“Call me
whatever you like, but I have met the right
person.” His voice cracked. “She died.” He stood, his chair skidding behind
him, and strode out of the kitchen.
Harlow rounded
on Beck, all hint of supple, willing female gone. “I hope you’re happy with
yourself. You did this.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.” The
words were nothing more than a hiss. “You wanted me to know I can’t win the
affections of anyone else, that I’m stuck with you, destined to be your newest
conquest.”
“Stuck with me?”
he snarled.
“Yeah, that’s
right. You aren’t the prize you think you are, Beck Ockley, but maybe West is. Maybe
he’s worth fighting for. Maybe, unlike you, he has a heart and the ability to
care for someone other than himself.”
“I have a heart.
I care.”
She didn’t seem
to hear him, plowing ahead. “You know, there are plenty of guys in town. Why
focus all my efforts on just one? I’m sure lots of
guys would like a chance to get to know the new me. I can bring them back to my
RV—”
“My RV.”
“—and practice
being married, just the way you suggested.”
Beck would burn
the RV to ash first.
Too far gone to
fight his sense of possession, he hooked his foot around the bottom of her
chair and forced her chair closer, closer still. Their thighs touched, and she
gasped, perhaps at the force he’d used, perhaps with a desire of her own.
He grabbed her
by the waist and easily hefted her onto the table, on his feet and between her
legs a second later, glaring down at her.
“I want you, and
it’s past time I showed you how much. You’ll keep your sweet ass parked on this table and you’ll show me your skills. Me. No one else.” And
then his hand was cupping the back of her neck, drawing her forward.
This can be read as a standalone, but I enjoyed this book so much that I'm going back and reading the previous books. It broke my heart to see the way people treated Harlow. No one was willing to give her a second chance until Beck started standing up for her. I loved seeing Beck fall for Harlow, even if he didn't know he was falling. Their relationship builds slowly, but there is no lack sexual tension between the two. Great story with a little bit of heartbreak, romance and humor. Can't wait for the next book!
I received an ARC via NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.
Gena Showalter is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling
author whose works have appeared in Cosmopolitan
and Seventeen magazines, as well
as Entertainment Weekly. Her novel Red Handed has been optioned by Sony
Television. Critics have called her books “sizzling page-turners” and “utterly
spellbinding stories,” while Showalter herself has been called “a star on the
rise.” Her mix of humor, danger and wickedly hot sex provides wildly sensual
page-turners sure to enthrall.
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