Triple Score
Art of Seduction #4
Regina Kyle
Publisher: Harlequin Blaze
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 1, 2016
Knowing the score…
Prima ballerina Noelle Nelson needs to recover
from her injury and return to the stage. She won't consider failure…or be
distracted by baseball's resident bad boy, Jace Monroe. His tattoos, wicked
smile and deliciously athletic body might drive her crazy, but a media frenzy
is the last thing this good girl needs.
Jace is sick with fear that his own injury will
never heal, but he's not about to let anyone notice, especially the gorgeous
blonde dancer he loves to infuriate. He's pushing himself past his physical
capacity, putting his future at risk. Still, when it comes to making a play for
Noelle, Jace is in scoring position—and he's not going to back down!
Jace
ended the call, returned the weight to its place on the rack and headed back to
his room. Once inside, he flipped on the light switch and stared, open-mouthed.
“What the
hell?”
The bed
had been empty when he left to meet Sara. Now one of those inflatable love
dolls lay sprawled on top, her cherry-tipped breasts pointed straight up at the
ceiling and her ruby red mouth in a permanent O. A cardboard box sat between
her open legs. On one side, the words For
Your Enjoyment: Handle With Care were printed in bold, bright blue marker.
No return address, but the postmark was from Chicago, where the Storm had
finished up a recent road trip.
Jace
flicked open the utility knife on his key chain, sliced through the packing
tape and began pulling out items one by one. A box of condoms. A tube of
Astroglide. He kept digging. The damn thing was packed with enough sex toys to
keep a rowdy bachelorette party whooping it up for hours.
Cooper
and Reid’s warped idea of a care package. They’d probably paid some gullible
orderly a fortune to do their dirty work. Or maybe offered him box seats the
next time the Storm were in Phoenix.
“Very
funny, assholes.”
The
corners of Jace’s lips curled into a smile in spite of himself. It was funny.
Though God only knew what the staff would think when they came to clean in the
morning.
He
started chucking stuff back in the box until all that was left was the doll. No
way was she going to fit, not in her present state. And he sure as hell wasn’t
leaving her like that. With a sigh, Jace opened the valve.
Nothing.
He picked
up the doll and squeezed it. A long, slow whoosh of air escaped from the valve.
He squeezed again. “Come on, baby. Give it to me.”
A shrill,
female squeak from behind him made Jace turn toward the door, the doll still in
his arms.
“Sorry.”
Noelle leaned against the door jamb, almost as if her crutches weren’t enough
to keep her vertical. Her porcelain cheeks tinted red. “Again.”
“Back for
some more covert operations?” Jace loosened his hold on the doll. “Has anyone
ever told you your timing sucks?”
“Maybe
it’s not my timing.” Her eyes traveled from him to the doll and back again.
“Maybe it’s your…libido.”
“Very
funny.” He smiled in spite of himself. She was smart, sassy and not in the
least bit intimidated by his tattoos or his attitude or his fame, like so many
women. “You know there was nothing going on between me and Sara.”
“That
doesn’t explain you and…” She wagged a finger at the doll. “…her.”
“A practical
joke from a couple of friends.”
“Some
friends.”
He threw
the doll onto the floor and stepped on it, squashing one plastic boob. The air
came out in a hiss, and he continued to flatten the doll with his feet.
“You’re
going to pop it.”
He raised
an eyebrow. “Do I look like I care?”
“You
never know. You might need her for…something.”
“Like I
said, I’ve never been that hard up for female companionship. And I don’t plan
to start now.”
“From the
way things looked a minute ago, you could have fooled me.”
He
stopped his rhythmic stomping to stare at her. “Was there a reason for this
late-night visit? Couldn’t sleep? Lonely? Miss me, maybe?”
Her face
flushed an ever deeper scarlet. “Sara said I should apologize for spying on you
guys.”
He rolled
his eyes. “Not much of an apology if she’s making you do it.”
“I’m
here, aren’t I?” she huffed. “And no one’s holding a gun to my back.”
“Well?”
He folded his arms across his chest.
“Well,
what?”
“I’m
waiting.” She narrowed her eyes at him, and he tilted his head. “For your
apology.”
“You
really are the most infuriating man.” Her lower lip jutted out into a pout that
he shouldn’t have found so sexy.
“I’ve
heard.” He shrugged. “Many times. But I’m not that one who has something to
apologize for.”
“All
right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have listened in. And I shouldn’t have jumped to
conclusions.” Her aqua eyes flashed with righteous indignation. “Are you
satisfied?”
“Hardly.”
He picked up the deflated doll, stuffed it into the box and closed the lid
before she could get a glimpse of any of the other goodies inside. “But it’ll
do. For now.”
“Forever,”
she countered as she turned to leave. “I’m here to get back on my feet, not
make friends.”
“We’ll
see about that, Duchess.” He frowned, realizing he still didn’t know her damn
name, and watched, transfixed by the swaying of her perfect ass as she
disappeared out the door. The squeak of her crutches on the linoleum of the
hallway echoed in her wake. “We’ll see.”
What starts out as a distraction for both Jace and Noelle, quickly turns into more. Jace has never had a serious relationship, but there is something about Noelle that draws him and keeps him wanting to spend time with her. We goes above and beyond what she expects from a fling, and before she realizes it, her heart is involved. Jace has an incredibly sweet side to go with this sexy side, and that made me love him even more. Neither expected to develop feelings for each other, but when the time comes for them to go home to opposites side of the country, their relationship is tested. I loved this story and there is enough humor that made it fun. I loved the scenes toward the beginning of the book that find Noelle walking in on Jace in "compromising" situations. I haven't read all of the previous books, so this can be read as a standalone, but I plan on reading them and finding out how Noelle's siblings found their HEA.
I received an ARC for the purpose of an honest review. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.
Regina
Kyle knew she was destined to be an author when she won a writing
contest at age ten with a touching tale about a squirrel and a nut
pie. By day, she writes dry legal briefs, representing the state in
criminal appeals. At night, she writes steamy romance with heart and humor.
A lover
of all things theatrical, Regina lives on the Connecticut coast with her
husband, teenage daughter and two melodramatic cats. When she’s not writing,
she’s most likely singing, reading, cooking or watching bad reality television.
She’s a member of Romance Writers of America and of her local RWA chapter.
No comments:
Post a Comment